EXTRAORDINARY RAILWAY DUEL

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2745, 15 February 1890, Page 6 (Supplement)

EXTRAORDINARY RAILWAY DUEL

Evkrvonk has heard of the story of the two goats who, meeting on a narrow plank bridge, butted and fought for the right of way. A somewhat similar inqident, saya the New York correspondent of the Manchester Examiner, took pliice a day or two ago hi Brooklyn between two freight trains at a railway crossing. Traffic over the latter was delayed for over an hour by the obstinate rivalry of the two engine-drivers, who having met on the same track would neither of them consent to reverse their locomotives, and thus make way for the other. The two engines were facing one another, and the language of the two drivers was of a nature to render the atmosphere in the vicinity redolent of brimstone. Every now and again they would interrupt their profanity in order to pull their levers and force back each other's train. But the locomotives were equally matched both in power and weight, and all efforts to butt one another back into the yard wore doomed to failure. At length the driver of the north bound train saw an engine coming out of the roundhouse, which was manned by a couple of hie friends. He immediately signalled them, and they came to hie rescue by running their locomotive up to the rear of his train. Then both engineers started up their locomotives simultaneously, and by their combined strength tho south - bound train was successfully pushed back and the crossing cleared. Several thousand persons witnessed this contest of a novel and characteristically American nature.