Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-11-14
WHAT A LOCOMOTIVE RUNS DOWN
Everything From Trains to Geese. and an
Engineer Tells How IL AN Feels.

LSerytntnE FROM Trains to Geese. and an
Engineer Tells How It AN Feels.
From the New York Tribune.
"fes," said an engineer who had grown gray
in the service Of the company. as he stood be-
side his locomotive in Jersey City the other
day, the suspense attending turnover acci-
dent when you are on an engine smothers one.
L can assure you." he continued, wiping n
blotch Of oil of the side rod with a piece of
waste. that I am somewhat Of an authority on
the subject, because have had the misfortune
to run over abouteverything from a chicken TO
a fire engine.
You would naturally think that collision.
where your own life was in imminent danger.
would cause you more anxiety than anything
else, but it doesn't. Usually a collision occurs
before you know where you are. You are sail
ing along over the rails. trying to Keep rs near
your schedule time as you can. when Suddenly
something shows up before YOU. With me il
has always been the rear of a train. for have
never tried TO pass an engine on the same track
coming in an opposite direction. In an instant
You slam on the air brakes. reverse the engine
and wait Tor the crash, and the engine buries
herself in the caboose or cars of the train you
strike. Then You make the most of a bad job,
and il you are not at fault for the accident
and no one is injured or killed you soon
forget all about il. But il is entirely different
when you run over a human being. You are
speeding along and see n man on the track In
front OF you. At first you think that he will hear
the train just as thousands have heard II be-
fore, and get off the track in time, but he goes
on with his back toward yQu and YOU pull the
whistle string and the eng0e shrieks her warm
ing. he does not hear even that. so you try to
stop the train. The air brakes put on, the
engine Is reversed and the great drivers begin
working backward, sending fire in showers
from the shining steel rails while sparks, OF live
Goals from the furnace shoot from the stack
high up into the sky, as the monster groans and
struggles. vainly trying to stop the train behind.
while you draw nearer and nearer the
| victim the suspense is absolutely beyond de-
scrlption. All efforts are useless. You feel a
slight jar as the poor devil is struck and a cold
sweat breaks out all your body, and a
faint feeling comes over you, until YOU fall
back on your seat sick at heart, and wonder
what the fate of the man was and whether he
| leaves a family and what sadness there wall he
when they learn the news at home. You think
that you would like TO stop railroading and
earn a living at something else. Meantime the
train has come to a standstilL Tho engine has
ceased her struggles and the only sound you
hear is the throbbing of the air brake as it
pumps back and forth, making a noise like the
| breathing of some exhausted beast. The bag
gage master, conductor and brakeman rush gu;
of the cars and take all that is LEFT Of the victim
| from under the wheels.
| We'll, you know his fate now. As soon as
| you are signaled to go ahead. and as YOU touch
| the throttle, the engine leaps forward eagerly.
as if she were anxious 10 leave the dreadful
place behind, and in a moment the thought OF
the accident is driven by other work from your
busy mind.
"A pig is a dangerous thing to run over for
he is likely to throw the locomotive off the
| track When the pilot of the engine hits him
| 1t usually knocks him down and then rolls HIM
| for few yards under II before the trucks strike
| him. and when they do there is great danger N
| them leaving the rails. The drivers are almost
certain to follow the trucks, and if you dom
go down the bank you are lucky. So you Sc,
| what havoc one pig can make with a railroad
Another disagreeable thing about pig is tina
he never stops squeallng from the time he ii
hit until ne is stone dead. Engineers are no
fond of pork
ut is next to impossible to kill a goat will
an engine. Goats are the most irritating of al
animals that wander along railroad track. NJ
matter how fast you may be rtfhning or hoy
quietly you steal down upon him he will SCI
you cut of the corner of his eye and manage {,
get out of the way just in time to miss the COW
catcher as the engine PUSHES by him at light
ming speed. Cows ana horses are general,
easily disposed of, though some times they &c
under the wheels and cause a bad wreck. Bi
they are SO large that the pilo. gets under then
and throws them to one side Sheep are tn
most pitiful of all animals TO run down. The
seem to realize the danger that they are In ans
huddle together in tho middle of the rails an,
await death. Their great innocent eyes star,
at you SO mournfully and sadly that they haun
you for days to come A locomotive seems Il
take savage delight in destroying sheep. Sh,
| throws them in every direction and will kill
whole flock in an instant l struck a flock o.
geese once. Well, never thought there wer,
so many feathers in the world. L couldn't sc,
anything but feathers for ten minutes, anc
when We reached the station my engine lookeC
as If she had received a coat of tar and feathers
Hello! There goes my bell, l must leave you.
said the knight of the footboard" as he spran,
into the cab and started the train out OF th
station on its journey to the west.