Remember, this story is serial style, so if you want to read it from the beginning make sure and click on the earlier segments.
Ore Train
Now remember, these were narrow tunnels, and the track and the railroad ties were taking up the entire thing. So it was obvious to me that there was not going to be room to just move over and let the train go by. I remember thinking, “So far as I know, the last place that we could get off this track was a long way back there where we first climbed into this level”. So I said, “Where is the next place we can get off the track?” I don’t think I was being so casual anymore with the tone of my voice. He replied without looking back, “Well, there are cutouts every so often along the side of the tunnel for people to get off the track. We just have to find one. There should be one coming up pretty soon now.” These cutouts were narrow little excavations in the side of the tunnel that were just big enough to allow a few people to squeeze up into them so that the ore train could go by beside you. And you pretty much have to do this because the ore train cannot stop. The carts that are pulled by the train are about the size of a small car; they are short and every one of them is loaded with tons of ore. There will be about 100 ore carts to a train, and there will be a small locomotive in front pulling it. So as you can imagine, they do not stop very well. They actually do not stop at all while they are in the mine – ever! And even if they did try to stop the track is underwater. They would just slide across the track without stopping, so once an ore train get going, they have to keep going. Ore trains can’t stop.
So there was an ore train loaded with ore on the track. My guide started to hurry faster along the track as he walked, and I was trying hard to keep up without sliding through the railroad ties, and everything is red from the red lights, and we keep moving along and moving along and I was not seeing any sign of a cut out. And I was starting to think we had been on that track a while now since the red lights came on and I was getting a little uncomfortable. And I could tell he was thinking the same thing. And then we heard something down the track behind us. And as soon as we heard, it he said, “We’d better run!” And he started to run!
Well, how the heck do you run on railroad ties that are under water? By this time the adrenaline was pumping through my body and somewhere in the back of my head, my brain was saying to me, “You may be about to die – run!” And so I started running and I keep up with him. It is kind of amazing, there is a funny thing your brain does when you absolutely have to survive. It can do things that you never thought you could do. I was running, and while I was running somewhere in the back of my mind I notice I was hitting every railroad tie! I was not missing a single tie. I was running like a dog trying to catch up with my guide! And as we were running down the track, the ore train was roaring behind us through the tunnel, the sound was very loud, and there was this light coming from behind and we just kept running like mad. And I remember thinking, “Come on! Come on! Where the hell is the cutout!” And suddenly I saw it up ahead of us, and he saw it too, and we both were running as fast as we could, and I was still not missing a tie, and the noise was racing up immediately behind us, and the tunnel did not look very red anymore because of the light from the locomotive behind us. And we got to the cutout and we both cram up into it as fast as we could. And this ore train – literally within about 3 to 4 seconds – goes racing past us! The stubby locomotive goes racing by with diesel pouring out of it, and then the ore carts start roaring by one after the other, very fast – woosh, woosh, woosh! And were crammed into this cut out and there is about 6 inches between us and the ore carts. I mean we were really close to those ore carts as they were whizzing by. My head was pouring with sweat by this point, and literally my hands were shaking. And finally the train finished going by. And after the train had gone by, we just stood there and listened as it thundered away up the tracks. And I remember him turning to me. Now keep in mind he has been working in this mind underground for three years, he turned and looks at me and said, “Man, that was close…”
I’m pretty sure that he could see in my face that I absolutely agreed with him.
Next week:
“Job Offer”