Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1886-10-13
Bill Nye's Description Of the Railroad
Trains Trial Trip.

have been grand sight. First came
the locomotive, a large Babcock fire
extinguisher on trucks, with a smoke
stack like full blown speaking tube
with frill around the top; the engi-
neer at his post in plug hat, with an
umbrella over his head and his hand
on the throttle, borrowing a chew Of
tobacco now and then of the farmers
who passed him on their wa to town.
Near him stood the fireman, now and
then bringing in an armful of wood
from the fields through which he pass
ed, and turning the damper in the
smokestack every little while so that it
would draw. Now and then he would
go forward and put pork rind on hot
box or pound on the cylinder head to
warn people off the track.
Next comes the tender loaded with
nice, white birch wood, an economical
style of fuel because its bark may be
easily burned off while the wood itself
will remain uninjured. Beside the
firewood we find OH the tender a bar
rel of rainwater and tall blonde jar
with wickerwork around it, which
cntaiDs small sprig oftansy immersed
in four gallons of New England rum.
This the engineer has brought with
him for use in case Of accident. He
is now engaged in preparing for the
accident in advance.
THE FRONT BRAKEMAN.
Next comes the front brakeman in
plug hat about two sizes too large
for him. He also wears a long-wast-
ed frock coat with hustle to it and a
tall shirt collar with a table-spread
tie, the ends of which futter gayly
in the morning breeze. AS the train
pauses at the first station he takes
hammer out Of the tool box and nails
on the tire of the fore wheel of his
coach. The engineer gets down with
long oil can and puts little sewing
machine oil on the pitman. He then
wipes it off with his sleeve.
1t is now discovered that the rear
coach, containing number of direc-
tors and the division superintendent,
is missing. The conductor goes to
the rear of the last coach, and finds
that the string by which the directors
car was attached is broken, and that,
the grade being pretty steep, the
directors and brakeman have no
doubt gone back to the starting
place.
But the conductor is cool. He re-
moves his bell-crowned plug hat, and,
taking out his orders and time card,
he finds that the track is clear, and,
looking at large, valuable Water
bury watch, presented to him by a
widow whose husband was run over
and killed by the train, he sees he can
still make the next station in time for
dinner. He hires livery team to 20
back after the directors coach, and
calling Gall aboard" he swings lightly
upon the moving train.
NINETEEN wEA RY MILES.
1t is now 10 o'clock, and nineteen
weary miles still stretch out between
him and the dinner Station. TO add
to the horrors of the situation, the
front brakeman discovers that a
thirsty boy in the emigrant car has
been drinking from the water supply
tank OH the tender, and there's not
enough water left to carry the train
through. Much time is consumed in
filling the barrel again at spring
near the track, but the conductor
find "spotter" on the train and gets
him to do it. He also induces him
to cut some more wood and clean out
the ashes.
The engineer then pulls out draw
head and begin to make up time.
In twenty minutes he has made up an
hours time, though two miles of hoop
iron are torn from the track behind
him. He sails into the eating station
on time, and, while the master me-
chanic takes several of the wheels
over to the machine shop to soak, he
eats hurried lunch.
The brakeman here gets his tin
lanterns ready for the night run and
fills two of them with red oil to be
used on the rear coach. The fireman
puts fresh bacon rine OH the. eccen-
trio, stuffs some more cotton batting
around the aAels, puts new lynch-pin
in the hind wheels, sweeps the apple
peelings out of the smoking car, and
he is ready.
Then comes the conductor, with his
plug hat full of excursion tickets,
orders, passes, and time checks he
looks at his Waterbury watch, waves
his hand, and calls "All aboard"
again. 1t is upgrade, however, and
for two miles the "spotter" has to
push behind with all his might before
the conductor will allow him to get on