The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1882-03-03
sUPERsTITIoNs OF ENGINEERS.
SOME QUEER STORIES TOLD ABOUT TEEN BY
RAILROAD MEN.

what causes, aside from snow storms
and accidents, make passenger trains late in
arriving at stations 90 inquired a Pos. re
porter of Division Superintendent Ravn. Of
the New York and New England ROAD. a.
his Office in the Union depot. this morning.
well, they are innumerable." said Nr
Rawn. But there is one cause Of DELAY
which is quite curious and almost ugac-
countaole. Like sailors, engineers are very
superstitiOus. l suppose they become so
from the comparative solitude ard dangers
Of their positions. With only a fireman asa
companion they are ont i'm all kinds Of
weather, and l can tell you &c Is no pleasant
thing foT man to ride at iuu sreed on n
dark night, peeTing out OF a little win iev
into blacEneSs made more black bv the
bright glare Of the head light On an sides
Is darkness, and the little specl. Of nonoto-
nous track ahead is all that he can see
Certain engines, ike 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 viii
refuse to drive them at top speed. This
feeling is almost universal among engineers.
We have an engine on our road now which
the men very much dislike TO be assigned TO.
1 was once on a railroad in the vresr which
owned an engine which the men were posi-
lively afraid Of, it was so unluckv."
On his way down town the reporter called
upon Mr.. Davidson, of the New York. New
Haven and Hartford road, and in converse
tiOn upon the topic he said
Yes, all the engineers are more OF less
supersttiousi their calling makes them so.
Atone time one of our fast trains from New
1ofk kept coming into Hartford from tworo
five minutes late. Al first I Thought this
was due to some material cause. but at last.
as the train arrived ia [ew Haven on time.
determined to f-1 out the trouble. On
the arrival oG the train in New Haven the
engineers were changed, and rs the time was
all right up ID that point I knew that time
was being lost between there ard Hartford.
1 couldn't understand il, for the road Is GOOD.
All the way and time should be made up
over it, instead OF lost / went down there
one day and asked the engineer what made
him late so repeatedly. He said he didn't
know, only that the engine would not make
time. lie lad always been a competent
man and was thought much of g,i the road.
! GOT IN the cab with him, auG after "a short
distance had been passed found ii.at the en-
eine was not doing its pert. told the er-
Eineer to throw open the throttle valve. st
first he refused to do So, lut VIXEN repeat
ed the order he old So au5 we reached hart
ford on time. After u.at he was never late
because Of the engine. The sacz was tLathe
Lad got scared, but after he had been relieved
of all apprehension the train came in regu-
iarly on schedule time. Once. when 1 was
running a night train between here and
Springfield, had @ queer experience. Ny
fireman was a Young fellow, wha twice.
when we reached the bridge over the Con.
nectlcut Ct Windsor Locks. disappeared 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 well into the bridge I called out to him
and he came into the cab with a face as
wLite as marble, and he was shaking all
over. 1 asked him what was the matter.
and he said: There's some fellows up in
the rafters there and they're going to chuck
rocks at US" Yen see the idea had suE-
gested itself to him one night, and being su-
perstitious be had carried it around in his
head until be really believed it."-Hartfor5
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