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This most
remarkable incident happened many years ago, and was told in a railroad
magazine. One summer morning a twelve-car train containing the members of a
Sunday school in eastern Missouri was bound for a picnic at a point about
fifty miles distant. Although the sky was cloudless when the excursion
started, the train had not proceeded more than half way when a thunderstorm
broke. The rain fell in torrents. The engineer was worried for fear the
terrific downpour might cause a washout or spreading of the rails, and he
slowed down to about thirty-five miles an hour. As the train swung around a
curve and approached a small station which it was to pass without stopping,
the engineer, peering through the broken curtain of rain, saw that the switch
ahead was open. It meant a terrible disaster. Instantly he closed the
throttle and put on the brakes. |
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"Better
stick to it," he shouted to the fireman, "hundreds of children are on
board." |
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"I
mean to," was the answer. "God help us all!" |
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His last
words were drowned by a terrific crash of thunder which came with a flash of
lightning that seemed to strike the ground just ahead of the engine. The next
thing they knew they were past the station, still riding safely on the
main-line rails. |
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The train
came to a stop and the engineer and conductor hurried back to discover what
had happened and how the train had passed the open switch. They found the
lightning had struck squarely between the switch and the rail and had closed
the switch. "It was the act of God," said the engineer. -- J. M.
Farrar |
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From:
EFFECTIVE ILLUSTRATIONS By William Moses Tidwell, Printed in U.S.A. 1943,
Beacon Hill Press Kansas City, Mo. |