Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1869-08-06
Miscellmap.
The Conductors Story.

We were smoking one night before the
hotel smoking room CRATE, when one man
said:
81 have always thought I'd like to be
railroad conductor-for while at
| least"
The old conductor smiled, and knocked
the ashes off his cigar
"Well," said he, Il believe almost
everybody has had that feeling at one
time or another There is something fas-
cinating to sober business man in the
idea of doing business and earning your
living at 80 miles an hour, and the spice
of danger that you may at any moment,
be sent to kingdom come by lightning
express is just vague enough to not
frighten, but attract But to conduc-
tor it's a prosaic business enough. Sol
is to engineers and brakemen. Don't
you remember that, at the inquest over
the Norwich Bridge accident, it was
shown that the engineer was in the hab-
it of opening everything, and then read
ing newspaper He was neglecting
his business, of course; but it shows
what habit will do; twill make read
ing-room of an express-engine.
Railroad men learn the lesson of pune
tuality very thoroughly. 1t won't do to
l. L. 81, ct0 II
and then an awful row is certain. One
time / was at Albany, and that afternoon
the Hudson River, Boston, and Central
trains all started at 5 o'clock. Well,
p the conductors of the trains and the en-
gineers, too, went down the river on a
little propeller-the Julia, think she
was called. We turned round in plenty
of time, but about ten miles below Alba
ny, we ran aground. We were in nice
scrape. There wasn't conductor at thu
depot to take any ones place, and th'
tide was falling. Williams, a splendid
great big fellow, became desperate
jumped into the river, put his shoulder
under the stern, where the propeller ha'
. caught on mud bank, and as the boa
;. was about nine cat power only and h
was perfect Hercules, he actually lift
ed her off, and we arrived at Alban
lust in time-only Williams had to ru
to Syracuse with his wet clothes on.
"It's queer existence, too, runnin
day after day through a lot of litt
places that you don't take any intere
in, or know anything about, more tha
that the stations are called such station
% 1t isn't such a dangerous life, either
% Accident insurance companies don't ra
"a passenger conductors very high, but
10 ever YOU want to feel how helpless
~ ~ mortal you are in the hands of the A
30 mighty, Just get on an express engln
~ ~ and get the engineer to open everythin
on dark night. It's positively awf
to see your headlight boring into dar
ness, and to think that between you a
ed instant death there's only the chance
:. the two pieces of iron you're traveli
on being continuous and clear; that
|. somebody has just pried up rail sir
the last train went over, or anchor
something on the track, your frier
went know your body when the co
ners jury calls them as witnesses to yt
identity. That's the way l thought
first time tried it, but the engineer v
IS. smoking a pipe, and the fireman
whistling Jim-a-long Josey,
When conductor runs train out
lage town and runs another in again the sa
day, it isn't such a queer life as when
runs train out one day and in the ne
Then he lives two lives. One night
a married man at one place; the
- !, night he's bachelor at another pl'
and the next night married man ag
and so on, see-saw.
There's a kind of feeling of respo
Eff billy, having three or four hundred
in your keeping. But then, there's
rules. IF you keep to them, If anytt
hmc' happens it isn't your fault. When
mas are out of time and have to wait, yo
sure to be cross, and sure to be badg
by questions. A foreigner once TOLD
that one of the most surprising tn
he'd seen in America was the res
con- paid to conductors, and the way
lstru- were obeyed by passengers. But pa
and and gers will ask questions when you're
par ing, and it's provoking. One day
out of time, and ran off on a swit'
les. wait for either the down train or
gram to come on. By and by,
pous man comes to me as was 81
t. on the fence.
'Mr Conductor says he, what al
'hE' waiting forY
oDS. For the down train-we're OF
opleO Of time. There's single track here
''A she has the right of way