Arizona republican., 1913-11-02
STOPPING A RUNAWAY LOCOMOTIVE

October 25th, 1911, writes A A. Cheek, in the November Wide World Magazine, agent operator D. A. Allen, station for the l. M. Railway Anity, Arkansas, waiting for nOrthbound through freight train to pass his sta ton just before closing the place for the night, the dispatcher Feriday, Louisiana, began franticalIv calling his station When MT. Allen ans wered he told. for Heavens stake, stop in some way wild" (runaWay) engine coming south If had just few, minutes before got away from n charge of it, and coming south wide open terrific rate of speed with no one it.
 On receiving this alarming information Opera tor Allen immediately dropped his signal board and at the north switch his side track and threw direct the runaway into this track, where stood a string of loaded coal cars If by the wild" engine arrived first or he unable to stop it in any other way He then in duced two men he happened to flnd-Messrs A. J. Johnson and Ali Widner to assist him in quickly throwing a handcar the track. While they were doing this they heard the freight train about q mile a off, coming what then seemed certain destruction, the wild" engine could also be heard in distance, with the reports of the hausts close together that they made almost one continuous sound-conclusive proof that it still working steam and coming at q high rate of speed.
 only thought Of saving lives in their minds, and with full of their duty before them these three men clambered on the car and q Veritabe against death to meet the wild" engine and if possible. stop it in some way before it crashed into the oncoming freight, the of which entirely of the terrible menace so rapidly approaching them The handcar the utmost speed the three could produce until the runaway engine came in sight through the darkness There were no hghtS O any kind it. and in the hurry of getting away none the the handcar had secured even a lantern that everything had to be done in the dark Directly they sighted the engine looming Va guely through the gloom the handcar was quickly thrown from the rails. and had hardly reached the runaway them. Dash ing alongside Allen made snatch at what he took in the darkness to be the grab the the tender. It then discovered how ever. that the engine was backing up'-running tender first What Allen took for a handhOd prov ed O be a loose hose lying the woodwork sur rounding the tank platform, and this hose gave way throwing Allen just outside the rails, the massive wheels barely missing him the tender thunGered Realizing that the lives of those on freight train. drawing near were at stake and regardless the risk himself, Allen recovered his balance and caught the pilot as it passed him. Running like a monkey along the sfootboard of the engine he reached the throttle shut off steam, reversed the engine, and started it back ahead of the freight train, the engineer of which in the meantime had noticed the board and begun 10 slow down. But for the timely stopping of the wild" engine, however nothing could have prevented disastrous collision, which would doubt the engineer and fireman of the freight their lives, if those of the whole in addition to several thousand dollars worth of property.