Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1889-07-26
ROUNDHOUSE TALK.

IlUUNUllUUDE lhUA,
Well, now, you fellows may talk
of accidents as long as you want
to. You have had your experiences,
of course; any one can have ex-
perience even if he does run a
slow freight. The trouble with
you freightmen is that your acci'
dents, like your trains, don't amount
to much. Now, If you ran our en-
CINE you would have a chance to
see something. ANY man on num-
Der ninety.six, when she is in a
hurry, can see something OF life as
you live. Why, you fellows have
heard of bad accidents, but did
YOU ever hear off political accidenti
Not Well, We had one last fall.
Perhaps some OF you remember
nlnety.six before Uncle Jerry took
hold of her. don't suppose there
was a tougher engine in the world.
1t made no difference how she was
fred; when she felt right she
would run, and when she didn't
feel right she wouldn't and nobody
could make her. You couldn't
trust her to make her time down.
grade with a clear FIRE and nothing
behind her. When she wanted to
she would slow up, and you couldn't
help yourself. Mr.. Slocum got so
mad at her that he threatned to
have her broken up, but before do.
ing so he got Uncle Jerry to try
her for a while. The old man
worked over her for week or two
and then we tried her. While l was
getting up steam he fooled around
her, Just as you have seen a jockey
fooling around a horse that he was
going to drive. He rubbed her
down here and there and petted
her, and when he said; "Now,
Hannah" and pulled the throttle
open she started like lamb, and
has done ever since what Jerry
wants her to without baking. She
bauls the st. Paul limited now, and
it takes a good engine to do that.
We left Chicago the first of No
bember last at 7:30 on our regular
time. Jerry had been kicking all
day about making the run, as there
was to be a political meeting that
night and he wanted to be there
bad. But he had to go, and so
he took 1t out in grumbllng. | tell
it to you for a fact that he just
made my lite burden all last fall
with politics. He had a Cleveland
portrait on one of the caN windows,
and what he called political litera-
ture was piled up in the lockers
till you couldn't rest. He was
great free trade man, and when.
ever l could rest for a minute he
would be at me with wha. he called
sta tistics, but what | call figures,
Till / was glad to get up and put in
a fresh fire. When we stopped at
a station and he saw a Republican
that he knew, he would hurrah for
Cleveland and chat him no end
He doesn't do so nov. certain
ly believe that it will take all that
he can save this year to make up
what he lost on the election.
Well, as l Was saying, we left
Chicago on time, and at eight
o'clock p. ID. we had cleured the
city and we're running fast. The
night was cold and we were run
ming against strong wiud, but
Hannah-that is our pet name for
ninety. .six-was doing her work
elegantly and hauling train OF
six coaches as easy as ] can haul a
baby carriage. 1t was moonlight,
bat once in a while the clouds over
head would make it dark and then
tue snow would come IN furries.
Every thing worked we'll and we
got to BoaksvIlle on time at $40
o'clock. We ran up TO the tank,
and while / was getting the spout
ready to take water, saw MIR. Clif'
ford, our conductor, come NJ and
show Uncle Jerry a dispatch. 1t
seems that two cars of freight
number twelve we're off the track
just this side of Abbot's Junction,
and we we're to run up TO that point
carefully.
When we got there they had
one of the cars on the track sll
right, aud were at work on the last
one, iacklDg it up. We ran up
pretty near, and had to wait about
twenty inmates before they got
every thing right and cleared the
track for us.
While we were waiting Jerry
kent mourning over that Chicago