Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1874-04-02


death Sc not only TO lose his fear Of IL but
eventually TO irifie with H. Locomotive
engineers, therefore, are popularity sup
posed TO be, without exception, set of
reckless, foolhArdy, death -defying persons
who have decided on date for smashing
their trains, and are enjoying life mean
while. Those few who are acquainted
with the men In question are aware how
fallacious this inference is. Their avoca-
ton IL attended with unusual danger, and
they gradually lose their fear of 1t; but il
il safe TO say that nine out of ten among
them are married men, with families TO
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 walchful, diligent and
careful. Carelessness on their part is
almost inevitably attended with disgrace
and loss of employment, and In cases Of
accident they rarely escape injury; so
that, As they are not mere mechanical
figures, 1t 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 rs 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 dead The next morning
they removed his stifiened 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 EngineeII
Mesiayer was running the Philadelphia
express, he was occasionally detained al
Trenton. and was obliged TO make up lostI
time on the latter end of his trip. His|
train made no stops between Trenton and
Camden, and such freight or accommo !
dation trains as might be en- route in eithe4
direction were switched into turnouisb
leaving supreme right Of way for the ex-
press. One evening, when hestayer's
train had been delayed longer than usual,
the engineer opened the throttle-valve
and left Trenton at the rate Of thirty-fve
miles an hour A few miles further on
there was long switch, and as his train
approached 1t Messenger saw that the sig.
nails were "all right" and that freight
train, bound for New York, was waiting
on the switch for him to pass. When
within a few rods of the switch the
watchful engineer saw that ii was open,
although the signal.light notified him to
keep on. He seized his lever and used
every effort TO bring the train TO stop,
but the distance was too short. The
train left the main track and dashed
down the siding 70 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 firemen OF
both engines. Mestayer's assistant was
scaided and burnt TO crisp; and had not
the engineer jumped when he did his fate
would doubtless have been the saHfe.
The engineers of both colliding trains,
| in a more recent disaster on the New
York and Oswego Midland Railway es.
| capped death in similar manner. Both
their nremen 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 Western railroad.
He had collided with passenger train,
through mismanagement on the part of
the engineer Of the passenger train, and
one or two coaches were smashed and
his own engine was injured to great
| extent. He feared the displeasure OF his
| Superintendent, and was brooding over
| his misfortune as he neared the end OF
his trip, when a 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 number of new
engines which were nearly ready for SER
| vice. Without 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 "a
rushing, screaming volume, whose force
| carried 1t 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 narrow es-
cape he experienced only a short time
| ago. After twenty-four hours continu-
Gus service he was ordered out with a
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 he yard, however, had no one else to
send, and insisted that the engineer
| should run the train. So he started,
| Amer run of two hours he yielded to his
oyerpowering exhaustion and--as his fire.
man had done some moments before--fell
asleepl 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 had found both
/ a ell al Al a..