The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1886-07-02
NO. A.

why disPaSohsEs sEe PrematuFely odd
\ 1t was during the spring, business wRa
| heavy and the weather had been so
bad that our difficulties were consider
| ably increased. A construction train
had orders to occupy the main track
on one of the roads centering in Pitts
burgh to make repairs. In arranging
meeting places for seven extra sections
/ of a stock train coming East, l entirely
forgot the construction train. From
point out the line [ got word OF an 90
| commodation train, and sent word 20
| give her q white block, which
moment after / thought of the con-
structiOn train. 1t was too late 80 do
! any thing. On speeded the passenger
train to destruction. I sank in 8 chair
with my eyes riveted to the ingtzu-
ments, and thought of the hundreds OF
people who in a few minutes would be
dead or dying through my carelessness-
Seconds seemed hours. Suddenly ev-
/ cry instrument stopped, death-l1ke
| silence pervaded the room, and knew
! the worst had come, and fell in
swoOn. There l was found by the su-
! perintendent. He restored me TO con-
! sciousness and placed in my hands
message received over his private wire
| was so weak / could hardly take it
from his hand. and felt as a convict
when his death sentence is read TO
| him. / took it and read-not what /
had expected but that there had been
a landslide between the two trains,
and that nobody was injured. The
! stopping of the instruments was when
the mass of earth and stone had torn
down the poles and wires. had
double work to do the rest of the night
/ to get my trains side-tracked, and in
! good positions. The next day l started
on q six months vacation, forced upon
me by the superintendent as reward
for my carelessness.
considering the responsibility on
train dispatcher, it is simply wonder
full the way they handle the trains with
so few accidents through negligence or
mistake. The greatest number Of 40
cidents are the result of trainmen out
on the line not understanding their OF
| ders, and frequently from watches
| stopping. In 1873 was the first MingO
| disaster, on the Panhandle, by which
| thirteen persons were killed. That
was caused by an engineers watch
| stopping. The second MingO wreck
was in 1882, and resulted through
misunderstanding of orders. There is
a singular coincidence connected with
those wrecks. Both occurred on the
curve, within one hundred yards of
each other. The trains we're of the
| same schedule number, the wrecks Oo-
Cured at the same time of night, and
| also at the same time of year. Each
time both engines were completely
wrecked and the wires torn down, and
to end up there was great excitement
among the dispatchers until the real
cause was known.
"a curious accident occurred ON che
New York Central some years ago. l
was then an operator at an unimpOr-
tant station. The evening accommodR-
ton train came rolling by and the en-
oineer came in to me for orders. After
getting them he told me to call the
superintendent, and handed me q dis
patch, which read that one of his driV-
ing tires was badly cracked and he was
afraid he could not make the next sta
ton. He told me that he had sent
three messages of the same import and
| successfully received orders TO go
ahead, and that he was getting afraid.
In a moment the answer came TO 90
ahead regardless of every thing. The
train did not reach the next station,
for in few moments after it left me
| twas living in the ditch q wreck. The
superintendent arrived with the wreck
| ing train, and neglected the pas
sengers and train to get the body OF
! the engineer. When recovered he took
| from his vest pocket a slip of paper.
| Nothing was thought Of it by those
standing near but myself. It was the
order that sent the train to destruction.
The engineer was buried by the com
pany and his wife provided for, and
| the matter was forgotten. The super
| intendent never spoke to me after that
night
''The changing of schedule gives tAe
dispatcher an endless amount Of
| trouble, and it takes weeks before you
have some confidence in yourself. I'm
! the spring, six years ago, the schedule
was changed by the superintendent
and chief dispatcher at COnnellsvill0.
An important train on the old schedule
was entirely forgotten. The train ar
rived from Pittsburgh on the first night
and the chief dispatcher, without con-
sulting his new schedule, which went
| into effect that midnight, sent out the
/ train on the old schedule time. IL was
| a freight, and before it got many miles
up in the mountains was met BY an
other freight and both went over the
| hill, causing a very costly wreck, al
| though but few lives were lost. Both
of the men who had prepared the sched-
ule lost their positions. - hSttsba5rFA
| Times.