University of Oregon monthly., May 01, 1908, Image 19

U niv er sit y o f O r e g o n * M o n t h l y
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siblé and often take unusual risks in doing so. When the Semaphore
dropped giving him a clear track, Donnelly put the lever “down in
the corner” and pulled out the throttle a few notches .and No. 907
was soon eating up the track at a rate that would put them into
Kimaina-iff time to-clear the freight, .the regulation ten minutes.
They-had just.struèjc the Kifik Hill grade when one Of the .boxes
on the tender began to throw'* out fire. Donnelly cujrsed but "that
did hot relieve the axle ; he only -slackened his speed when the
:
ïn danger of b'ëing melted off. It was 3 :35 P. M. when
they‘ were'off again and. it was nearlÿjten miles’ to-Kimaina but
Donnelly evidently had resqlyed to -Stop at no blind siding.
In the meantime
had reached Kimaina; they wëré late
and the conductor was' chafing at the delay. 3 :40 P. M. came find
no light engine in sight. The Conductor gave the signal and the
long train started out, gaining headway, as it struck the King
grade, which dropped down just outside the yards.
No. 907 should be on the siding at the.foot of the grade; but
No. 907 really .'was halfway up the hill, and the distance between
the two, engines was diminishing at^a speeff it ear, 90milps per hour.
No- 53, a long line of careening bed'cars, headed by a monster en­
gine, was making up time by exceeding the speed limit on the down
grade. The narrow strip of roadbed and the continual procession Of
telegraph poles fled away to the rear with ever increasing rapidity.
The fireman was down on the deck cleaning out his fire, while
the head brakeman.dozed ‘in his sèat. Just as the freight beadëd
out on a big “horse-shoe” curve, engine 907 was coming in on
the opposite tangent. The engineer
the freight, being on the
outside of the curve, could ~sée, ahead only a Short distance, and
for a moment the two engines thuncTered toward each other as if
attempting to pass on the single track.
' But Donnelly on No. 907, saw, and what he saw, lent speed to
his subsequent actions; He threw over the reverse lever and jumped,
his fireman following fairly bn top of him. The head brakeman on
'.-.No. 55,’ awakened by' the boar of the exhaust when engine 907 re­
versed, glanced up the track, gave''ä yell of warning, ahd kicked
himself out of the cab window. ' The engineer .and the fireman
couldnfr get off, and they hit engine No. '907 before the brakes had
time to reduce the- s p e e d , thé train.
Engine No. 907 struck the freight engine, rearing up as* if about
tô telbçôpe it and then, borne down by .the prèSsurë,fof the heavy