The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-06-16
THE Gamers of q Locomotive.

To a reporter of the San Francisco
Bulletin nm engineer of the Central
Pacific railroad said: cts a queer
thing. There's my engine in perfect
order, and one of the best in the State.
She's only twelve years old, and able
to run or pull with the best Of them.
A month ago I hadn't the least bit of
trouble in making time, no matter how
the track was or the weight of the
train. She was ready at the word, held
her steam beautifully, and she seemed
to understand every word / said. To-
day she is down in the roundhouse,
growing and suffering, and acting as
If she wanted to pick q fuss with a
gravel pit"
"Anything out of gearP"
mot a thing. Shes been looked
over twice, and we can't find the least
excuse for her conduct. She is simply
sulking. the same as a child or a woman.
But I know what started it.. Three
weeks ago, while on my run out with
1.-THE night express, she just wanted to
light out for NIL she was worth, She
took the bit like a running horse, and if
l hadn't choked her of she'd have
beaten the schedule time by twenty
minutes. She acted mad right away,
and in running twenty miles she gave
me more trouble than l had ever had
with her in Il run Of three hundred.
She lost steam, tried to foam over,
choked her pipes, and when l wanted
| more steam she'd slide on her drivers.
She went right back on me that night,
and has been sulking ever since"
"All locomotives do not do that, l
guess" said IN engineer of the New
York, Lake Erie and Western railroad,
to whom the above conversation was
repeated: 81 have heard these freaks
of locomotives, but most Of them are
Mother Goose stories. | have run on
our road %thirty-eight years, and If a
locomotive does not run two days alike
it is easily accounted for. The fault
lies always in the character of the labor
to which it is allotted. The locomotive
is as perfect to-day rs yesterday, but
one day she-may be fed with good fuel,
while at Others it may be a~dulterated;
one day the cars may be in good run
ming order, no wind and light load;
another day, heavy load, head winds,
some new cars or new wheels under
the cars, or it may be new brake shoes
rubbing against the wheels. all of
which will cause a change in the mo-
ton of the locomotive. An engine that
has a regular mar who takes care Of his
engine never finds her in the su'ks.
But let a new hand Jump into the cab,
and his trouble begins almost immedi-
ately. He does not get the Manner of
pumping her ut once, and gets her a lit
tie too full of water. cuts the valves, the
extra amount of friction being more
than the set screws in the eccentrics can
stand, they %stiffen, then the engine be-
comes three-legged, or lame, as it is
called. The fact of the valves being
cut causes q leakage IF steam, which
makes the engine blow, very much re-
8 milling a wheezy horse. An engine
to do good service should be in the care
of the same engineer continually, and'a
locomotive will demand as faithful
daily service to insure uniform be-
havior as is necessary to preserve a first
class trotting horse"
An English engineer of Toronto, on
being asked what mileage a locomotive
could make without repairs, said that
he knew of one running l63.66l miles
in five years. But the endurance of an
engineer is something wonderful. One
man for several years rode l76 miles
per day, or 1866 miles per week, or
4,576 for n month of twenty-six work
ing days, or a total of 55,O99 miles for
one year of 3l3 working days:
AS to the responsibilities of a passen-
ger engineer, another said those of the
American have been increased tenfold
in the past few years by the adoption
of the air brake. Now he can depend
on no one in time of trouble, nor can he
lay blame on any one. The entire train
is under his control, and he has often.
unknown to the passengers, averted a
serious accident by the quick appliance
of the brakes.