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Head-on collision on UP's Golden State Route

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Jumping off when a collision is impending would probably often be a hard decision to make.  You might look at the ground speeding past, and ask if the crash is really going to happen.  And people have ridden out the most horrendous crashes and walked away without a scratch.  To be faced with a high-speed head on collision might leave a person in denial that it is really happening.  But in many cases, it can be completely impulsive.  I read a newspaper account of a head-on collision in 1891 near here.  They were approaching on a tight curve.  One train had eyes on both sides, so they saw it coming and jumped off.  The other train had the fireman on the deck leaving the engineer on the blind side.  When he first saw the opposing engine, it was only 100 feet away.  He went right out the cab window.    <o:p></o:p> I read about a fireman on a steamer pulling a fast passenger train on the D&RGW.  They had a traveling engineer riding with them to learn why the train had not been making its time lately.  He stood behind the engineer and urged him to run fast.  They were approaching a sharp curve and the fireman told the engineer he’d better set some air because he would not make that curve at the speed they were traveling.  The traveling engineer chewed out the fireman and told him to mind his own business.   <o:p></o:p> So the fireman went back to the left side, through the gangway, dropped down the steps, and stepped off the engine, which was moving 70-80 mph.  That required conviction.  But he survived the punishment on his body.  And he was right about the curve.  The train hit the curve and jumped nearly across the Arkasas River, killing the engineer and the traveling engineer.
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