The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1869-08-17

rallfoaa men become ] vas on sidl
track waiting on. q time once. and
fellow comes 70 NE ndssays, Why 3,
you u0l 60 % Y Cause my orders ar,
70 stay ! said rather sharply
Hs was tie new superintendent.
a Young fellow ! had never seen, be
cause he had Just come on the road
He was counting a gin on the line o.
lhe rord. ! afterwards fouud out, and
had an engagement 70 go 70 ball with
her that night which this lay over ID.
ioriorcd With.
SO be says, very quickly, no they
amt and when / looked surprised
be says i am the superintendent Of
this road, and tell you You have time
to get over this bit Of single track and
have three minutes TO spare before the
down train reaches II | have calcula.
ted and l know
I've got my printed orders, Mr. Su-
Iperintendent, aud he broke right in
! Never mind your printed orders, I
order YOU to 60 ahead
Vol ] wouldn't, and he was awfully
mad, aud sworo that should not run
a week longer on that road. Probably
after he had cooled down he would
never said word about the matter for
he was clearly in the wrong. Three
minutes is too close shave on time
when six or seven hundred peoples
lives are interested, and regular priut-
ed orders are TO be obeyed till
other regular printed orders are is-
sued. But | thought he'd complain
to the President, and | was bound to
have the FIRST talk, if possible.
The President heard my story and
sent for the Superintendent. He de-
MED that he had ordered me at all, or
made any threats, but be said he had
told me | had ten minutes to spare
So it was a question Of veracity, and l
began 70 think / would be sent back to
run my train, and that running train
on that road wouldn't be my business
very long.
An OF once gentleman who had
been sitting with newspaper held in
front Of his faco at the back Of tho Of
fee, came forward.
Mr.. President, said he, I happened
TO be standing by thcso two men when
they had that talk. The conductor is
right, and the other man lies. II the
train had gone on had made up my
mind to walk back to the last station;
the chance Of an accident seemed SO
great.
Then the President ioas mad.
'Whv pnnd harra,is eaiI he INV
wife aud family were on that train.
Mr. Superintendent, go and draw your
wages to the first of next month";, and
leave the road no,o
But sometimes a conductor is put in
such position that the rules won't
guide him, Then the responsibility is
very great. | remember once being SO
placed, and ] thought at the time that
my hair ought to have turned white
that night with anxiety.
II was when the Hudson river ieil-
road was just built. There was no tel
egraph along the line then, and every
thing was quite primitive compared to
what it is now. The dagmen had got
on sort Of strike about those days,
too, so that you trusted to luck for safe
running / was running a sort OF way
train between New York and Pough-
keepsie then. Running an express is
much pleasanter than running a way,
you may easily imagine. And some
times you don't stop for an hour at a
time, and after you have worked your
coaches once, you've nothing TO do but
sit down and earn your money that easy
way. Then, when You reach the next
station, il your brakoinen mind their
business, they can tell you how many
passengers have got into each coach,
and then you are always able to pick
them out, because they haven't got the
settled air Of the Old passengers. But
a way train conductor has much hard
er work.
Well, | ran the train out Of New
York one afternoon, and had for the
driver Of the engine man who was IA
nous for the accurate way in which he
would come mp to bis stations. He
would stop any named coach almost TO
foot Of where be said be would; but
on this occasion be appeared to have
very poor luck. lie ran past his sta
tion aud had to back down, and then
again he would stop so short that the
engine would be IN front Of the station
and the rear coach an eighth Of mile
back. and it raining bard, too Then
he'd start up again, just as the passen-
gers were getting ont. SO We we're all
the time running behind time There
was sort Of lightning express came
ont q New York about half an hour
behind Us. aud We were gradually work
~. l.nrL 90. - ilrun