Connecticut western news., 1888-01-25
A Station Agents Stories.

'I was," said the man with the wooden leg, 'station agent on the B. and R. railroad for good many years, and several things occurred there which were the talk of the line and which you may find interesting enough to publish. My station was both insignificant and important. While it was only a hamlet in population, it was railroad crossing. While every train seemed to be in a hurry to get away as fast as possible, all engines had to take water or coal, and various trains had to pull in on the long siding to let various other trains pass.
 "The policy of our road was nig- gardly. The object was to get every thing cheap, and to work every man to the limit. My station building was little better than shed, and it was im- possible to get any repairs or improve ments. was required to act as tele- graph operator, ticket seller, freight agent, chore boy, and all else, and did not have an hour could call my own. had cot in the office, and was on call during the night. Let 'em sound my call while I was in the deepest sleep and inside of twenty seconds was ready to answer. I should have had first class assistant at my station, but the com pany would not permit it. l must either do the work alone or get out for some one who could and would, and SO I kept hanging on month after month and year after year, always thinking about going, but never making up my mind to it. The situation was grave enough to keep my nerves under con stant strain. Train despatching was not the art it is now, and if a regular got behind her time it caused confusion all along the line.
 ''One of the queer incidents occurred after had had the station about two years. It was in the fall of the year, with great deal of nasty weather, and trains were continually late The last passenger train on our road passed me, according to schedule, at 10 1-2 p. m. The next one passed at 7.2O a. m., and it was supposed that the intervening time belonged to me. If the night freight was on time, and if I did not get call on ths instrument, and ii there was no special on the line, and if dozen other things did not occur, ] could sleep from ii to 6. It may have occurred that my sleep was unbroken five nights in a year. On all other nights I was turned out from one to three or four times. The night freight should reach me at 12:05-five minutes after midnight She never left nor took up a car at my station, leaving that for the day freight, but made a stop of seven or eight minutes for coal and water. If there was a special on the line, or if there had been an acci- dent, the freight might have to side track and wait, but such a thing was rare.
 GAS rule, I was always asleep when the freight came in, but somehow or other knew of her arrival. I knew of it without waking up, and next morn ing could have told whether she was late or on time. Twenty eight minutes after her time passenger train on the other road made the crossing; this crossing was eighty rods above the sta ton, and while had nothing to do with the trains on the other road, natural ly kept track of them and knew whether they were late or on time. On this partic- ular night went to bed at 1O45, and was asleep before il o'clock. At 12 20 suddenly awoke. The night freight had not como in. I had been sound asleep, but knew she had not. She was fifteen minutes overdue, and yet my call had not been sounded. This to me meant some sort of accid ent between me and the next station north, which was eleven miles away. at once called
 
 for the station, but ths operator had gone. I ran to the door and looked out. There was a fine rain and dense fog. a-.-
 Freight trains arc seldom or schedule time, and 1 had known those on our line to be an hour late without worrying over the fact. However, on this night was all worry. The raiu and the fog, the crossing, the fact o my waking up as had, the failure te raise the agent at the station above, these things made me terribly uneasy, and at 12 25 l lighted my lantern, put on my rubber coat, and started up the line on a run. I had not gone forty rod: when l heard hissing of steam, and two or three minutes later I could sec the glare of headlight through the fog. In couple of minutes more found oul midnight freight-.wenty-two loaded cars and big locomotive--and she wa. standing directly on the crossing of th' roads I shouted IS soon .s l had mad, | cut the locomotive, but nc ono snswsred