The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1890-08-13
TEE WRECKING TRAIN.
a GRAPHIC Description of This vaI"-
able Piece of Rolling stock.

Accidents will happen occasionally
on the best managed railroads, and
sometimes bad wrecks happen, @the
cause of which is frequently mys-
terv, and the tracks are blocked Tor
hours. Every minute the track re-
mains blocked money and time are
lost. and passenger and freight traffic
is interrupted. So the railroads are
ALWAYS prepared, and within thirty
minutes after wreck has happened
wrecking train is on the way With q
trained crew of men. and II the teie-
gram announcing the wreck says that
passengers or employees are injured
| the wrecking train comes along VIII
its physicians, bandages and cots y
wrecking outfit is about the homtlest
thing owned by a railroad company
but when they are needed they are
needed badly.
The wrecking cars are kept at 'hc
end of q division, and are directly
under the control of the superlntend
emf of that division. The wreckiGG
train is composed of three cars and 4
powerful locomotive, and all the cars
are fitted with air brakes. The first
car is what is known aSthe truck car
The body Of the car is very low. anu
upon it are carried two extra pairs OF
trucks. rails, crossties, and spikes tor
sometimes the track is torn up III Il
wreck. The second car is the wreck,
inc ear. 1t is built of the heaviest
timber, and is mounted on two PAIRS
of small. heavy trucks. Half OF the
|
is mere platform, but arising rom
the centre is a powerful uerrlch WIN
a 2S-foot boom. With this powerful
contrivance trucks ears, ana locoli'o-
tives are swung about. The covered
portion of the car resembles inside a
storeroom of a ship, rs there are so
many cables hanging around
In one end of the car are two
closets. one containing the food Tor
the crews. The locker is always well
fiji ed. for there is no telling when the
wrecking train may be called into
service. The other closet or locker
contains medicine, bandages, and 9
portable telegraph outfit, with sew
eral coils of wire. If the wreck is {
bad one the instrument is brought
iuto use An operator is picked III
az the first station along the road
and when the scene of the accident Il
reached the wires are set and tele-
graph office is established. Inc cal
carries rope of every size and kind III
70 three inches in diameter, hydraulic
lacks for raising engines and ears
levers. pulleys. and derrick tackle o
all kinds. On the Louisville Y Nash
vile first division wrecking cars Their
are carried 800 feet OF manila three
inch rope for putting engines on the
), trac k, 800 feet of two-inch full line to'
putting purposes. 275 feet l.-inci
rome for The derrick, two sixty too
sections of three mch eSwiteeh-r&pe 10
pulling on cars, 240 feet sl-ince rop
for putting on trucks, and 500 Zee
. for guy lines.
containing short blocks of wood o
every size for blocking up cars ant
: locomotives. At every wreck ears ar
: generally tumbled about in confusion
and the wrecking crew begin OF
these. The shattered ones are pushe'
: off the track. and those left III It'll
better condition are put on the traci
and drawn away. After this Is don
there is one or more disabled engines
The heavy cables on the wrecliinS ca
are attached to the disabled locomo
tive, and live one at the other en-,
of the rope generally by hard wori
pulls the disabled locomotive back o'
the track. When the track is cleal
the wrecking train picks up all III
iron and trucks and comes back t
town.