San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-03-09
sUPERsTITIONs OF ENGINEERS.
Some Queer stories Told Absui Them D, Railroad
Men.

Some Queer stories Told Absui Them ny Railroad
Men.
hartford Pest
"What causes, aside from snow storms
and accidents, make passenger trains
late in arriving ut statioAsG" inquired
a reporter of Division Superintendent
Rawn, of the New York IL New England
road, at his Office in the Union Depot,
this morning.
"Well, they are innumerable," said
Mr.. Rawn. "But there is one cause Of
delay which is quite curious and almost
unaccountable. Like sailors, engineers
are very superstitious. suppose they
become 80 from the comparative soil.
tude and dangers of their positions.
With only fireman rs companion,
they are ont in all kinds of weather,
and / can tell you it is no pleasant
thing for man to ride at full speed on
dark night, peering out of little
window into a blackness made more
black by the bright glare of the head
light. On all sides is darkness, and the
little speck of monotonous track ahead
is all that he can see. Certain engines,
like certain ships, get bad regulations,
and the men hate to run them. They
consider them unlucky, and believe
they are bound to kill somebody, and
so will refuse to drive them at top
speed. This feeling is almost univer-
sal among engineers. We have an en-
CINE on our road now which the men
dislike very much to be assigned to l
was once on a railroad in the West
which owned an engine which the men
were positively afraid of, it was SO I'M
lucky"
On his way up town, the reporter
called upon Mr.. Davidson, of the New
York, New Haven q Hartford road,
and, in conversation upon the topic, he
said:
"Yes, all engineers are more or less
superstitious; their calling makes them
so. At one time one of our fast trains
kept coming into Hartford from two to
five minutes late. At first [ thought
this was due to some material cause,
but ut last, as the train arrived in New
Haven on time, l determined to find
out the trouble On arrival of the train
in New Haven the engineers were
changed, and as the time was all right
up to that time 1 knew that time was
being lest between there and Hartford.
couldn't understand it, for the road is
good all the way, and time should be
made up over it, instead of lost. L
went down one day and asked the en-
gineer what made him late so repeat
eddy. He said he didn't know, only
that the engine would not make time.
He had always been competent man,
and was thought much of on the road.
I got into the cab with him, and after a
short distance had been passed found
that the engine was not doing its part.
L told the engineer to throw open the
throttle valve. At first he refused to
do so, but when I repeated the order he
did SO and we reached Hartford on
time. After this he was never late be-
cause of the engine. The fact was that
he had got scared, but after he had
been relieved of all apprehension the
train came in regularly on schedule
UlulOs ObCO WDCA WtNo :"
night train between here and Spring
field, I had queer experience. My
fireman was young fellow, who twice,
when we reached the bridge over the
Connecticut at Windsor Locks, disap-
peared from the cab. The third time I
watched him, and noticed that he had
gone into the tender and crouched
down in the corner. When we were
we'll into the bridge, I called out to him
and he came into the cab with a face as
white as marble, and he was shaking all
over. [ asked him what was the mat
ter, and he said: There's some fell
lows up in the rafters there, and some
time they're going to chuck rocks at
usr You see, the idea had suggested
itself to him one night, and, being SUI
perstitious, he had carried it around in
his head until he really believed it."