"A Tale of Two Engines"

The Colorado Midland route, chartered in 1883, was a standard-gauge railroad that cut a path through the rugged, high-altitude terrain of the Colorado Rockies. It was designed to link the booming mining towns of Aspen and Leadville with Colorado Springs and the broader rail network to the east. The journey was an arduous one, with trains navigating steep grades, sharp curves, and dizzying passes like Hagerman Pass, which at an elevation of 11,530 feet, was one of the highest railroad passes in the world. 

The grades approaching these heights were so severe that a single locomotive often lacked the sheer power and adhesive weight to pull a heavy train up the incline without its wheels slipping. Consequently, it was common practice to use two engines working in tandem, a method known as "double-heading," to provide the necessary tractive effort to haul the consist over the summit. The trip would have been a breathtaking, and at times terrifying, experience for passengers, offering panoramic views of snow-capped peaks, deep canyons, and roaring rivers. 

The route was a lifeline for the mining industry, transporting ore and supplies, but it was also a vital link for people, offering a scenic, albeit challenging, way to travel through the heart of the mountains. The harsh conditions of the mountains meant that operating the railroad was fraught with peril, from rockslides and avalanches to treacherous winter weather. 

It was this constant threat of danger that was brought into sharp focus on April 1, 1908, a day of near-disaster and heroic action in Buena Vista, Colorado. The Colorado Midland passenger train No. 4, carrying 100 passengers, was hurtling toward a burning bridge at Yale siding. The engineers of both engines, seeing the imminent danger, acted quickly and decisively. They applied the air brakes, bringing the passenger coaches to a halt just at the edge of the precipice. Then, in a final act of self-preservation, they leaped for their lives as the two engines plunged into the gorge below. 

Thanks to the courage, skill, and quick thinking of the engine crews, a catastrophe was averted. The passengers were safe, and beyond a good scare, no one on board the train was injured. The only "casualties" of the day were the two engines at the bottom of the gorge.