A Tall Tale Told about Alpine Tunnel

[Kurt Maechner]

I recently came across a news article entitled "Ghosts of the Alpine Tunnel" from The Mountain Mail chronicling various disasters or harrowing circumstances related to the tunnel or area.  One of the stories tells of a man who left a stranded train on the east side of the tunnel to get help.  I hadn't heard this story before and it also sounds like a tall tale.  In this post I give some details about the article and post a few reasons to believe that this story is potentially fictitious.  All in all, it was fun to analyze the curious tale!  I'd love any other insights others might have into this supposedly heroic story.
Enjoy!
Kurt