The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-06-17


 enough away to save the box car and To- comotive.
 As ran down the hill after the pin had been drawn, imagine my horror to see that the burning cars were follow Ing me at a speed that was rapidly in- creasing!
 "The men had not succeeded in put ting on the brakes. I saw that the only thing to be done was to run for 1t to Broeton, and the chances were that we | would never reach there a the speed al which we would be obliged to make around those sharp reversed curves. where we never run over 20 miles an hour.
 When l saw the flaming cars--the six were on fire by this time-plunging g after me, and only few yards away. pulled the throttle oBen.
 "The oil cars caught me, though, be- fore had made any distance. They came with full force against the box car, smashing in one end and knock ing the horses and their keepers flat on the floor.
 "The heat was almost uncomfortable, and to do my best 1 couldn't place more than 30 feet between the pursuing fire and ourselves. By the light of the fur mace, as my firemen opened the door to pile in the coal, I caught sight of the
 
 ear. He had climbed up to the grated opening in the end. He was pale as death, and he begged me to give her more steam.
 q was giving her then all the steam she could carry. and the grade itself was sufficient to carry us down at the rate of 50 miles an hour. We went so fast that every time we struck, one of those curves the old girl would run all most on one set of wheels
 Why she didn't topple over is some thing l never could understand She seemed to know that it was a race for life, and worked if she were alive.
 The night was dark, and the road ran through woods, deep cuts and along laundering along at lightning speed, and, only a few paces behind us. that fiery demon in full pursuit
 There were at least 50,000 gallons of oil in those tanks, and it was all in flame. making flying avalanche of fire 300 feet long. The flames leaped into the air nearly 100 feet. The roar was like that of some great cataract
 Now and then a tank would ex plode with a noise like a cannon, and a column of flame and a ptchy smoke would mount high above the body of the flames and showers of burning oil would be scattered about in the woods. The whole country was lighted up for miles around.
 Well, it wasn't long, going at the rate we made, before the lights of Broc- ton came in sight. The relief I felt was short lived. however. for I remem- bered that Train No lon the Lake Shore would be at the Junction just about time we would get there.
 No was the Cincinnati express. Our only hope all along during the race was that the switchman at the junction would think to open the switch there connecting the cross cut track with the lake Shore track, and let us run in on the latter where the grade would be against us, if anything, and where we would soon get out of the way of the oil cars.
 "The switch. of course. would be closed now for the express, and our last hope was gone, unless the express was late. or somebody had sense enough to flag it.
 While we were thinking of this we saw the express tearing along towards the junction. Could we reach the june ton, get the switch. and get the switch set back for the express before the latter got there?
 "If not, there would be an inevitable crash in which not only we, but scores of others would be crushed to death All this conjecturing did not occupy two seconds. but In that two seconds I lived years.
 What are we to do?" I asked my fireman
 'The fireman promptly replied-and he was a brave little fellow-that I should whistle for the switch and take the chance I did so-that whistle was one prolonged yell of agony. It was a shriek that seemed to tell us that our brave old engine knew our danger and had her fears
 Neither hremen nor myself spoke another word. Thanks be to heaven. the engineer on the express train, seeing us tearing down that mountain with an eighth of a mile of fire in close pursuit realized that only one thing would save us.
 He whistled for brakes. and got his train to a stand not ten feet from the switch.
 ''The switchman now answered our signal, and we shot in on the Shore track and whizzed by the depot and through the place like a rocket.
 .The burning cars followed us in, but their race was run. They had no pro- polling power now. After chasing us for a mile. they gave up in pursuit, and in three hours there was nothing left of them but smoking ruins.
 My fireman and 1 were so weak when we brought our locomotive to a stop that We could not get out of our cab. The two h6rsemen were uncon- scious in the box car The horses were worthless.
 And how long do you think we were making that 16 miles? Just 12 minutes from the summit to the spot where we stopped, two miles up the Lake Shore track. plump so miles an hour, not counting the time lost getting under headway and stopping beyond Brocton.'