Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1875-03-18

u
was a tough one, and at on
time | thought the engineer hat
overestimated the power Of thi
machine, for she faltered whel
half way up; but he merel,
moved the throttle slightly, ant
wasin no wise disturbed. The en-
gine responded, and though thc
blasts came slower they came
stronger and fuller, and sht
clawed right along, never slip.
ping once in the ascent: the fire.
man watched his steam gauge
for there was a steady drain up.
on the boiler then, but the hanC
stood right on the mark, falling
back but very slightly as We
gained the summit.
''Fire's dirty now, and she
don't steam so easy as she did,
he said to me, "but she's full of
it yet. Never lets 90. When
| fired on the Quickstep [ had
as much as ever [ could do tc
make time; bilcr wasn't big
enough
After while we came TO the
terminus, and I "stepped down
and out' as soon as all was
clear. To my surprise l felt
weak and perfectly unnerved
for the moment, so that ! had to
take hold of one Of the posts in
the depot for support.
LIFE ON THE ENGINE.
The engineer smiled. at al
ways does that, sir, to those mn
accustomed to it if they ride
any distance. It's the reaction.
You'll be all right in an hour or
two"
Thanking the engineer for
his attention, ! added that if he
was at liberty in the evening |
should be glad to call on lin Tor
information. He said he'd give
me any point I wished. So
evening found us III a cosy room
at the hotel.
"Your work is very exhaust
ing, isn't it?" I asked.
"Well, it's like every other
business, l suppose" he Re
piled; nothing when you get
used to it. 1t is hard to You
because it is novel, and / don't
deny that its wearing; but / sup
pose there is 10 soft road in
this life anyway. Some seem
to have it; but how do YOU know
what they have to go through?
[ am satisfied with my lot, and
'contentment is great gain;'
that's the wayI look at it,"
''Does it require much skill
to run a locomotive? Couldn't !
| start one and keep it going af- |
ter a few days practice?"
The engineer laughed. I can
write" he said, "but l can't
write one of them newspapers
articles you get off so. glib.
You can see yourself that
throwing her over,' as we call it,
reversing the linds, as you would |
call it, and opening the throttle,
is a mere routine; ry.little to
do with the principal business, !
nothing at all in fact. You
could run the engine we came
in with home as she stands, so
far as routine goes, but / could
fix her in a minute so you could
not move her an inch. Would
you know what the trouble was
and how to remedy it? A To-
comotive is only iron and brass,
after all, and will give out;
could you foresee where and
when, and would you know
where to look for the cause of
the trouble if she did? She is
worth ten to thirteen thousand
too; would you like to
have charge of SO much proper
ty in your hands slattin' around
over the road, hot weather and
cold, rain or shine, and not able
to give her back as good as You
got her? More than all this, /
would you like to go into
powder magazine with a cigar {
in your mouth? That's about ,
what you would do if you un-
dertook to run an engine be- {
cause you knew where the throt-
tie was and which end Of her
was the front. In a locomotive t
boiler shell, just the barrel of l
her, forty-eight inches diameter |
and ten feet long, at pressure
Of 120 pounds to the square inch, :
here is an accumulated force Of {
over 1000 tons. y little neg
ect of yours might unchain this
1t the wrong time, and then
where would you be? Seems .
% me it would be something like t
l piece | learned in school once, {
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