The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-09-24
RUNNING ALoCoMoTIyE.
Some Peculiarities of the Iron Horse
and It's Driver.

Some Peculiarities Of the Iron Horse
and It's Driver.
ITO man who knows as little about
j locomotive as the ordinary run OF
people, and who understands few OF
its needs and requirements. and now
i the mind and body Of the engineer
| must be exerted TO meet them, there IS
/ nothing about running an engine that
looks difficult, but there are those VINO
| have been in thebusiness for years, ana
| who are still not the right men for the
position. It not only requires 8 man
OF peculiar ability but one also must
be of certain temperament. | didn t
| use TO think so years ago, but the ldea
has grown stronger with me OF late-
These remarks were made by q
| locomotive engineer TO reporter re-
Gently, 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 to be plainly heard.
"a nervous man should never be
intrusted with the care OF an engine
and of the lives and property under
| his Keeping" continued the driver,
s'and a man who is liable to 'ily off the
/ handle at any moment, or is careless
| or neglectful of the machinery, could
not be placed in situation more
/ dangerous to the lives of travellers, I'M
/ less he might be q professional train
wrecker or n drunken switchman.
Half of the care and responsibility OF
an engineer is in the engine itself
looking after it and closely examining
weak points ut every opportunity.
Strong as it may seem, there are por-
| tions of the mechanism of locomotive
| that are as 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.
docs an engine get out of order
frequently"
MANY of them do, and others will
run a 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 watchful of these things if
| he does not want the locomotive to
| 90 to smash on short notice. Another
| thing. when there is starting of hues,
a leakage of pipes, loose packing. or a
| 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 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 horse, the speaker
said: ''On freight trains skillful
hand is often required in switching
cars and similar work, and. although
the life of freight engineer is a slow
and easy one beside that of man in
the cab of an express-engine, still there
is n grave responsibility attached to
the former How often is the killing
of a brakeman, who is knocked down
py a sudden and unexpected starting
up of the train or other similar acct
dent, laid at the door of the locomotive
engineer-often, may say, with good
cause,-though such accidents are
generally the result of pure careless
ness?h
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
of picking up'a train in good style
that is, getting under full Roadway in
a 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 a valuable quality, and
these, with the many other duties of
everyday life, must be attended to
without any show of negligence, if
driver is DESTROYS of insuring his reputa-
ton. Train orders 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 be looked
out for, time-cards must be rigidly
followed, steam must be kept up. cross
ings and whistle-posts must be noticed, |
and above all, the track ahead requires |
close attention. as the eyes must not |
leave il more than few seconds at |
time.
"a competent firemen, said the
driver, "is great blessing to an en-
gineer, and may relieve him of con-
siderable of that continual strain on /
the nervous system which most of us |
are obliged to undergo, but lazy !
fellow, careless man, or green |
hand must be placed in the category of
the illssof the life, and 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 big accidents and ak On
the plains, where alkali water is used,
repairs Of tubes and other portions of
The mechanism are more frequently
required than in California, though, as
an Offset to this, may be placed the
dangers to the fine machinery en-
in the snow on the Sierra.
As general thing, repairs are needed
On an engine once in about six months
Of use. Fire-boxes and boilers last
about seven years without repair, the
axles and cranks six years, and the
boiler-tubes FIVE"