The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1914-11-10

along by the big engine-a grizzled,
stocky figure Of a man with a slight
roll In his stride, seemingly engrossed
in his own thoughts. He passed along,
stopped, examined her outlines with
an admiring eye, patted her ponderous
cylinder as one might pet a child, and
stood listening to the purr Of her
steam. Presently he noticed me, and
strolled over to the truck.
Amt she a beauty?" he queried,
jerking his thumb In the direction of
the engine.
! remarked that he must have leaned
from cab in his time, and he nodded
with some pride.
Yes" he said II wrestled the re-
verse-lever and eased the steam into
the cylinders on one of them for Is
years Not a big girl like that one,
though there wasn't any like her in
my day. quit in 49,"
He relapsed into silence and I
waited
Excuse me-" / said finally, "but
am waiting for you to tell me about
It."
About what?" he asked.
We'll, about-your most thrilling
experienced" l said
Never had any thrills, he said
USED to have lots of hard work and
plenty of wrecks and very little pay;
but thrills, as you call them, we didn't
pay much attention to.
I'VE rarely ever got from one end
of the division to another without go
ing in the ditch.
"One time we got into West Point
about midnight, and the river was out
In the bottoms. There used to be an
old wooden drawbridge across the Salt
there that was built like culvert-
nothing above the stringers but ties
and rails, not even a hand-rail.
The Ohio was backed up in the
Salt, chock-full, and there wasn't any
bridge in sight-just black, tapping
water. Old man Morrison and me went
down and set sticks to see how fast
she was rising, and she was crawling
pretty fast.
"'Whatu we dor said the old man.
"'Cross her, IL the bridge is there,
/ said: and we all climbed on, and l
let 637 walk out on that bridge mighty
slow and careful, with the crew ready
to pile off If she dropped. The bridge
was there, all right, four inches under
water, and we got across.
"Old 637! There was a good old
engine! She knew just as well as
a horse or dog knows their masters,
and she never went back on me-"
How did l happen to quit? See
these gray hairs? l reckon l got most
of them one night on old Muldraugh's
hill
"You know how the old line winds
in and around that old knob and all
those old wooden trestles. There used
to be nine of them trestles-some
away up in the air, too-built on short
curves; one had reverse curve in
the trestle itself.
Il was pulling a local freight that
year. and we had quite a bit of bust
ness hauling dried apples, tobacco.
sorghum, and such like. and we never
had any schedule except to start out
on-we got back when we could.
1T was about seven o'clock OF
summer evening, quiet and peaceful,
the fireman standing In the gangway
enjoying the breeze; everybody feeling
comfortable.
Down around the hill we bowled.
over the trestles. and around the rocky
points. / was thinking about supper
and a smoke on my back porch at
home when we came out of short
curve In a shallow cut and out onto
one of those hundred-foet high bridges,
and my breath stopped. About the
middle, the bridge was burned in two.
1T took me a second to pull a
screech for brakes. The fireman
jumped before we had hardly left
the embankment, and wasn't hurt.
The rest Of the crew got of.
las for me and 637, we were out
In the air; behind US, loaded train
showing too hard to be stopped; be-
fore us, gap in the trestle, where
for three or four feet everything was
zone but the rails. When / saw how
1t stood. l got up and threw her into