Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-03-25

treated them all with equal disdain-
They put her in the round house and
kept her there for six months, thinking
that she might get over her balky fit,
and run all right on another trial.
Zone day they fired her up and tried
her. She started off like beauty, and
ran two miles in little over two min
utes. Then she stopped, and couldn't
be induced to make move in either
direction. She was towed back to the
shops and taken to pieces. The same
machinery was used in building anoth-
er locomotive, and that one was as big
q success as the mate of the stubborn
engine, and when l last heard of her
she was still one of the best engines on
the road.
1T sounds queer to say that locomo-
tives have their likes and dislikes, but
it actually does seem that they have.
and there are few engineers who don't
believe it. There isn't railroad man
who can't tell you instances by the
dozen of engines that positively would
not make time with some engineers,
but which would get there every time
under the hands of others. You might
say it was the fault of the engineers if
the engines did not make their time,
but have known the very best engi-
neers that ever mounted the footboard
who have been obliged to be transferred
from locomotives placed in their charge
because the locomotives would not
make the time, but which, under the
hand of other engineers neither as
skillfulnor so experienced, would never
run behind.
take the case of Josh Martin and
Cad Lyman, two of the old-time Erie
engineers. and either of them without
a superior in their day. Josh was run
ming locomotive that he was greatly
attached to. and the sequel proved that
the attachment was mutual. For some
reason or other the superintendent of
the road wanted Josh's locomotive for
use on portion of the road that Ly-
man ran on. so he ordered Lyman and
Martin to exchange engines. The old
fellows who remember it say that when
JOsh's engine was run from Port Jer-
Wis Josh cried like baby, and that the
engine herself was all broke up at the
parting, for she was an hour longer
than she should have been in getting
to her new field of labor. Cad Lyman
took charge of her; but she made up
her mind that she wouldn't work un-
der him, and she didn't. She got
stalled with the lightest trains. and
never made her run on time. After a
weeks trial Lyman reported the loco
motive No good. and she was con-
demned to run the gravel train. She
worked as balky and sulky as ever. and
the superintendent ordered her taken
to Paterson and broken up. Josh Mar
tin heard of this and came down the
road a-tiying. He begged to have his
old gal back again, and finally the
superintendent said he might try her.
Josh mounted the foOt-bOard once
more, and when he pulled the throttle
away she went like a bird. She made
the run to Port Jervis quicker than
any locomotive had ever done it up to
that day, and Josh Martin ran her for
years over the Delaware division after
that, and always made his run on time
as easy as could be, except in eases of
accident. No, sir; the fact of the mat
ter was. Josh and that engine just
loved one another. and simply would
not be parted; and there are plenty of
cases just like it tO-day.-N. Y. Sun.