San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-09-23
THE WRECklNG TRAIN.
Something About the Outfit Carried in
Its Cars and Always in Readiness.

Accidents will happen occasionally on the
best managed railroads, and sometimes
bad wrecks happen, the cause of which fire.
quently is a mystery, and the tracks are
blocked for hours. For every minute the
track remains blocked money and time are
lost, and passenger and freight traffic is
interrupted. So the railroads are always
prepared, aud within thirty minutes after
a wreck has happened wrecking train is
on the way with a trained crew of men,
and if the telegram announcing the wreck
says that passengers or employees are in
jured the wrecking train comes along with
its physicians, bandages and cots. A
wrecking outfit is about the homeliest
thing owned by a railroad company, but
when they are needed they are needed
badly.
The wrecking cars are kept at the end of
a division, and are directly under the con-
troll of the superintendent of that division.
The wrecking train is composed of three
cars and powerful locomotive, and all the
cars are fitted with air brakes. The first
car is what is known as the truck car. The
body of the car is very low, and upon it
are carried two extra pairs of trucks, rails,
cross ties and spikes, for sometimes the
track is torn up in wreck.
The second car is the wrecking car. 1t
is built of the heaviest timber, and is
mounted on two pairs of small, heavy
trucks. Half of the car is covered over,
and the other half is a mere platform; but
arising from the center is powerful der
rick with IS foot boom. With this pow
erful contrivance trucks, cars and locomo-
tives are swung about. The covered por-
ton of the car resembles inside storeroom
of ship, as there are so many cables hang
ing around
In one end of the car are two closets, one
containing the food for the crew. The
locker is always well filed, for there il no
telling when the wrecking train may be
called into service. The other closet or
locker contains medicines, bandages and a
portable telegraph outfit, with several coils
of wire. If the wreck is bad one the in
strument is brought into use. An operator
is picked up at the first station along the
road, and when the scene OF the accident is
reached the wires are set and telegraph
Office is established. The car carries rope
of every size and kind up to three inches in
diameter hydraulic jacks for raising en-
gines and cars, levers, pulleys, and derrick
Jackie OI all Minus
On the Louisville and Nashville first
division wrecking cars are carried 300
feet of Manila three inch rope for putting
engines on the track, 800 feet of two inch
full line for pulling purposes, 275 feet one
and three-fourth inch rope for the derrick
two sixty foot sections of three inch switch
rope for pulling on cars, 240 feet two and
one-half inch rope for the same purpose,
and 23O feet of three inch rope for putting
on trucks, and 500 feet for guy lines. The
next car is the "block car" containing
short blocks of wood of every size for
blocking up cars and locomotives.
At every wreck cars are generally tum-
bled about in confusion, and the wrecking
crew begin on these. The shattered ones
are pushed off the track, and those left in
little better condition are put on the
track and drawn away. After this is done
there is one or more disabled engines. The
heavy cables on the wrecking car are at
tached to the disabled locomotive, and a
live one at the other end Of the rope gen
orally by hard work pulls the disabled
locomotive back on the track. When the
track is clear the wrecking train picks up
all the iron and trucks and comes back to
charlottesville COurier-Journal.