Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-04-13
THE HEROES OF THE Lo1OmorrvE.
APPreciative Trsbp, 50 RaiIroaa I'm.
F'-neers.

- sul iutlie, OF cODeBes
nun "a, in tie New York Independent,
rs celebrates the merits Of q class Of
everyday heroes, whose watehful
guardianship though absolutely neces-
sary to the personal safety of every indi-
vidual who sets foot on q railroad train,
is not aiwaysremembered=
lt may be an admission Of weakness,
and yet I confess to a high admiration OF
a class Of men TO whom q vast burden OF
responsibility in the matter of human
life is constantly Entrusted. I refer to
our railroad engineers. The locomotive
In itself is a marvel Of ingenuity and
power. Compact, perfect in form and
adoption, Indispensable to the wants
Of civilization, il is one Of the finest
instruments. The man who con-
trolls those thirty tons Of organ
lied iron which we call 3 loco
motive must secure both self-respect and
selfeonfdenee. IhRve sometimes stood
beside the trick when q train has come
flying along, and have observed with
boundless admiration the man on whose
vigilance, skill and pluck the safety OF
that train so largely depended. His left
hand on the lever, his right on the re
versing leve:--if that be its nRme-his
body bent forward eagerly, and his eyes
keenly scrutinizing the track ahead, lest
the tremendous momentum Of his train,
coming in cOntaet with some obstacle,
should dash itself in an instant into q
horrible wreck. How, now, car a man
be weighed down with such a response
bility and not be a stronger and more
self-reliant raan?
Some yesrs ago, with a party, it was
my fortune to be on the Erie railway
when the engineers engaged in a general
strike. / sided with tile engineers, be-
lieving them to be %wronged. At the
S~usquehanua station we found a large
body of engineers, more than ] had ever
| seen together at one time. They were
not noisy, nor b~raggart, nor tipsy; but l
then said, what now believe, that they
were the finest body Of operatives 1 ever
saw. Intelligent, bold, strong, each the
manager Of such q wonderful machine,
they found 81 least one ardent admirer
that day.
Some Of she most remarkable exhibit.
tons Of courage have been made by men
of this class. A few years ago my friend
OrsbOne, who has driven the locomotive
for the g. Usin on the Morris and Es-
sex railroad for twenty years at least,
with faultlGss faithfulness, was once de-
layed by snow on the track for several
hours, but received explicit orders from
the Observation-Disclosures that splendid
I officer who has lately resigned his office
on that ruad-'tO go ahead for the
road was clear, no other tram was on
the track After satisfying himself that
he had not misunderstood the order, he
left the sup9mit on a steep d~Own-grade,
and, in rounding a sharp curve, came on
u train that was ascending the same
grade under full head of steam. In an
instant he whistled down the brakes and
reversed his engine. The noble thing,
under sucl a tremendous strain, as if
fully aware Of the danger, obeyed, and
threw itself back to avert the catas-
trophe. Meanwhile the other engineer
had done the same thing with his loco
motive; but it was possible only to
modify the shock.
Together rushed these two painting and
reluctant giants, their Joint weight not
less than sixty tons, with the gathered
momentum of their following trains.
They rose like two furious animals in
Eight, staining on end, and ia a tTice the
two splendid machines were a wreck.
The cars nehind them were also badly
crushed. Osborne did not leap from his
engine, but, never moving his hands
from the lever which controlled it, he
stood as resolute as a rock at his post
until the shock came, and then, quick
as thought, adjusted his valves to allow
the steam to escape without an explo-
sion. our war can furnish no clearer
proof Of the finest courage than that.
At the crossing of the Morris & Essex
railway aad Orange turnpike may be
seen & tlagman with one leg. The other
he lost in the wreck 1 have Just described.
Had he had OrsbOneis nerve to face dan
ger he would have escaped also unhurt.
