The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1874-04-02
LIFE ONA LOCOMOTIVE,

LIFE oyALocoxonvE.
.1r is quiie popular idea that bec.u..
!. man pursuesa dangerous occupation he
must grew 80 used to the presence OF
oeath g not only to lose his fear of 1t but
eventuAlly to trifle with It. Locomotive
engineers, therefore, are popularly sup
Pose9 10 be, without exception, . set Of
reckless, foolhardy, death defying persons
WIG nave decided ON date for smashing
tne i ra1ns, and are enjoying life mean.
WINE: those few who are acquainted
win the men In question are aware how
ton is attended with unusual danger and
they gradually lose their fear of it: but it
is safe to say that nine out Of ten AMONG
them are married men, with familieato
care for and to love; and this responsible
ity, even if they thought nothing of the
Passengers In their charge, would suffice
to make them warchful, diligent and
careful. Carelessness ON their part 10
almost inevitably attended with disgrace
and loss of employment, and in cases of
accident they rarely escape injury; 90
that, 40 they are not mere mechanical
figures, it is reasonable to suppose that
they are aware Of the risks they run in the
disregard of caution and care. VIM.
Guile, the engineer of the Shore Line train
which met with the Richmond switch
disaster in Rhode Island last spring,
showed his affection for his family in the
salute which he whistled as his engine
dashed past his home every day. One
dark night passed, and the loving wife
listened in vain for her husbands greet
ing. He was deadi The next morning
they removed his stitfened hand from the
lever Of his engine, and carried him from.
his post, where he had remained even
after death overlook him. Thus he refuted
the general imputation of carelessness
upon the profession, for he was neither
reckless nor untrustworthy. In the ma
jority of serious railway disasters the en-
gineers have been either fatally injured or
killed outright; therefore few incidents
where they have escaped would not be in
appropriate.
A JUMP FOR LIFE.
. In the spring of 1870, when Engineer
Mestayer was running the Philadelphia
express, he was occasionally detained at
Trenton, and was obliged to make up lost
time on the latter end of his trip. His
train made no stops between Trenton and
Camden, and such freight or accommO-
dalton trains as might b. en- route in either
direction we're switched into turnouts,
leaving supreme right of way for the ex.
press. One evening, when Mestayer's
train had been delayed longer than usual,
the engineer opened the Unbelievable
and left Trenton at the rate of thirty-ive
miles an hour. A few miles further ON
there was long switch, and as his train
approached it Messenger saw that the sig.
r00o oil So ; hat swhk
train, bound for New York, was waiting
on the switch for him to pass. When
within few rods of the switch the
watchful engineer saw that it was open,
although the signal.light notified him to
keep on. He seized his lever and used
every effort to bring the train to q stop,
but the distance was too short. The
train left the main track and dashed
down the siding TO the freight" At the
last moment Mestayer sprang from his
cab, and, striking on his feet, witnessed
the collision. The damage was dreadful.
Both trains were telescoped and several
lives were lost-among them the engineer
of the freight train and the firenlen OF
both engines. Mestayer's assistant was
scalded and burnt to . crisp; and had not
the engineer jumped when he did his fate
would doubtless have been the same.
The engineers of both colliding trains,
in more recent disaster on the New
York and Oswego Midland Railway es-
capped death in q similar manner. Both
their firenlen were killed.
SAVED FROM DISGRACE.
David Van Buskirk, who is now the
Master Mechanic of the New York, Bos-
ton and Montreal Railway, tells of an in
teresting incident that occurred while he
was an engineer on a Western railroad.
He had collided with a passenger train,
through Encouragement on the part Of
the engineer Of the passenger train, and
one or two coaches were smashed and
his own engine was injured 10 q great
extent. He feared the displeasure Of his
Superintendent, and was broOding over
his misfortune as he neared the end Of
his trip, when singular opportunity to
retrieve his reputation presented itself.
The "rOund- house" in Winona, MIMI,
whittier he was bound, took fire in the
roof, and when Van Buskirk arrived with
his engine he found that the efforts
which had been exerted toward quench-
ing the flames had been of but little avail,
and the fire babe fair to burn down the
building and destroy q number of new
engines which were nearly ready for ser
vice. Without a second thought Van
Buskirk ran his engine into the burning
house, and, pulling down the escape valve
with all his strength, let the steam, at one
hundred pounds pressure, escape in .
rushing, screaming volume, whose force
carried it up to the burning roof. The
effect was instantaneous and wonderful,
Cor in less than five minutes the fire was
extinguished. Van Buskirk was carried
out Of his cab in an almost suffocated
condition, but he had the satisfaction Of
gaining not only approval but immediate
promotion.
An engineer on the Hudson River
Railroad told the writer of q narrow es-
cape he experienced only short time
ago. After twenty-four hours continu-
GUS service he was ordered out with q
Through freight" from this city to Al.
bany. He protested against the assign.
ment, as both the fireman and himself
had already done double duty, and were
in danger Of falling asleep. The foreman
of the yard, however, had NO one else to
send, and insisted that the engineer
should run the train. So he started.
After run oftwo hours he yielded to his
overpowering exhaustion and-as his fire.
man had done some moments before-fell
asleep! He knew no more until awak-
ened by the conductor, who had come
forward to discover what had caused the
stoppage of the train, and mad found both
Id "a - L.