100 years ago in Spokane: Man steals train locomotive to get to a dance

From our archives, 100 years ago

The Hippodrome, a theater combining vaudeville and feature films, reopened to huge crowds at First Avenue and Howard Street in Spokane.

Opening night included six vaudeville acts, including a musical comedy sextette called “The Fair Coeds.” Bell and Eva performed a trampoline acrobatic act.

A performer “in character garb,” identified as Will H. Fields, “put over some comedy patter that kept the audience in good humor.”

The bill also included newsreel and a feature film titled “Into the Primitive.”

From the railroad beat: An unknown young man walked into the Bozeman railroad station, trying to catch a train to a dance that night. He was told there were no more trains going east.

“By George, I am going to that dance at Paxton’s somehow,” he declared.

Then he walked over to a locomotive, jumped into the cab, fired it up and started east, “breaking through a closed switch and going out on the main line.”

Meanwhile, another train was coming into town westbound and the engineer noticed the block system designating “danger.” He saw the smoke of a oncoming locomotive, stopped his train and reversed it. The fireman jumped out and ran to the approaching locomotive, jumped into the cab, found it “driverless,” and brought it to stop.

The dance-crazed young man had evidently jumped out when he saw the other engine approaching.