Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-03-14
Saved by n Cranky Engineer.

From the North East Advertiser
All eastbound passenger trains on a certain
road change locomotives Mt Erie and for many
years IL had been customary for the second loco
motive to await the arrival of the train from
the west, standing upon portion of the main
track, on each side of which was a high en-
bankment broken just beyond by an eXcava-
ton for the passage-way of a street underneath
the rails. One night when the fast train came
In from the west the air brakes failed to work,
and repeated whistles by the engineer failed to
arouse the careless train brakeman. The result
was that the express instead of stopping at the
depot, crashed through at thirty miles an hour.
railroad men about who knew the circum-
stances held their breathS. The time seemed to
stop. The heavy express must certainly crash
into the locomotive and all go over the bank.
But nothing of the sort happened. An engineer
of one of the freight locomotives, who had long
been known among his fellows as a crank, per-
sisted that night in taking his engine over that
passenger engineer had taken his loco Mt
on TO "a side track to let the cranky engineer
with his engine, pass. The case had never oc-
CURED before. Nor did it occur again, for the
sleepy brakeman of the express was discharged
and the second locomotive given orders to wait
In a less exposed place.
He Had the True Railroad Instinct.
From the Ashtabula Telegraph.
"The most remarkable accident in my expe-
rience,' said Superintendent Couch In answer
to the question, happened on the Newcastle
road to the track MASTER He was running
down grade on a handcar and making fast
time. The last glow of twilight was all that
was left to illuminate the scene. Suddenly the
man saw the sheen of the two cylinder heads Of
locomotive. The light falling on their bright
surfaces tended to disclose them first of all.
Realizing that the engine was close on him
and that what he did must be done quickly. he
sprang from his handcar and plunged down a
high embankment. He struck on a pile Of
jurieS. Curious to know what train had been
at that point at that hour, he made inquiry
der heads that he supposed he saw were dinner
pals Two section men were returning home
from work, walking one on either side Of the
track with their dinner pail in hand, and the
waning light fell on the pals In such manner
as TO give them the appearance OF the cylinder
but it showed that the track-master had the in
stinct of a true railroad man. There was no
time to wait and investigate, for had he done so
and it had proven to be an engine, it would
have been everlastlngly too late"
The Mystery of Price Marks.
From the 2ittsburg Times
The system of marking prices on goods In
general use among retailers Is for each to adopt
a word or term which shall contain ten unre-
peated letters TO correspond with the numerals.
Thus, for instance, the word:
Anc b orit es
70 800
The cost of an article has been usually marked
on it, the salesman knowing what to add: but
this plan is losing in popularity and is being re-
placed by the better method of marking the
selling price. Employing the key word "An-
chorites, an article marked say "a, /, o." would
Indicate S1.75. Some merchants have both
cost and selling rates marked, I'm which case
the two are separated by line, the cost being
or top and the selling price under. Humor-
ouSly inclined individuals not frequently get
up a key word or term which would make Gus
TONERS smile were they aware of the contrast
between the mysterious cost marks and that
from which they are derived. No little
ingenuity is displayed in the selection, but
after the essential of ten unrepeated letters
there is nothing wanting but the simplest
photography that the foot OF tho spoilers in the
statesmen class may have no inducement what
ever 10 go wrong. The tit-tat-toe cost mark ia
the only one known which does not employ the
alphabet II may be understood by drawing
the ordinary tittat-toe game diagram and
marking the figures beginning a. the upper left
hand space. thence TO the right, and repeat until
the nine spaces are filled. In this device X Is
substituted for the "nought." To express say
S1-59, by the tit-tat-toe, the hieroglyphic would
be an l. with the horizontal part run directly
opposite from normal; square and an L set
wrong end up, good deal like the small boys
sketch in school books, under which he places
the caution, :. Don't steel this book mi oanest
Trend for feer the gallus will be your end" 1t
will be observed that these characters represent
the parts of the tit-tat-toe diagram In which the
numerals !, and 8 occur
The Returned Nile VOyaEeurs.