Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-03-12
RAILROAD RACKET.

erai News OF Int rest Picked Up ON
the Iron Highways.
When Conductor Aulds train pulled
up at the R. I. & L. depot last evening
the boys about the building were disposed
to discredit the fact of its being a train
belonging to that road Attached to the
locomotive was hs ndsome brand new
f1fty.six foot long combination car. one
| of the most conveniently arranged, best
designed and most tastefully- furnished
that has ever come into Rock Island. It
is numbered ~" Then the regular day
coach No. -" had been thoroughly over
hauled repaired. repainted. upholstered
and looks as good as new. To-
morrow new chair cars provided jointly
by the B G. r. & N. and r. l. & P.
will be put on, which gives the run be-
tween Rock Island and Peoria a prscti.
cally new train throughout. Conductor
Aud. in keeping with the situation, has
donned a new conductors cap, and is the
most important part of the entire outfit.
for Jack. though veteran in the bust.
| ness, never wears out. and is always as
good as new.
Speaking OF the great responsibility
resting upon the shoulders OF 9 train dis
patcher. an exchange says; Away up
In the Office somewhere. and usually
quite alone. you will find the train dis>
patcher. He sits by large diagram pen
IN hand, seemingly in brown study
But he is not. for suddenly ticking Of
the telegraph instru nent causes his hand
that holds the pen to rise up. and then,
with his ear cooked he listens. A
| few hurried clinks and then silence.
and then his pen makes some
moves on the diagram, and again he
relspses into the brown study stti-
tude. But the moves of his pen mean
something important. Away up or
down the railroad. perhaps a single
track road-there is train dashing
along. and in the opposite direction there
is rushing another. Each train is
made up of a long row of cars. and with
hundreds of souls on board. The tick
Ing tells the dispatcher where these
trains are. and he must so arrange that
they shall meet and pass each other In
safety, and to him alone is conf1ded the
duty to see that they do. One little er>
ror. one moment of sleep, may be fatal,
and then what fearful accident would
RESULT But his ear is keen and his wits
are alert, and with al instant lingering of
the key the engineer knows what is to be
done, and the people sit in the cars un-
conscious of all the danger and don't even
know what may be heir fate. except for
the silent man who sits alone. watching.
waiting and succe ssfully guiding his
great mass of human freight"
II is not yet q settled fact about the
new uniforms for the 20" conductors and
brskemen. The men have all signed a
petition to have the color changed from
blue to light gray. but the question is
not decided. There are some points IA
vorable to the gray and there are some
serious objections 10 it, Some of the
men on the main lire are wearing black
suits by way of experiment, but they do
not give good satisfaction.
Eight thousand cars of freight
hauled over 112 miles of road in twenty
eight days. is not bad showing for
small railroad. Such ara the records OF
the r. l. s. P. for February.
The Rock Island route restores its fast
vestibule trains to the Missouri river
Sunday.
One of the famous Boston Raymond
excursions passed through yesterday, in
two sections
The c., B. & Q has gotten out of its
ice blockage and everything is moving
again as usual.
General Passenger and Freight Agent
Stackhouse, of the f.. l. s. p, is in Chi
csgo.