The Cleveland leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1865-1865, 1865-06-24
DAILY LEADER
A FLLgHF In the DARK.

- 49, @~H-m@ - -
large provincial town to take an engage
msnt under 3 railway compsny; and
when l left school, he put mo into mis- of.
fce, where I stait till l was twenty
yesrs old.
'rhis sort o: work woh't d fer you
any longer, Tom,' Sad my father TO me
one day. "You are getting as lanky as a
clothes-prop, and round shouldeTed into
the bargain. We must get you out into
the fresh sir. Suppose you go as an engine
driver for a couple Of years. i will do
your Re It'll good, and you will get an
smount of genuine practical knowledge
that way which You could gel in no other,
which may SONG time be of great use to
you i ycur profession. When you have
had enough Of that you shall try your
hand ct surveying for the new branch
they arc talking about"
So I, by no means 10th, ven into the
engine shed and, after a short experience
as '~clesner," went out on the FREELY, as
stOker, Under old Sam Preston, one of the
most experienced drivers on the line.
The life of an engine driver, when once
you nave got over the dissgrseRbleness Of
being, while on duty st least, in e chronic
state OF greasy blackness, is by no means
an unhealthy ones and speaking for my
own part, I certainly liked it much better
than beng cooped up all day in an Office.
We had a week of night-duty and a
week Of day duty alternately and were
alwsys employed to run either the tx
press or nail trains task for which
none but the best drivers were selected.
You must understand that sn Of this took
place more than twenty years ago. The
FREELY was running, on the week in ques-
ton, between Mellingshsl and Ripping
hurst-ihe former, as you are aware, being
one Of tho largest N lnuf4cturing towns in
the northern counties, aud the headquarters
of tic lines on which l wss employed
Melligshsl has two lines Of railway run
ming into it-one from the north, and one
from the southeast both Of which lines
meet at a junction about half q mile from
the ststion, and run their trains between
these points on rails common to the two.
The RippinghuTst mail started at eleven
p. " ; that for the north half an hour ear
Her, but our instructions we're 70 have eV.
erythiDg in readiness = quarter of an hour
before starting, aud to run the engine from
the shed on to q spare liOe used for the
purpose Just outside the yard, there 20
await tho siEnal-bell which announced
I that thu main line was clear and then Tun
back to the platform, and taxa up our train
AS We drove slowly up to our waiting
place Sam wss in the habit of dropping of
| the engine most evenings, 90 have q few
minutes gossip with a friend Of his, q
pointsman, whose tastes, in common with
Sans ran on large ~gOoseborries and small
| dogs, and as L came bsck past the points
msnis box, on my way 10 the station, in an
swer TO the bell, Sam would bid his friend
good night, leap blithely on to The engine,
pull on his great-cost, tie a shawl ronnd
his throat and prepare for tho long dark
journey before him. At the point whore
the FREELY took up her position, waiting
for the signal, the line on the one eide was
open 10 the fields while on the other were
several whsrves, opening on to an ada
cent canal, beyond which lay the town of
/ Mcllingshall with IFS thousand lamps.
had driven up 10 the waiting place one
cold, autumn night dropping Sam, as usu
a, ct his friends tho p0lntsmsn's box, and
had Just lighted my pipe, thinking TO have
8 quiet smoke for ten minutes before the
bell should ring, when 1 was startled by
the sudden appearance, close TO the engine, |
Of two gentlemsn-for if not gentlemen |
they were dressed Gs 5uCh-who seemed al
most IS iflhey had sprung from the ground,
SO quiet had been their approach, so uneX-
pected was their appearance. "Rsilway nobs
these" l muttered to myself smuggling
my pipo out Of sight in hot haste. "Prob-
ably q couple Of directors too bad Of them,
though, to come p1ying about fellows en-
CINE st this time Of night, trying 10 find
cut something against him. They'll fine
poor Sam if they lind him of his perch"
They were both well wrapped up, Tor the
night was chilly and the slim one carried
q small leather case in one hand-judging
by that dim light it might be either a dis
patch box OF q small portmantebu.
"You are wsiling here 70 take cut some
train, young man p said the stout gentle.
men interrogatiyely.
ayes, sir-tbe mail for Rippinghurst."
"And that starts, when?"
GIn twelve minutes, sir, from the plat
FORM
cay just so" He began TO walk slowly
round the FireAy with his hands behind
him, looking al her admiringly at every
point of view, and talking TO me all tho
time. IL suppose your engine is cooked and
watered end ready for the journey p
AYES, sir"
"And how far do you run before taking
IN fresh wster?'
eve always take in water at Merryville,
tbirty-eight miles from here. We have 10
stsy there three or four minutes, on &C.
count u he letter-bags."
"But supposing you had no train behind
you, how msny miles could you run to-
blight, ssy at tho rate of forty miles an
hour, beiore being obliged to stop for coke
or water y
"About seventy miles, sir"
"About seventy miles! Just so. Really
these steam-monsters seem to mo the mcst
wonderful inventions of this or any pre-
vious age;" and, as he laid these words, he
mounted coolly on 20 the engine. Then l
felt more certain than ever that he must be
6 director or some great railway function
airy; while the slim gentleman with the
dispatch box, standing so quietly on the
ground, beating his chest with one hand to
keep himself warm, was probably q clerk
Or s~manuensis.
No sooner had tho stout gentlemen
clsmbered up beside me, than he com
mencsd another cross-fre Of questions, and
made me explain to lin the method Of
working the engine. l showed him howto
start her, how TO stop her, how 10 put on
the brake, and sound the whistle. He ex-
pressed himself as being immensely graft
fed, snd when his list of questions was
exhausted, called to the slim gentleman TO
get up beside Ut, in order that he might
explain TO him some more interesting point
than common. r.
The elm gentleman, still holding the
dispatch box carefully, had hardly complied
with this request, when the bell sounded
which summoned me to the station, and l
al one started the engine.
ave viii ride IS far as the platform with
you" said the strut gentleman, watching
my movements Httentiyely.
The ordinary programme of proceedings
was SIS follows: on hesriSg the bell, TO run
the engine slowly forward to the second
pointsmsn's box, where q man was in wait
ing 10 turn her on to the main line, after
running on which for g few yards, she was
reversed, and run back, tender first, into
the station, taking up Sam Preston at the
first pointsmsn's box on the way in.
On the present occasion as soon as I
heard the bell, 1 sounded my whistle IS a
notica TO poiutsmsn number two and on
SEEING his preeu light exhibited, ran the