Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway

Conductor Tom Connel, Engineer Lee Jamison, and Fireman Bill James were coming to a piece of track by Diamond Rock curve that had settled, when the first two sections of the passenger train ahead of them came out of the rack, and then caught again.

That train went on, and the brakeman was left to warn Jamison of the conditions. He slowed, but the cog wheel came out of the rack, and with no brakes, he picked up speed very quickly.

Jamison and James both pulled on the brakes until the axle broke, then jumped; Jamison into the rasberry bushes on the creek side of the tracks. The engine tore off the teeth of the rack rail, bent the rails, and then rolled over on Butterworth curve. The coach had stopped because of the brakes and safety system.

This wreck happened too late in the season to take the time to dismantle it immediately, so a shed was built around it, so the tourists wouldn't see it, and when the busy season was over, it was dismantled and rebuilt in the yard. After it was reassembled, it had the distinction a steel roof on the cab, making it look very different from the other engines.

The repairs were not entirely successful, and the engine continued to damage track when she ran, so in 1955 the boiler was scrapped and the rest of her parts were used on the other engines.

Jamison collection

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