Jason, Donald, Mike, S.P. et al -
I finally found the story referred to above, not in my 1959 'Pictorial Supplement to DSP&P',
but on page 368 of the Rocky Club's 1976 Memorial Edition reprint of Mac Poor's original
'Denver, South Park & Pacific' that had first been published in 1949
:
A SOUTH PARK ENGINE RUNNING ON FROZEN GROUND
By William Cairns
"One time in February, 1895, engineer Joe Plunkett and fireman Dale Tomkins left Como on train No. 93 at 2:15 a.m. with a drag of empties for the Baldwin Mines north of Gunnison. The weather was very cold and the wind was blowing hard. If there is ever a place that can get cold and the winter winds can make you feel it, it is along the flats in South Park. About 3:00 a.m. they were wheeling their little drag of empties along some of the track just north of Arthur's spur [m.p. 102.54], where farmers loaded cattle and hay. Nearby was a crossing where the farmers could drive their stock at a point which was low and level with the rails. Some cattle had been driven across here the day before and left the crossing full of packed snow.
"The storm was still raging when Plunkett and Tomkins rounded the curve just before Arthur's and hit the cattle crossing. At this point Plunkett looked out through the storm and lo and behold the next thing he saw was a large haystack looming up in front of him. He stopped the engine as soon as possible. The crew came up to find out what the trouble was and decided some farmer had built his haystack on the right of way, but further investigation disclosed that the engine had left the track and rolled out across the the frozen and snow covered ground into a meadow. They sent a call to Como for and engine and crew to come out and pull them back on the rails, but Plunkett's engine was so far away from the track that they had to send clear to Denver for a cable long enough to reach it."
AMAZING!!
- Russ
Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 12/05/2012 08:27PM by Russo Loco.
