The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1884-09-17
RUNNING ALOCOMOTIVE.
Some Pecu!iarities ofthe Iron Horse
and Its Driver.

Some Pecu.iarities ofthe Iron Horse
] and Its Driver.
.s1'o man who knows as little about
a locomotive rs the ordinary run oi
people, and who understands few O,
its needs and requirements. md how
the mind and body OF the engineer
must be cxerted to meet them, there il
nothing ahout running an engine that
looks diiiiclll. bat there are those who
t have been in the business for years, and
WHO are still not the right men for the
position. Ii not only requires man
of peculiar ability, but one also must
be OF q certain temperament. l didn't
use to think Sc years ago, bat the idea
! has grown stronger with me of late. -
These remarks were made by q
! locomotive engineer TO q reporter re.
cently,as the former leaned up against
| the side OF his iron steed, which was
breathing so loudly that the voice OF
its master had to be raised consider
| ably 10 be plainly heard.
"a nervous man should never be
I intrustcd with the care OF an engine
and of the lives and property under
his Keeping" continued the driver,
'and man VINO is liable to fly off the
handle ai any moment, Or is careless
or neglcctful of the machinery, could
not be placed in a situation more
! dangerous to the lives Of travellers, un-
| less he might be 4 professional train
wrecker or drunken switchman.
/ Half of the care and responsibility of
an engineer is in the engine itself
looking after it and closely examining
weak points at every opportunity.
Strong as it may seem, there are por-
tions of the mechanism of 4 locomotive
that are lis delicate and frail and easy
of disarrangement as those of many
finely constructed stationary machines.
In this class Of engine it is necessary
10 compress all the machinery into the
closest possible bulk. and the result is
not advantageous to one who has
charge of it.
"Does an engine get out of order
frequently?'
Many of them do, and others will
run long time without repairs. A
skilled engineer knows by the feel of
an engine whether there is anything the
matter with it or not, and man must
always be walchful of these things if
he does not want the locomotive to
60 to smash on short notice. Another
thing. when there is !: starting of aues,
leakage of pipes. loose packing, or
heated journal, one has TO make haste
to stop the mischief or time will prob
ably be lost, and the fear of loss of
time is Il perpetual source of worri-
ment to the engineer.
Referring to other matters that re-
quire the vigilance and care of the
driver of the iron morse, the speaker
said: "On freight trains skillful
hand is often required" in switching
cars and similar work, and. although
the life of freight 0gineer is slow
and easy one beside that of man in
the cab of an express-engine. still there
is q grave responsibility attached to
the former. How often is the killing
of brakeman, who is knocked down
by sudden and unexpected starting
up of the train Or other similar acci-
dent, laid at the door of the locomotive
enginecr-often, ! may say, with good
cause, se,-though such accidents arc
generally the result of pure careless
ness?"
The difference between engines, even
of the same pattern and maker. was
spoken OF, and the kind of locomotive
most in favor with engineers was de-
scribed. To be strictly first class and
satisfactory, an engine must be capable
soi- tu1n
that is, getting under full headway in
short distance. A rather slow and
smooth-going engine is of course, pre-
ferable to an unsteady and jerky one,
which can not be depended on for great
number of miles.
The promptitude of an engineer in
observing signals OF different kinds is
considered q valuable quality, and
these, with the many other duties of
everyday life, must be attended to
without any show of negligence. if
driver is desirous of insuring his reputa-
ton. Train of.lers must be read with
great care and their instructions care
fully followed, and it is here, more
than at any other point, that the drunk
en- engineer is liable to commit an
error. which. though small IN itself,
may lead to most disastrous results.
Bad spots on the road must he looked
out for, time-carls must be rigidly
followed. steam must be kept up. cross
ings and wiisiie-posts must be noticed,
and above all. the track ahead requires
close attention, as the eyes must not
leave it more than Il few seconds ut Il
time.
"a competent iircmcn." said the
driver, sis 4 great blessing to an en-
gincer, and may relieve him of con-
siderable of thai continual strain on
the nervous system which most of us
are obliged TO undergo, but lazy
fellow, 4 careless man. or Il green
hand must be placed in the category of
the ills of the life, and Il big item it is,
too.'
"How long do engines generally run
before being discarded as useless?'
"Well, their average life may be
placed at about twenty-five years,
counting bic accidents and all. On
the plains, where aikali water is used,
repairs of tubes and other portions of
the mechanism are more frequently
required than in California, though, as
IN offset to this, may be placed the
dangers to the fine machinery en-
cOuntered in the snow on the Sierra.
As u general thing. repairs are needed
on IN engine once in about six months
of use. Firc-bcXcs and boilers last
about sever years w!thoat repair, the
axles and cranks six years, and the
Doiler-tubes five