From Ry & Locomotive Engineering April, 1902:
"Automatic Train Robber Killer.
The Rio Grande Railroad, in Colorado. has equipped its locomotives with a novel train robber killing device.
It is a means of playing scalding water and steam over the bandits.
There is an extra piece of steel pipe running up from the bottom of the boiler to the back of the engine cab, where it is flattened out fan-shaped, the angle of the fan embracing the front, top and sides of the blind baggage and express. Another device of practically the same kind covers the front, top and sides of the locomotive itself. Other engines have a steam pipe and hose just back of the engineer, where it is handy to grab quickly.
Down near the floor of the cab, in several places where they can he reached easily, are little innocent looking button, that connect with the air valve fitted to the steam pipe. In less time than it take, to tell it, the engineer or fireman can touch a button and send back over the coal pile in the tender the hottest jet of water that any robber ever saw. The boilers carry a pressure of about, 225 pounds so the water near the bottom of the crown sheet will he at least at the boiling points
The amount of execution one of the "Cookers," as they are called, can do in a few seconds is frightful. Should four or six robbers get on the front or top of the blind baggage and make a hostile demonstration toward the engineer they can be disposed of quickly. A slight stream will make it so hot in the neighborhood that they will be glad to get off. At the same time it will fill the air with steam, so that shooting at the engineer or fireman will he out of the question. 1t will be impossible to tell the direction except the way to jump.
Only once since their installation have the new machines been put to test, and that was several weeks ago in the Grand Canyon, when several tramps threatened to take charge of a freight train and bully the crew into submission to their wishes. They got the conductor and brakeman "buffaloed" back about a dozen carlengths and then started toward the engineer to make him "dig up" some coin.
But the fireman had seen the whole performance and tipped off the affair to the engineer, who turned on a small stream and slowed up to see the fun. The white mist had no sooner stuck the hobos than they made a dive off the tops of the cars. The two fellows with guns, who were back with the conductor and brakeman, worked their way ahead to see what caused all the excitement, when they got a few stray splashes of hot water in the face and they also jumped."
A few issues later it said that Baldwin equipted a new order of passenger engines [T-31?] with these Automatic Train Robber Killers.
