Richard Thomas Memories

 THE GREAT TRAIN ESCAPE

One time when I was about 10 or 12 years old Dale Swinford and I were out at the railroad trestle north of Hartford throwing rocks down at the turtles in the mill pond. For some reason we did not notice that a train was coming and when we did see it we started for the end of the trestle but did not have time to get there. At the very last second we swung over the side and were hanging on the railroad ties. It was so close that the train men thought they had hit us and stopped the train.  With the train stopped we could not get back up on the tracks so we hand over handed to the end of the trestle and hid.  The train people told people in town that they hit some kids playing on the trestle and they came looking for us. Later we came out of hiding and acted like we were looking too.  Dale and I vowed never to tell anyone.  Years later, after I was married, one day I told Mom and Dad, and Mother remembered that day.