Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1886-04-01
STORIES OF THE RAIL.
Locomotives That Love and Hate and Ex-
hibit Other Human Passions.

Locomotives That Love and Hate and Ex-
hibit Other Human Passions.
locomotives are funny things"
said an Erie engineer, land I've seen
them sometimes when l believed they
were actually human. They get the
sulks and have balky streaks, and
when they're in such moods you can't
make time with them any more than
you can fly. Then again they'll be as
clipper and willing as a thoroughbred
horse, and you actually have to hold
EN- in to keep from running into sta
tons ahead of time.
II suppose the stubbornest loco
motive that was ever put on road was
one of the Twin Sisters, couple of
splendid machines built by the New
York Central few years ago. They
were made exactly alike in every par
ticular, from the same patterns, by the
same workmen and with the same ma
terials. There wasn't man on the
road that could tell which was which
until their numbers were painted on
them. They were beauties, and the
engineers who were assigned to duty
on them were the envy of all the boys.
When the engines were put on trial one
of the locomotives developed amazing
power and speed. She could take
freight train up grade with scarcely
an effort, and with passenger train
made fifty miles an hour with ease.
The other one wouldn't 60 at all. Even
when pulled wide open she would
simply give few spiteful puffs of black
smoke, few turns OF, her driving
wheels, and then would stop. The
way she exhausted steam showed that
she was vixen. She was taken apart,
and not a single thing could be found
wrong with her mechanism. Different
parts of the locomotive that was so
great a success were exchanged for the
same parts in the stubborn one. The
willing locomotive ran as well as ever,
but the stubborn one refused to move a
peg. They tried half dozen different
engineers on her-for you must know
that sometimes a locomotive is par
ticular about the man that handles her
| throttle, and will do work for one that
she refuses to do for another; but she
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
success as the mate of the stubborn
engine, and when | last heard of her
she was still one of the best engines OF
the road.
st 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 dom
believe it. There isn't railroad mar
who can't tell you instances by tn,
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 i
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 charg,
because the locomotives would no
make the time, but which, under thu
hand of other engineers neither a
skillful nor so xperienced,w would neve
run behind.
"Take the case of Josh Martin ant
Cad Lyman, two of the old-time Fri
engineers, and either of them withou
a superior in their day. Josh was run
ming a locomotive that he was great,
attached to, and the sequel proved tina
the attachment was mutual. For SOM
reason brother the superintendent o
the road wanted Josh's locomotive TO
use on portion of the road that Ly
man ran on, so he ordered Lyman an,
Martin to exchange engines. The oil
fellows who remember it say that whel
Josh's engine was run from Port JeI
Wis Josh cried like baby. and that III
engine herself was all broke up at tn
parting, for she was an hour longe
than she should have been in gettin
to her new field of labor. Cad Lyma
took charge Of her; but she made u
her mind that she wouldn't work un
der him, and she didn't. She GO
stalled with the lightest trains, an
never made her run on time. After
weeks trial Lyman reported the loco
motive No good, and she was cor
demned to run the gravel train. Sh
worked as balky and sulky as ever, an
the superintendent ordered her take
to Paterson and broken up. Josh Maj
tin heard of this and came down tn
road a-fiying. He begged to have hi
old gal back again, and finally tn
superintendent said he might try hel
Josh mounted the foot-board ono
more, and when he pulled the throttl
away she went like bird. She mad
the run to Port Jervis quicker tina
any locomotive had ever done it up I
that day, and Josh Martin ran her fo
years over the Delaware division afte
that, and always made his run on tim
! as easy as could be, except in cases {
! accident. No, sir; the fact of the ma
ter was, Josh and that engine ju,
loved one another, and simply woul
not be parted; and there are plenty ,