Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-04-13
THE DEAD ENGINEER.

The funeral of George Bordman smith,
the locomotive engineer who was Killed at
the recent accident on the California and
Oregon Railroad, took place yesterday after
moon from Masonic Hall, under direction of
Union Lodge, No. IS, F. and A. NJ, John
Macarthur, w. NJ, presiding. The funeral
was one of the largest ever held in the city
MANY hundreds of the fellow mechanics of
the deceased attended, and almost the entire
force Of workmen from the railroad shops
were in the procession. The body lay in the
larger Of the Masonic halls and that hall and
the adjoining one was packed with the friends
Of the dead engineer, and large numbers were
unable to gain admission to the building.
The floral decorations were exceedingly pro-
fuse and very beautiful. and spoke of many a
tender friendship. loving heart and manly
sympathy. There were in Attendance from
abroad as mourners, Benjamin Smith, OF
Alameda, Superintendent Of Locomotives.
Z. ?. r. R, brother to the deceased. He was
accompanied by his wife, sou and daughter.
I. 3. Smith, locomotive engineer, Oakland.
and brother to deceased George WEIGH OF
Oakland, Division Master Mechanic, Y. +
Il. R.; q. A. Grow, San Francisco, OF AUDI,
tors Department, G. P. r. r., and DAVID
Rutherford Of South Vallejo. The attend
ance Of Freemasons was the largest seen a5
any funeral here for long time. The body
was conveyed TO the City Cemetery and IN.
tered in the Masonic plat with the honors Of
the Order. The pall-bearers were stephen
Ursn, w. +. Peterson, WIN. Eddy, L. w.
Clark, w. w. Fuller and Q. j. Walqulst.
The deceased engineer was born IN Putney,
Vermont. and was aged Al years Al the
first call for volunteers in the Rebellion he
enlisted in the Union army. At the end OF
his term he came to California and entered
upon his trade, that Of locomotive engineer.
He ran first on the old San Jose road, next
on the Napa Valley road, then on the Cali.
fornia Pacific Railroad. He then acted for
three years as superintendent OF the machine
shop Of the Central Pacific Railroad at Rock
lin. and then took an engine on the road and
he'd the place to the day of his death. lie
never had an accident to aay ma,
chinery under his care, and IN the
thousands of miles he drove locomotives
never had nlishap until the giving way Of
the trestle which resulted in his sudden
death. He was noted as one OF the most
trustworthy of drivers, aud as being punctu-
ality itself. His trains were nearly always
on time to a second. II is said he kept his |
time without effort by steady averaging of
his speed to the time given, and that he sell
dom had to make "spurts of speed to arrive
Oh time, but possessed that quality which en-
abled him 10 rate his speed on every mile to
the time for that mile of track. An engineer
who knew him well, said yesterday if time
table was made for every three miles on a
line, and Smith was at the Unbelievable
lever, the train would pass each post exactly
to the second. Just beyond where the loco
motive plunged into the gulch, carrying
Smith with it, was the whistling post for the
station a few rods further on. Smiths train
was due at the station at 1918 P. N. His
battered watch taken from his body shows
it stopped at 10 o'clock II minutes plus.