The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-08-13
-.
EARLY RAiLROADlNG.
An Amusing Story About the or,.,r
OF the Bell-Rona

snO Deii-ROpe.
The recent change of gauge on tbs
various southern railroads recalls ,n.nu
interesting incidents Of early railroad.
ing, writes an Atlanta corresponden.
OF 7nS Neso York. Trt6uga. The ola
Georgia road was one of the first bn,lt
IN this country, and the men who con-
structed it all came from New York
and Pennsylvania. George Adair of
Atlanta, tells with great gusto Il tna
origin of the bell-rope, which i =
itself an incident worthy Of preserva.
ton.
AT the time the Erie railroad extend.
ed from Piermont, on "a. Hudson oro.
to Port Jervis, on the Delaware old
dick Ayers was conductor on the
line. They ran mixed trains in tboao
days-one or two freight cars, counle
of ''gondolas," and caboose and
passenger car at the rear end of the
train. Ayers had for an engineer 4
rough old English cockney, who AFRO
gated unto himself gooddeal Of auth.
ority, and felt that he had as much To
say about how that train should be rnn
as Conductor Ayers had. So when
Ayers would wave his hand TO the en-
gIneer to start sometimes the English
man would obey the signal and some
times he wouldn't. 1t was pretty much
the same way about stopping the train.
! Once in while the engineer got his
temper up and would run BY a station
when he knew that Ayers had passen-
gers to get off there
Finally one day, after cudgeling his
brain, Conductor Ayres hit upon plan
for adjusting all the difficulties. He
procured a stout twine and fastend one
end to the rear platform of the passen-
| ger-coach and then carried the string
forward and tied the other end OF it to
a stick of tirewood on the floor of the
cab near Engineer Williams feet.
Now, when pull the chord Will
Jams, said Ayers, that means for you
to stop. Dye hearp"
''Hi don't like these ere blarsted new
waysr' was the engineers only COM
ment, as Ayers left the engine and
went back to the coach.
Coming down from Middleton to
Otisyille the train was rolling along at
pretty lively pace. when Ayers dis
covered he had passenger for the sta
ton now known as Howell's He
reached up and gave the cord hard
tug just as the whistle blew for the sta
ton. Unfortunately Ayers pulled the
string too hard, for the stick of fire.
wood to which it was attached flew up
and hit Williams severe blow on the
shin, taking off some of the skin. This
angered the old man, and instead OF
blowing for brakes he "pulled her open"
another notch, and the way he ratified
through that town was caution. The
people came to their windows to see
what was the matter. OF course Ayers
was mad. In the meantime Williams
had coolly cut the string and had slow
ed up TO take water at the tank two
miles above town. Ayers came out to
the engine, climbed up and tied the
string fast to the stick again. There
was grim determination in his face as
he turned to the engineer and said:
"Now, here, Williams, the next time
pull that string il you don't stop thus
train one or the other of us has got TO
take a lickin'."
Williams vouchsafed no reply and
Ayres went back to his place. AT Guy
mard he pulled the string again, but as
before the engineer took no notice OF
the signal, and the train never came 70
a stop until Port Jervis was reached.
Ayres came up to the engine with MS
coat and vest off "Come down. VIII
liams," I" he cried Williams came, sim
ilarly equipped for fight, and tney
pitched in. The odds were on the en-
gineer's side, for he was the heavier
man of the two, but Ayres proved 70
have the best wind and Williams finally
called .senoughr' He was minus par.
Of finger, which Ayres had cneweo
off, and both eyes were closed Up.
Ayres was not in much better conul'
ton. AS soon as they were able 70 re-
sumo their work Ayres got IN new
cord, and it is scarcely necessary 70 aou
that Williams always obeyed tne slg
nal. This was the origin OF the peii'
rope now considered indispensaDie-
Ayres died only recently, and mr;
Adair, who tells this story, atten1ea
the funeral. Capt. Adaii was the nrs,
conductor that ever brought raiiro'm
train into Atlanta, which was Inen e
town of about thirty inhabitants anu
the people objected to the railroad q. M
ing built becarse they feared the sIono ~
from the engines would soil the cican
clothes when the weekly washing Wa