The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1914-01-16
"reminiscences of the Past
A Wild Ride on a Double-Header

the next station, Skykomish, where
they would have to stop for water, he
was going to pile off, providing OF
course that they didn't pile up before
they got there. Nothing happened,
however, and it didn't take long to
reach Sky. Here Fireman Oberg de-
serted his engine, saying he was going
no further with a crazy Hoghead."
Potter being the only available man at
that moment, having just come in, was
standing on the platform, and when he
saw Oberg quitting his engine, the
sight disguised him. BY Cad, I'll
fire her into Seattle for you, Billy, and
in less time than it takes to tell about
it he was on the engine and they were
under way again. Talk about going
some, says Sam, say but, we did travel,
there was no speedometer on the en-
CINE, but I am sure if there had
been the hand would have run up to
the 90 mile mark many time. Right
then it was that I wished that I could
get back on terra firma, and all the
ill feeling I had contracted only a
short time before for Oberg because
he had deserted, had vanished. How
ever, it was with my own volition that
I had consented to make the run
when Lowe had asked for fireman
and I made up my mind to stay with
the engine even if she did go into the
ditch, which I momentarily expected
to see her do. Once I was tempted
to hit Lowe over the head and take
charge myself, as I believed him to be
temporarily insane. Yet it occurred to
me that this would be a foolish thing
to do, and crawled back on the seat
box resigned to my fate"
Well, to make long story short we
pulled into Seattle on time, but you
can bet that there was scared bunch
OF passengers on those coaches in the
rear. But they didn't have anything
on me, as my nerves were in shat
tered state for months afterwards.
Billy, however was perfectly calm, re-
marking in his humorous way, Oh,
come out Of it Sam, you know we can
get killed just as easy running a miles
an hour as we can 400. And that is
Just the way he looked at it too. But
Billy is a good engineer and in evil
dence OF that fact he is still running
trains on the east end, being in the
employ OF the G.. N. as an engineer
for more than 25 years."
To get back to the story again, our
conductor was about the MOST ex-
cited man on the train and he lost no
time in reporting Lowe at the Superin-
tendent's Office and as result Billy
was called in on the carpet little
later on in the day. do you know
(was the way the Super put it up to
him) that you busted everything in
the diner and everything else on the
train that was movable, besides the
chance you took of wrecking the train.
Well no, didn't think that it was that
bad was loves reply, well you have
and you're fired. We don't want any
crazy people running our passenger
trains" What took place in the con-
versation that followed, only these two
men could tell, but at any rate Lowe
wasn't fired, as he convinced the Off
cial, Gas the story goes) that he was
only carrying out his orders.
The superintendent was also con-
vinced that in order to bring trains
into the coast city on time without en-
dangering the lives of passengers a
helper engine would have to be used
on the mountain division, the time
being lost in going up the hill. Since
that time every passenger train going
west out Of this city is drawn by a
double header, and railroad men say
that for this, credit is due VIM. Lowe.
We have another railroad story COM
ing up next week, watch for it.