The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-01-03
THE FIREMAN'S STORY.


grimy-lOoking personages. Perhap.
few among the thousands of passenger,
who ride in the railroad cars behind u.
would care for our acquaintance. Bu
we are useful-aS useful, perhaps, as
anv other class of men; and certainly
we have our full share of the hard, dis
agreeable things in life, including fire.
luent peril and much exposure tc
weather.
Working up from fireman to engine
driver-or engineer" as we are usual
!v called in this country-is often slow
process. There are men on our line
The Hudson River Railroad-whO have
been firing eleven years, with no pro
motion vet; though they are no doubt
fully competent to run an engine. FoI
promotion depends almost wholly upon
vacancies occurring, or some special in
aUaace al mead uarters.
\ man ought to become thoroughly
familiar with a locomotive in eleven
years. | thought that l knew every
screw in mine after firing two years.
Yet it takes good deal of time TO learn
to fire well, 30 as to get the most steam
out of the least fuel, and have the high
est pressure at the grades where it is
most needed. TOdO this man should
know the road, every rod of it, as well
as the engine.
Then comes the oiling. An engine
requires great deal of oil, as well as
coal and water. The fireman has to
keep in mind all those scores of bear
ings where oil has to be applied. Be-
tween oiling, shoveling in coal, shaking
and stirring up his fire-to keep it
steady and ot-and looking to his stock
Of coal and water, he is kept busy, and
must needs watch sharply. But man
gets these duties well fixed in his head
in time.
1t is while firing that the practical
knowledge of running an engine is
gained. A fireman is the groom, so to
speak, of the ''iron horse" He must,
morning or evening. have the engine
polished, ''fired up, and ready for his
superior, the engineer, to step into the
cab and start off. Usually the engineer
does not make his appearance till the
moment of connecting with the train.
Between the engineer and fireman there
generally exists an easy-going and
manly sort of friendship, though have
known cases where the two men de-
Tested each other.
When began to fire under Doc
Simmons, scarcely knew enough to
build good fire in a cook stove, and
could not have found a quarter of the
oil caps. | must have been trial to
him the first week or two. But he
never gave me sharp word. though
he often had to tell me things over and
over again.
Doc as the railway men all called
him-waS a superior engineer. He
knew every pound of metal in a loco
motive; just where it lay, and how
much it was good for. He was one of
those men who seem to feel Just what
there is in a locomotive the moment he
takes hold of the levers and starts up.
He was a good-hearted fellow and al
ways had a pleasant word, or a Joke,
all along the line; and it is generally
the case that such men do not fail the
company, or the public. at q critical
moment.
went home and cried like a baby
the day ''DOc" was killed. If it had
been my Own father, | could not have
felt half a badly. | actually wished
that had gone to the bottom of the
river with him. 1t was the night of the
9Th of February, and fearfully cold.
We had ''NO. H. then, and took out
the Pacific Express. as it was called,
from New York City. up the line to
Albany. 1t vas bitter night, and the
line was frosty and slippery. The ex-
press was always a heavy train. That
night we had three baggage and express
ears and eight passenger coaches; and
we were late out of New York to begin
with-about fifteen minutes, think.
such cold weather is always democrat
izing to railroad. 1t is much Harder
20 make time; all metal works bad; and
though the fire appears to burn brighter,
it takes more coal to make steam. The
train seems to hang to the line. Then,
too, the cutting wind is enough to freeze
the marrow in a mans bones.
1t might have been mostly fancy on
my part, but thought ''Doc" had an
odd look in his face that night, as he
got into the cab. He was more serious
than usual; for we both knew that we
had hard run before US, and a cold
one. Both of us were muffied up in fur
caps and old OVercoatS.
''Shove in the coal, Nick, and shake
her down smart. We want every ounce
Of steam tonight" saws Doc. Fifteen
minutes behind and eleven cars on
Those sleepingIcoaches are as heavy as
a whole block, too. I'm glad this is
double-track line and all clear ahead"
We pulled out, and from the way
Doc handled her, knew that be meant
to pick up that fifteen minutes, if it was
IN the old machine to do it. suppose
we made thirty-tiye miles an hour, per-
haps forty, on the level stretches.
On we went, reeling off the dark,
bleak miles, with the sharp wind cut
ting into the cab, till near New Ham
burg station, where the line then crossed
Mapplnger Creek on a treStle-bridge
which had a draw in it. 1t was a
comfort to think that the draw would
certainly not be open on such night,
tor the creek was frozen UP, and that
there would be no delay there.
AN, IL 1t were only permitted to train
men to know Just what is ahead on the
tracks on these black, bitter nights
butw can ONLY see what the headlight
SHOWS us; and often the signals seem
strangely obscure in fog, or in the driv-
ing rain and snow.
One OF these always possible ''breaks, y
which may not occur for years, but are
yet constantly liable to happen, had
occurred that night. One of the South
bound night freight trains, running
down to New York, broke an axle and