Polk County news-gazette. (Benton, Tenn.) 190?-191?, 1914-10-15

stopped, examined her outlines with
an admiring eye, patted her ponderous
cylinder as one might pet 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. Il wrestled the re-
verse-lever and eased the steam into
the cylinders on one of them for 10
years. Not a big girl like that one,
though; there wasn't any like her in
my day quit in Sc
He relapsed into silence. and l
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" ] 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 60
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 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.
'What'n we do?' said the old man.
"'Cross her, if 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 | got most
Of them one night on old Muldraughs
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 ousl-
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 tresties, and around the rocky |
points. | was thinking about supper |
and a smoke on my back porch at |
home when we came out of a snort
curve in a shallow cut and out onto
one of those hundred.foot high bridges,
and my breath stopped. About the
middle, the bridge was burned in two
1T took me a second to pull
screech for brakes. The fireman
jumped before we had hardly left
the embankment, and wasn't hurt
The rest of the crew got Off.
"As 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
gone but the rails. When | saw how
it stood, | got up and threw her into
the forward like maniac guess !
was crazy.
Then ! gave her steam. and we
jerked away from the train like a
horse when you cut 1t with the whip.
Then, when we reached the gap,
pulled her wide open, and she took
it like hunted deer She shivered
one instant, settled, and sunk-then
she rose and leaped, sir, she leaped
across, and we went out on the firm
track beyond.
THE rest OF the train went through,
the box cars dropping and crashing,
end over end. to the valley below,
and the farmers used them for kim
ding wood afterward.
~ took my engine in and resigned.
! haven't been in a cab since"