Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1889-05-17
A GIRL ENGINEER.
HOW SID LAWS0NS DAUGHIhh
TOOK OUT THE RELIEF
TRAIN.

TRAIN.
SHE RAN THE ENGINE THAT Tooh
THE DOCTOR TO THE SCENE OF
THE Academia GIRL WITH
PLENTY OF NERVE AND FORrI'
TUDE.
"Speahng about her running
reminds me of the only gal ! ever
knew who could and did ruu an en-
gine,and run it tor all 1t was WORTH"
said Eddie Stewart, of Newark.
81 mean Sid Lawson's daughter
Ella, of Pin Oak. Sid taught has
cal more about railroadiDg than
her mother did about bookkeeping,
and when Ella was IA years old
she knew almost as much
about an engine as her father
did. He used to let her ride down
to Bradley's with him three times
a week aud she'd sit upon the box
by him.
81 was firing for Ham StOnelake
then, and often when Ella didn't
want to wait for her fathers train
shed hop on our engine and come
home with us. Old Barker saw her
on the engine one day and gave
strict orders that she should never
be allowed to ride there again. 1t
purity near broke her heart when
she heard Of it, and it made her
pap ieel purity bad, too, but the
order had to be obeyed and Ella
had to ride IN a passenger coach
when she went to Bradley's to the
store after that. When she was
between IA and 10 Doc Studley
taught her to telegraph little, and
after that she just haunted the
window of the ticket office for
hours every day watching Clark
Willis, the agent of Pin Oak, q
sending and receiving messages.
She got so well posted that Clark
used to let her practice with Doc
Studley over a private wire that
Clark put up between the station
and the doctors house.
alt was before the days of the
telephones, you know, and it was
great convenience to the whole
tow nship to have that half.miIe OF
private wire from the station to the
DOCTORS Office. When Ella was 16
the company took Clark Willis
away, promoted him, and sent a
young fellow named Corcoran to
run the Office. One day, when Cor
coran and the gal we're alone in the
station, an order came from down
the road to have engine 9 sent
down 70 Mine creek bridge with
DIR. Stu ley aboard. They both
knew that there had been an acci.
dent and were puzzled to know
what TO do. No. Q was lying on
the siding, with her fires banked,
ard Pete Miller and Bart Headly,
had gone up to Bradley's and
could not get back until 5 o'clock.
alt was then 3 and two hours
might mean life and death. Cor.
coran hurnedly ran around look
ing for a man to run the engine,
but none could be found. When
he came back he found Ella stand.
ing in the door, with her hat and
Jacket on and her face pale as
corpse. That is my fathers train
down there and | am going to him.
she said. | have called for the
Doctor and there he is coming down
the road now
"But there's no one to run the
engne,' said Corcoran. Il can.
find anybody that knows how to
start her.
"'I will run her., said Ella, con.
fidently, aud Dick Harper's lout of
q boy, who was considerably stuck
on Ella. said he'd fire for her. By
the time the Doctor reached the
station Harper had the engine
steaming, aud as soon as the Doc
tor jumped into the cab Ella pulled
out and started slowly down the
road. Doc looked surprise when
be saw the gal on the box, but he
said nothing, and as the engine be-
gan to make steam she let out, and
before they were out of sight of the
village they were going at a thirty
FIVE mile clip with the gal setting
there purity as a picture, with her
hair streaming, her cheeks red, and
her lips closed as tight as she
could get them. She had a clear
run of eighteen miles with nothing
TO do but blow for road crossings
and look out for cattle.
ait was little more than an hour
when she Stacked up at the cut east
of Wine Greek and went creeping
around the bend. There she found
a fisgman and took him up with
out asking a question. She knew
by the look On his face when he
saw her that something serious
was the matter with her father.
Six hundred yards further she
came in sight OF bridge and there
she saw a sight she never forgot.
Her fathers engine was down the
enbankment, upside down, and the
combination car and coach piled on
top of it. Three Figures covered
with a sheet at the right orthe road
told her that she might look tor the
worst. She did not faint or scream
but followed the doctor down the
bank from the cab with her hands
cl,nchad and her lower liD between