The daily herald. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1886-1887, 1886-09-22
THE wH1MS OF ENGINES.
LOCOMOTIVES THAT GET THE suLks
AND HAVE BALkY STREAkS.

An Account OF the StubDornest Ehsine
That was Ever Put on a Road-Likes
and Dislikes Between Locomotives and
Engineers-som Cases.
locomotives are funny things" said an
Erie engineer, land I've seen them some
times when / 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
moro than you can fly. Then, again,
they'll be as clipper and willing as thor
oughbred horse, and you actually have to
hold em in to keep from running into sta
tions ahead of time.
II suppose the subbornest locomotive
that was ever put on road was one of the
Twin Sisters a couple of splendid ma
chiues built by the New York Central a
few years ago. They were made exactly
alike in every particular, from the same
patterns, by the same workmen, and with
the same materials. 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 en-
glneers who were assigned to duty on
them were the envy Of all the boys. When
locomotives developed amazing power and
speed. She could take freight train up
grade with scarcely an effort, and with n
passenger train made fifty miles an hour
with eese.
sPITEFUL PUFFs OF BLACK SMOKE.
"The other wouldn't go at all. Even
when pulled wide open she would simply
give few spiteful puffs of black smoke, a
few turns of her driving wheels, and then
would stop. The way she exhausted
steam showed she was vixen. She was
taken apart and not single thing could
be found wrong with her mechanism.
Different parts of the locomotive that was
so great success were exchanged for the
same parts in the stubborn one. The will
ing 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
locomotive is particular about the man
that handles her throttle, and will do
work for one that she refuses to do for an
other; 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 At, and run all right on another
trial.
"One day they fred her up and tried her.
She started off like q beauty, and ran two
miles in little over two minutes. 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 i'm
building another locomotive, and that one
was as big a success as the mate of the
atrtil,nx.p nd hat I 10 90 hoo r1 I'd
her she was still one Of the best engines on
the road
ut sounds queer to say that Locomotives
have their likes and dislikes, but it actu
ally does seem that they have, and there
are few engineers who don't believe it
There isn't railroad man who can't tel
you instances by the dozen of engines that
positively would not make time with som,
engineers; but would get there every time
under the hands of others. You might say
1t was the fault of the engineers if the EN-
gines did not make their time, but hav
known the very best engineers that eve
mounted the footboard who have beef
obliged to be transferred from locomotive
placed in their charge because the locomo
tives would not make their time, bu
which, under the hand OF other engineer
AClOhOE do bhllllul hui bO
would never run behind.
CASH OF MUTUAL ATTACHMENT.
@Take the case of Josh Martin and Ga,
Lyman, two Of the old-time Erie engineers
and either of them without a superior ii
their day. Josh was running a locomotiv
that he was greatly attached to, and tn
sequel proved that the attachment wa
mutual. For some reason or other tn
Doc. A. L
locomotive for use on portion Of the roa
that Lyman ran ON, 80 he ordered Lyma
and Martin to exchange engines The oil
fellows who remember it say that whe
Josh's engine was run away from POI
Jarvis, Josh cried like baby, and tina
the engine herself was all broke up at tn
parting, for she was an hour longer tina
she should have been in getting to hC
new field of labor. Cad Lyman too
charge of her, but she had made up h(
mind that she would not work under hin
and she didn't She got stalled with IL
hghtest trains, and never made her run G
time. After weeks trial Lyman reportt
the locomotive No good and she w,
condemned to run the gravel train 81
worked as balky and sulky as ever, al
the superintendent ordered her taken
Paterson and broken up.
"Josh Martin heard of this, and can
down the road a-fiyin'. He begged to ha'
his old gal back again, and finally Il
superintendent said he might try he
Josh mounted his footboard once NOR
and when he pulled the throttle away 81
went like bird. She made the run bat
to Port Jervis quicker than any LOGON
tive had ever done 1t up to that day, al
Josh Martin ran her for years over d
Delaware division after that, and alwa
made his run on time as easy as could /
except In case of accident, No, sir; b
fact Of the matter was, Josh and that e
CINE just loved one another, and simp
would not be parted; and there are plen
of cases just like it to-day. New 70
Times.
A New Device for the Library
II is said that Mr.. George Vanderbi
the literary member of the family will N