The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-09-15
RA1IK1Y DRYERS ABROAD:
Anecdotes of Locomotive Life.

In England the occupation of railway
driver-called in this country an engineer--is
very arduous. They are not as we'll protected
as on our locomotives, and rheumatism is
their chief curse. The last number Of Cham.
bers's Journal contains an interesting article
about them, from which we quote:
A passenger-driver serves longer appren-
ticeship, to attain his position, than any handi-
craftsman in the kingdom. Few Imagine that
q youth, beginning now his career as cleaner,
can scarcely hope to become hrst,class pas
senger-driver under twenty years, during the
whole sof which time he would be preparing
himself for the post. A young man commonly
serves four or five years as cleaner, and then
three years as goods-freman; five years is by
no means an unusual term to serve as passen-
ger-freman nowadays; then shorter time,
say two years, as pilot-man, OF Nengine.
VINO have to arrange and shit the engines
in the sheds, so as to be ready IN
due order for their various journeys; and
then he will serve very long time as goods
driver. / used the expression nowadays"
because, early in railway history, promotion
was much more rapid, and men frequently
ran through the grades in third-of the time
now demanded At present the railway world
is glutted with drivers and f1remen. as it is
with mechanics and engineers OF higher
class. A lucky accident will g, times short
en- drivers probation even nc. ~ | am re-
minded of case which Is very much to the
point. An engine left standing at
stetion was 'thrown out Of gear" as
it is called-that is, its machinery was
so purposely deranged that it could not
move in either direction; but from this having
been imperfectly done, it at last got under
way, very slowly at first; but the regulator be-
ing jerked open, it soon attained terrible
speed, which was all the more alarming as 1t
had started on the down-line, and was run
ming toward London. The effect Of this, Of
course, would be that it must, sooner or later,
run headlong into the first down-train, and
there seemed no possibility Of averting more
awful accident than had ever yet taken place.
ballast-driver, however. Zone who has charge
of the train Of earth-trucks which convey the
material TOR making the lofty parts OF new
lines. and also remove the soil from cuttings,)
saw the engine running without driver; and
with wonderful nerve left his siding, and at
full sreed dashed after the flying locomotive.
This vas desperately hazardous, for, had they
encountered train, he would not only have
been killed, but, by the presence OF his engine,
would have rendered the inevitable accident
more fearfll-the reader, Of course. under
stands that he, too, was running up, on the
sdownn line. However, he caught the run
away: and leaping from his own engine on to
the lender, he reversed both engines and ran
bo.ckfo the station-some six mles-as swiftly
as he could, arriving there safely, just In ad-
vance Of q passenger train. For this he was
made passenger-driyer. HIS courage de-
serves that his name should be given, but rex
frain, because l am obliged to add that his
story has an unfortunate sequel; he was dis
missed for druukenness-an offence which is
necessarily visited very severely on railways.