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

tempered, and | stood better with the Of
ficers for what had said. lie used to
poke heavy fun at me sometimes, and
recommend me to wet the wheels, and
they would rust off sooner.
It's astonishing how reckless some rail
road men become. / was on a side track
waiting out of time once, and a fellow
comes to me and says, Why don't you
90 on 2 Cause my orders are to stay
/ said rather sharply.
He was the new superintendent,
young fellow whom | had never seen be-
cause he'd just come onto the road, lie
was courting girl on the line of the
road, afterwards found out, and had
an engagement to go to ball with her
that night, which this 'lay-over inter-
fered with.
So he says, very quickly, No they
amt; ; and when | looked surprised, he
says, I'm the superintendent of this
road, aud tell you you've time to get
over this bit of single track and have
three minutes to spare before the down
train reaches it. have calculated and
know
I've got my printed orders, Mr., Su-
perintendent,' says I, and he broke right
in
Never mind your printed orders,
order you to go ahead
: well, l wouldn't, and he was awfully
mad, and swore that | shouldn't run a
, week longer on that road. Probably,
c after he had cooled down he would have
never said word about the matter, for
y he was clearly in the wrong. Three
Il minutes is too close shave on time when
i six or seven hundred peoples lives are
d interested, and regular printed orders are
e to be obeyed till other regular printed
y orders are issued. But | thought at first
l. he'd complain to the President, and
'e was bound to have the first talk, if pos
lie sible.
le The President heard my story, anc
Us sent for the superintendent. He denieC
e. that he had ordered me at all, or mad
rs any threats, but said that he had tol'
III me l had ten minutes to spare. 50
at was question of veracity, and begal
he to think I would be sent back to run m
IL train, and that running train on tho
ny road wouldn't be my business very Ions
ln All at once gentleman who had bee
sitting with newspaper held in front
hg his face at the back Of the Office, cam
'ie forward.
est Mr.. President said he, i happene
an to be standing by these two men whe
iis they had that talk. The conductor
right, and the other man lies. If IL
ave train had gone on had made up N
IL mind to walk back to the last static
d the chance of an accident seemed
- great
nv Then the President was mad.
rs, e, Why, good heavensl' said he, n
i'i wife and family were on that train. NJ
u Superintendent, go and draw your wag
anu to the first of next month, and leave t
:. - road no,V ?
ins But sometimes conductor is put
\ such position that the rules won't gul
my him. Then the responsibility is We
'reu great. remember once being so place
mus and I thought at the time that my b
oro- ought to have turned white that mig
our with anxiety.
'no It was when the Hudson River Rf
""' road was Just built. There was no te
was graph along the line then, and eve
/. thing was quite primitive compared
II u what it is now. The fag-men were O
amy sort of strike about those days, too
- that you trusted to luck for safe runnl
i.A.' was running a sort of way-train
he tween New York and Poughkeepsie tn
n' A Running an express is much ca
i"co' than running way you may ea
Z gam imagine. An express sometimes dt
stop for an hour at time, and, a
VA'' =. you've worked your coaches once,
i've have nothing to do but to sit down
:, .no earn your money that easy way. III
'nins when you reach the next station, if J
yo" brakemen mind their business, they
ou :, tell you how many passengers have
ssefeu into each coach, and then you are
- . lne ways able to pick them out, because
nihss haven't the settled air of the old
'peo' =, sengers. But way-train conductor
'n0' much harder work
assem-
,r.;,. Well, l ran the train out Of New
r one afternoon, and had for the drive
81, the train a man who was famons fol
, ,o,o accurate way in which he would com
to his stations. He would stop
,;t.;n named coach almost to foot wher
said he would; but on this occasio
80 o appeared to have very poor luck.
ran past his stations and had to