Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1877-06-29


careless and negligent man at the
throttle. In all the history OF raIl-
road travel, seldom, if ever, have en-
oineers betrayed the great trust con-
fded 10 them, while the instances
where they have lost their lives in
sticking to their posts that they
might save their trains are many.
The work of the engineer is, beyond
most others, hard and wearing one.
To the passenger even, rolling along
in the parlor car, a railway journey
is a most fatiguing affair, but to the
engineer it is doubly so. The mo
ton of an engine under full speed is
far more violent than that of even
the poorest running car, while the
constant strain upon him in watch
ing closely his way adds largely to
the fatigue of his work. Though
the labor is hard there is certainly
an interest, and doubtless to some a
fascination about it, which is not to
be found in ordinary occupations.
The training and experience necessa-
rv to fit a man for the best engineer
ing positions, such as the driver of a
through express, are of no slight or
der. nor is it TO be acquired in day.
He must not only be perfectly fa-
miliar with the construction of his
engine; be able to repair it if any ac-
cident happen to it by the way; be
fully informed of the peculiarities of
his particular engine-for every To-
.eomotive has its idiosyncrasies- but
he must know his track perfectly in
every part. Curves of many differ
ent degrees, grades of varying steep
ness, are to be noted and the proper
speed maintained in each. lnnu-
merable crossings, switches, signals,
are all to be watched, and the proper
regulations observed, and all at such
rates of speed where mistakes would
be death. To meet the requirements
of such life, man must be above
all things cool. with ready presence
of mind, and of strictly temperate
habits; and engineers are as class
such men, especially those who drive
the fast and important trains.
WHERE THE HEAVIEST RESPONSIBLE
ITY IS PLACED. m
Those who are intrusted with the
great through trains are rarely un-
der forty years of age, they seldom
if ever drink-never while on duty,
some even refraining from the use
of tobacco at such time-and enjoy
that good health which temperate
habits and hard work brings; though
only the most efficient and trust
worthy engineers attain the first
position in the gift of the company
for which they are working, the
men who never attain to the dignity
of 'sfast express" are still men who,
as q class, rank but little below these
in intelligence and habits of life.
Perhaps no class of mechanics are as
free from vice or possessed of as
many commendable qualities as To-
comotive engineers. Next in impor-
tance to the locomotive engineer, at
least from a public point of view, is
the conductor of train. His posi-
ton is above that of the engineer,
and on him the company rests the
responsibility of the conduct of the
train. He must be thoroughly post
ed on the position of all trains along
his route, and instruct his engineer
in accordance with his knowledge of
his situation. True, he receives at
every station instructions and infor-
nation, but in unforeseen emergen-
cies his discretionary powers place
whatever responsibility there is upon
him. In regard to honesty he is
placed under temptation unknown to
the engineer. There must of neces-
sity be opportunities of appropria-
ting the company's money which no
cunningly-devised regulations can
cause to wholly disappear, yet the
honesty of conductors is fully up to
the average of other classes of men,
if not above it. Besides the conduc-
tor and engineer, there are on every
train two other classes of men who
represent the preparatory depart
ment to the work of the former.
These are the brakeman and fireman.
No responsibility attaches to these
positions, and they do not represent
a permanent class of men as do those
of the conductor and engineer.
HOW THESE MEN ARE PAID.
These four classes of men, who
comprise all that are concerned in
running trains, whether passenger
or freight, are all paid by the trip.
Very properly, The engineers receive
the highest pay. Contrary to popu-
lar expectation and belief, the
freight engineers are paid higher
wages for trips of the same length
than those on passenger trains.
Though the position of the latter is
one of greater responsibility than
that of the former, still the freight
engineer, to make a trip the same
length as that of one of a passenger
train, has o work a greater number
of hours, first because he has to run
slower, and second because he has to
dc do switching work along the line.
The average pay of passenger en-
glneers throughout the country is
on the basis of between $3.50 and
80. 70 per trip of ninety miles. From
twenty-five co thirty such trips can
be made month. averaging from
800 to 500 per month. The freight
engineers for the same trip receive
increased wages. 1t would
be impossible to give a complete
statement of the wages received by |
engineers all over the country for
the many different trips. The Penn
sylvania Company alone has lS sep
arate trips, each paying the engi-
1eers making them differently. Con-
ductors for trips of 90 miles receive
from $50 to $50 per month, and fire.
men ana brakemen S45 per month
each. These rates were the ones
"hlch the Pennsylvania Company
we're paying before the reduction Of
10 per cent.