Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-12-15

Foresight could not have averted
the accident which overlook the fast
mail train of the Chicago & North
western railroad on the night OF jan
uary 5, 1907.
Being behind time, L. H. Shull, the
engineer, was driving his locomotive
at a terrific speed. AS he neared
Belle Plain, Iowa, two boiler studs
blew out. With a pressure OF 2lO
pounds behind it the steam instantly
filled the cab Shull and his fireman
were terribly scalded. yet the engineer
tried vainly to close the throttle and
apply the air brakes.
While Shull was trying to stop the
engine Belle Plain was passed, and
the fast mail thundered on toward
an interlocking point a few miles
away. 1t was absolutely necessary to
stop before this point was reached.
ShuH, cropping blindly, found the fire.
|. mans coal hammer. Then he clam
bered over the coal and back Of the
tank, Uttered with slash bars, ash
hoes, rerealing frogs, extra scoops and
Jumps of coal, to the door of the ex-
press car.
n Let me in" yelled Shull, pounding
on the door with the hammer.
"Get away from there or I'll fill you
full of lead" replied the express mes
senger. believing he had been attacked
by robbers.
There was no time for parley. so
Shun paid no heed to the threats and
with a few blows smashed down the
door Providentially the express mes
senger withheld his fire until he could
see his assailant
RECOGNIZING the engineer, he low
cred his revolver and allowed him to
enter.
- Shull had just enough strength left
to climb over the piles of freight to
the conductors valve and apply the
brakes.
Shun spent the next month in
hospital recovering from his burns.
Not long afterward President Marvin
Hughitt, at an official banquet ar
ranged in his honor, made laudatory
speech and presented him a gold
watch bearing an inscription:
r TO L. H. SKULL.
For His Fidelity to Duty,
January 5, 1907.
Without an instants hesitation,
NINhn Riley, an engineer on the Penn
tivania railroad, ventured his life
) against tremendous odds merely to
save the company's property.
Riley was sitting in the cab Of his
engine, which was standing on the
main line at Altoona, on May 2. 1904,
when a highly excited oper tor rush.
ed up waving his arms.
Get in on a siding! Get in on
siding quick!" he shouted. There's a
runaway coming down the mountain.
Fifty-eight cars. Hurry"
Riley grasped the throttle.
Get off," he said to his fireman.
The fireman made no'move to obey.
"Get out OF here or I'll break your
fool head" roared Riley, menacing
his mate with a hammer.
The fireman turned quickly and
leaped from the gangway as the en-
gine gathered speed.
Riley sped up the mountain, keep
ing a sharp lookout for the runaway
train. When he saw II coming he
stopped and started back.
BY skillful jockeying ne allowed
his engine and the runaway to come
e together while going at nearly the
same speed. Then he reversed and ap-
piled the air brakes.
His big locomotive ground her
wheels and held the train back with
all her power.
p Riley did not expect to stop the
runaway. He was trying to mitigate,
not to prevent a disaster.
The train rushed into Altoona at
high speed, pushing the stubborn To-
connective before 1t. Two other en-
gines were in the way. These engines
and Riley's were partly wrecked. The
damage was slight compared to
what 1t would have been.
} Such conspicuous bravery was not
permitted to pass unnoticed. The
board Of directors sent Riley gold
watch worth $1,000, bearing an in
scription reciting that 1t was presented
in recognition Of his courage, judg-
} ment and high sense OF duty" Ac-
companying the watch was a check
for $500.
A strongly grounded superstition Of
the railroad man is that accidents all
ways go in threes. 1t must be con-
fessed that this belief is fulfilled by
events with remarkable frequency. 1t
is no less remarkable that, no matter
how strange and unusual an accident
may be, 1t Is often followed by two
others of the same character.
On the day that Riley received his
reward for devotion to duty the board
!. liam Black and Conductor James
Lundy two checks for 5000 each in
recognition of an act Of bravery per-
formed two months before. They had
voluntarily started in pursuit Of a
runaway train, had overtaken it while
running at a terrific speed, had
coupled to 1t and gradually brought
it to a stop.
Some time before this incident an
engineer and fireman left their en-
CINE to look at a wreck. While they
were gone their engine ran away and
dashed into Altoona at twenty-five
miles an hour.
Henry Cresswell, a switchman, saw
It coming, and resolved to capture it..
ONLY an expert can board a caboose