Above and beyond the call.(The Goodness Of America)

At about 12:40 p.m. on June 6, 2003, a 400,000-pound locomotive somehow became detached from the rest of an Idaho Northern & Pacific Railroad train near Boise, Idaho. It began rolling downhill toward Nampa, some 25 miles to the west, reportedly reaching speeds of up to 40 miles per hour.

Worried that the unmanned locomotive might cause a serious accident, Corporal C. Dwayne Prescott, a motorcycle officer and 22-year Idaho State Police veteran, jumped on his cycle and raced after the engine. He hoped to catch it, climb aboard, and somehow bring it to a halt.

At one point, the runaway engine reached a slight incline and slowed to around 20 mph. Prescott tried, unsuccessfully, to hop on-board but the train was still going too fast. Climbing back on his motorcycle, he rushed ahead to an intersection in Nampa, where the tracks again went uphill. This time, the engine slowed to between five and 10 mph, enabling the courageous lawman to run alongside and climb aboard.

Prescott recalled for the June 6 Idaho Statesman, "I just got on and started pulling levers." A dispatcher sought to relay instructions to him. Prescott exclaimed. "I'm on the train. How do I stop this ...