A Boy’s Quick Thinking Saves the May Creek Trestle

Early Thursday morning, Llewellyn Jones and his younger brother, Gomer, sons of Mr. Howell T. Jones of Newcastle, started from their home with their dogs to spend a few hours in the woods. They walked down the railroad track as far as the May Creek trestle. Having arrived there, they were startled to see a portion of the long, high structure on fire. Young Llewellyn took the situation in at a glance. Knowing that the morning train from Seattle would soon come up, and fearing that serious damage had been done to the woodwork by the fire, he told his young brother to run back to Newcastle, a distance of three miles, to notify the railroad men, while he himself would run down the track toward Renton, also a distance of three miles, to warn the approaching train. Both lads started in opposite directions and ran with all the speed they could command. By making a great exertion, Llewellyn was able to reach Renton before the train had started for Newcastle. Of course, the train men used every exertion possible, collected help and implements necessary for such an occasion, and started for the trestle. So fast had Llewellyn run and so quickly had they gathered equipment at Renton that they were at the site of the fire in forty minutes from the time the young man started for Renton. Luckily, they succeeded in putting the fire out without doing more damage than a delay of two days in traffic. The trestle, we are informed, cost in the neighborhood of $10,000, and young Jones, by his prompt action, saved it from great damage and possibly from total destruction, and probably the train and the lives of the people that were on it.