Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1875-10-20
Amateur Engineering.

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breeds contempt than to the practica
knowledge Of the nature and proper
ties of steam which every trustworthy
engineer must have ARE ever willing
if not eager, to step into the engineer
birth, They have seen an engine run
day in and day out. Perhaps the!
have occasionally helped to run one
AT any rate, they have worked about
an engine good deal and rs tn,
engineer does not impress them as ;
man OF ability they do not kno W
why anybody caunot do as well as he
At least they are confident that they
can, and, in case Of emergency, arr
willing to put their knowledge (o1
their lack Of ip to test.
When the emergency arises employ
ers are too apt to give such amateur
engineers a CHARGE to try their hand
The actual engineer is called off sud
denly, is SICK, or otherwise kept from
his post. Somebody must take his
place or everybody must stop work.
What shal, be done ?
Dick is handy. Not Il regular en-.
gireer, to be sure, sill a bright fellow
who knows an engine well enough to
keep it running if all goes right and
the particular engine, the engineer
says, is in such good condition that it
will almost ran itself. So Dick is
called in and the gap is filled. Some.
times the engineer is away longer
than was anticipated sometimes he
never comes back. Dick has done
well so tar he has gained some ex-
perience III caring for the engine, and
if he is wiling and modest in his char
ges of course he wont expect a full
hedged engineers pay at irst-hlis
promotion Is likely to oe per.
manent one. He may turn ou. equal
to every emergency; then, again, he
may not.
1t is not long since case of this
kind resulted. in our harbor, in the
blowin9-up of crowded terry-boat.
There was a terrible list Of killed and
; and D.ck Gan iliterate ne
grey was returned to his proper place
as deck-hand or tireman. 1t was crim-
lnal in the iirst place to let him step
out Off.
But few weeks since ali English
manotactory was blown up, killing
several workmen. The regular engi
neer was absent, sick and the sub
stitute, who succeeded in making such
A mess with things, was one Of the
promoted for the OCCASION
on the strength of his pretended abili-
Iy to run an engine-ability gained
from observation, apparently, since his
engineering education was but the
slightest and his practice as limited as
it was disastrous.
With characteristic defrrenc2 to the
rights of property, the Coroner's jury
N this case modeStly suggested that.
n future, the proprietors Of tie works
would do well not to trust their boilers
with anyone in whose capacity they
lad not perfect confidence !
In leading family paper we saw,
he other day, a well.written story,
elling "IIow Tom Became an Engi-
neer.' Tom was of the genus loaier /;
specific habit, at a country railway
station The height of his ambition
was to run an engine. A common.
place lad would have gone to work in
1 locomotive shop, or, more modcstly,
would have begun by shovelliny coal
as fireman. Not so rom. He was
% be engineer or nothing. So he
oafed about the station, watching his
opportunity. His time came with a
'mash.up on the road, relief train
,ailed for, and no engineer at hand.
Of course Tom volunteered. was ac,
,cpted, and performed his task with
he elan Of all great geniuses Equally
IF course he was thercupon made mas
er of an engine, and speedily rose
o be president of as many railways
Is If his name had been Tom Scott.
The moral of the story il plain and
'ery encouraging to all boys given to
oating about railway stations. It is
significant, too, of a prevalent belief
hat the art Of managing an engine
'omes, like Dogberry's reading ard
yriting-by nature, Such a belief
however covert, cannot prevail to any
.xtent without frequent occasion for
putting it into practice. With regard
o the in,rustiur of boilers 10 incom-