Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1885-03-18
Overw0rk Upon Railways.

II deserves to be known by the public
that some of the largest and most i'm.
portant railways are in the habit OF
overworking their employees TO such an
extent that even engineers, firemen and
switchmen fail asleep at their posts
from sheer exhaustion. 1t is stated on
good authority that majority of ali
the collisions that take place are due &c
this cause. A correspondent of the New
York Times has been investigating the
matter, and came across such cases as
the following: A s,aion-keeper said that
he had often tagged train and found
the engineer fast asleep, the conductor
snoring in his cab. and only tine fire.
man awake TO obey his signal. Were
the fireman also to doze of, thing not
unlikely to happen, inasmuch as his
hours of service are the same, no one
could foresee the consequences. 1t is
not unusual for train men to work
twenty-five hours continuously, and in
case of detention or accident, or other
disarrangement of the rotation of serv-
ice, the time frequently extends to thir.
ty hours without rest A certain sta;
tion-master has to be at his post when
the midnight train goes by, and then
again at four o'clock. When the mid.
night train is two hours late the station.
keepers night is thereby shortened.
1t is stated that five or six hours at q
stretch is all that an engineer can stand
without being overtaxed. Six or eight
hours should be days work for con;
ductor. The engineer of a coal train
stated that his trip was twenty-five
hours. cts an awful hard task to
keep awake the last eleven or twelve
hours of the time" 1.-The other night"
said he, ION the return trip, dozed
of, aud dreamed that everybody was
asleep on the train, and that we ran into
Scranton depot in that manner.
awoke with start, and there was the
COMPOUNDED fireman that l had left on
watch, fast asleep. Scranton was just
ahead and in few minutes more my
dream would have been reality"
The writer has been assured by old and
trusty engineers that near the close of
long trip, especially if it has for any
cause been unusually trying, it is utterly
impossible to keep awake. A man will
fall asleep while standing on the foot
board and with his hand on the throttle.
A few years ago in the outskirts of the
city one freight train ran through the
middle of another at u crossing. the en-
gineer of the invading train being
asleep at his post. He was awakened
by pieces of freight cars coming into the
cab.
All the testimony goes to show that
the overwork of railway employees is
universal, especially on the more i'm
portant lines. Aside from the in Justice
to the men, there is the important con-
sideration of the safety of the public.
To fly along in an elegant parlor coach
over smooth track is certainly pleas.
ant. But if the occupants of the cab,
or the man at the next switch, arc
asleep, all this magniiicence goes fol-
nothing but ruin. One of the leading
railways out of this city has had
number of serious smash-ups lately
fortunately without loss of life, under
conditions which point plainly to over.
worked employees or else to the selec-
ton of incompetent men. The matter
is one for the Legislature to deal with.
Meanwhile every traveller will do well
to watch out for himself, AMI wherever
he finds such condition as this, shun
the road from that time forth.