San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-12-07
The Brakeman.
New Orleans Times Democrat

|
ployed by "a railroad company 10 stand
upon the top of a freight car and work
both hands at the engineer, and help
to stop the train when it is necessary.
Next to being bare back rider in a
circus, the small boy pants to be a brake
man, so that he can sit on the wheel
of the brake and chew tobacco while
the train is running ut full speed.
The fact that brakeman is often
seen pegging broadcast over the land
on a wooden leg or minus one arm
often causes people to believe that he
is an old soldier, or has served asterm
in base ball club.
There are two kinds of bakemen,
the passenger and freight. The pas
senger brakeman is gentleman of
considerable leisure, and by the non
chalant way in which he comes
through car and tramps on the pas
sengers' feet, is often mistaken for
the conductor. ..@a Il
He does not have much to do but
slam doors, growl at the porter, and
when train arrives at a station to !.
yell "Ponooyah" when he should say
"Pontchatoula."
The freight brakeman is an entirely
different man. He is grim, silent and
dignifed. He seldom speaks except
to curse the green hand on the rear
end of the train, whom he Affection
alely refers to as a "d-n pudding, :,
Despite his faults, however, he works
hard and very often rises to a position
of importance,' unless some day he
tries to use his Bodya as a compiling pin
and fails. y. q, .A A /, be, ge,,..a-y;
At night when "a freight train is
side-tracked at meeting point, and
all his companions are squatted on Q
pile of cross-ties, the brakeman is in
his glory. He then discusses ad-ibi-
tum the affairs of the road and criti-
cises every one, from the President
down to the humblest officer. He
does not hesitate to say, that if the
President can't run road any better
than he does, he should go off some
where and drive a canal-boat.
After he has, said this and other
things concerning the asininity of the
officials in general, he turns to one of
his companions and says: @..,1 u
Jimmie, did you ever know that fell
low, Bill McGinty, who has just been
appointed Superintendent Of the J.
K. and c."
What, McGinty? Of course I've,
seen him, and you bet he's q fine old
plumb to be superintendent
well, should think he was. I
was braking on the Southern division
of the l., G. aud N. when he got his
first job-old Matt Johnson was pull
ing us-and Mr.. McGinty was so
green he didn't know q draw-head
from a switch frog. No matter how
slow old Matt Johnson backed up,
that fellow couldn't couple car, and
sometimes for half an hour we were
backing up and going ahead until you
could hear Matt johnson curse for two
miles off. III be burned if don't
think he tried to kill McGinty. He
used to come back and jam the draw
heads under the cars, but when he
pulled ahead again McGinty would
step out without scratch on. him.
A road, l tell you, is mighty hard up
for superintendent when they take
such thing as McGinty."
At the conclusion of such a speech
the whole crowd of brakemen will
review the personal history of McGin-
ty, and finally without dissenting
voice, will arrive at the conclusion
that he is fine old plum" The
brakeman is to be admired for the re-
markable manner in which he gets
wind of various and sundry plans
which the management intend to
place in operation and wish to keep
quiet.
The brakeman will sit on cross
tie, swap opinions concerning the
wisdom of the President in connecting
such plan long before the la-de-da
clerk in the general Office obtains the
merest mixing of it. If an appoint
ment is to be made he will tell you
The name of the man and the time
the appointment is to go into effect.