Re: What is it ? Snifter valve ?

This photo from the Baker County Library Collection might say something about failure to let a train start on it's own when starting on a down grade curve. Probably the engineer had to stop his train to have the switch thrown for him at the S Wye. Any one of the following could have caused this accident after the engineer applied steam to start the train: the engineer failed to allow enough time for the brakes to release at the back end of the train before applying steam, retainers were still turned up, brakes at the rear of the train were stuck, or handbrakes were set at the rear of the train.
This accident is mentioned in Rails Sage Brush and Pine. The train was a loaded stock train and many cows were dumped out through the roofs of the stock cars and had to be rounded up around the valley. I've wondered if this incident was the reason the rule Jim and dan cite was put in the rule book.