An engine driver thinks he sees a train coming towards him, applies the brakes too harshly and crashes the train. The ne'er-do-well son of the railway owner takes a shine to the engine driver's daughter and investigates the occurrence. A rival firm is bidding for the line and is using an aeroplane fitted with headlights and loudspeakers to fool the drivers into having accidents, thus lowering the share price. Mystery solved, boy gets girl. The railway models were of a very high order; the scenes filmed in and around real railway depots were particularly interesting. Towards the end of the film, the owner as told the bidders he will make a decision by midnight. At the other end of the line, the plot is uncovered, and the owner has to be told. However, it is a wild and stormy night and the telegraphs are down. The engine driver reckons he can get Ol' 97 (or some such number) through and heads off at high speed as most of the railway is washed away or flooded. He just gets his engine over a vital bridge before it collapses, and makes it to depot in time to stop the owner selling. The question arises as to whether it might have been better for the owner if he had not got through. Though the offer price was low, the costs of the rebuilding works after the storm would have driven the stock price even lower, such that the owner would have been unable to raise the money for the works. In other words, he would have been better off with the cash the crooks were offering. Given all the sillinesses in the film, this is just one more.