Poor fellow! The man who issued the
presumptuOus blunder that day tried 70
buy him off from prosecuting the com
7pauSapr the sum Of one hundred dollars,
an OLE which poor BOb's wife met with
this query: - would you sell one
Of your legs for a hundred dollars Pr
During the wal an incident occurred
on the Pennsylvania Central which was
related to me by an eyewitness. My
Informant was with a regiment of SOL
diers going from Pittsburg to Harris
burg in a special train. Between Johns
town and the summit they were de
layed by q freight train of the track, or
q part OF lis cars off. This they learned
ct one OF the stations, and remained
there until they should be informed that
the track was clear. 1t was in the night,
and most Of the thousand men on the
train were asleep, unconscious of their
danger. -Four heavily loaded ~coal-cars
belonging to the train ahead had, bv &C
cideut, become detached, and began the
descent Of a heavy grade at a speed
which soon became terrible. The en-
ginser OF the special train heard the
roar OF h descending cars, and sur
missed what was the matter. Instantly,
be ordered his engine t. be detached from
the train and put on steam to meet the
runaway cars, il possible, to break their
] Tnrra and ca va his train He 1na,p,-ss--
was g large freight, aud he had moved
several rods ahead when the coal cars
struck him like a thunderb0lt, and
crushed his engine back on the train
but his heroic courage had saved many
lives. his engine was utterly demOi-
ished, and many of his cars were also
crushed but so had he broken the force
of the shock that no lives were lost. TT
mans name was Story, and his grateful
beneiciaries presented him some elegant
AsLIyer plate, with the deed itself and
lames engraved on them. When
asked why be did not abandon his train, |
be replied "Quick as lightning, l
thought I had better die than to have
those runaway cars cut clean through.
my train, destroying hundreds 1t wa
q heroic answer.
Let me relate one more incident in
the same line. That partof the Marietta |
and Cincinnati railroad between Athens
and the Ohio river was formerly made
famous by the number of its long and
high trestle bridges. With few excep-
lions, these are now filed Up, and the
road Is becoming u of the best. Atone
time the company were in great straits,
and many Of their operatives were IN
paid. Some of the men were desperate,
and, as the facts proved, dangerous. On
a certain evening a train was approach
ing u of these trestle bridges. 1t was
known that the directors of the road
were aboard, and some villain had de-
termined to throw the whole train from
that bridge. b engineer, letting his
tram move ut the ordinary speed, sud
denly discovered that a rail had been
displaced on the bridge. He seemed to
know iustin etiYely that the momentum
was TOO great to save the whole train,
ana lie signaled the breaks down and
reversed the engine, 10 stop, if possible,
the cars beiOre reaching the chasm.
Then, opening the Unbelievable. the
engine spraug forward so violently as to
break the connection with the train. and
dashed TO the awful leap. The bold man
as this was going on, ran out of his win
dow on the engine and opened the
~escape-valve. While standing there the
eL5AH6 MeuG over with him, and. mar
to relate, he, falling under the
huge weight, was preserved from being
crushed by the engine bell at his side
the train, for the rescue of which he !
had exhibited such incredible pIucL Z
just soon enough to escape fine 5
horrible leap after the engine. This hold !
mans name l have not heard but he :
recovered from his wounds, and is still :
an honored empioye OF the company. !
We giorify our heroes ofthe battlefield 1
ana the sea we stand all agog with :
If some foolish man or mora \
lOollsh woman ascends Mont Blanc inst J
or the name Of the feat; we NAV faIk :,
loout Alexander aud BucephaIus- and 4
Jsesar in tho boat in the tempest-whv 7
nay not my humble pen Plorifv the i
heroes OF the locomotive engine who .
'xhi6it as noble and praisewerthy q dsr0 Z
ng as any heroes in other fields? And /
hey do this in the constant service Of l.
ne thousands of families who every
lour of the t~wenty-four are represented =
"a the railways Of the world. An honor =
o the heroes Of the engine, and "ten II
.ousand tines ten thousand" If thev u
ouid, would 'esBaz "Amen.i' e
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