How accidents happen along the line.
A rail lying wide to the gauge ahead,
A signal clear when it should be red;
An axle breaking, the tire of a wheel
Snapping off at a hidden flaw in the steel.
Enough. There were wagons piled up in the air,
As if some giant had tossed them there.
Rails broken and bent like a willow wand,
And sleepers torn up through the ballast and sand.
The hiss of the steam was heard, as it rushed