The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1891-08-29

Is nearly tWlcc TINS, ana the FISK AMI
labor are lessened to n minimum.
1t is the freight brakeman, however.
who appreciates to the fullest the beu.
efts which follow the gradual intro-
duction of the air brake. The brake
men on California railroads, however,
have far less to contend with thau
those in the cast, where wind and rain
and snow combine to make outdoor
life miserable for so large portion ct
the year.
If there 10 anything that will try
mans nerve it is to hear the sharp
whistle for brakes on some pitch-darl1
rainy or snowy night. Out from the
warm caboose the brakeman hurries,
lantern in hand, and climbs to the
deck of the nearest car. The wind is
blowing Il gale, the running board in
covered with ice. 1t is impossible 10
walk, SO down on all fours he goes and
crawls along as best he may. A gust
of wind extinguishes the light in his
lantern, so he feels along cautiously
until he reaches the end of the car,
then catches the brake wheel and 'sets
it up" as tightly as he can.
Perhaps the dog and ratchet are so
clogged with ice that they do not hold,
and just as he thinks the brake is Sc
cure it slips and around goes the wheel
with suddenness and force that, if he
be not on his guard will probably cost
him his life by tnvowing him down be-
tween the cars.
Along the top of the next car he
crawls to repeat the operation. The
wind almost takes his breath away. 1t
is on down grade and the cars bound
from side to side. They almost. seem
to jump clear of the track and then
come back with u laundering crash.
A curve is struck, and the unwieldly
cars lurch and sway and threaten to go
over the bank. The ice and the cold
iron of the brake wheel have be-
numbed the poor brakey's hands so
that he can hardly use them, and all
the while the repeated calls for brakes
from the engineer urge him to do his
utmost to slacken the speed of the
IL ain.
Perhaps, as he tugs at some wheel
and swings his body clear of the car in
his effort to tighten up the brakes, the
chain gives way, and woe to him if he
have not presence of mind and strength
of muscles sufficient to retain his
grasp. for otherwise his body will be
shot down between the cars, to be
ground to pulp beneath the merciless
wheels.
The danger is tenfold greater, too, if
he be using 'club" as lever in tight
ening the brakes. Should the chain
give way, as not infrequently happens,
and the brakeman have the wheel torn
from the grasp of his single hand,
death or mutilation is almost certain to
result.
1t is always the part of brakeman
who understands his business to exam
inc the rods and chains on each car that
will be put in his charge before the
train leaves the yard. On some roads
the freight-car brakes are kept in good
order by men specially detailed for the
purpose, but on many, especially those
which handle many cars from other
lines, it is the duty of no one to look
out for these details, and the careful
brakeman will always examine the cars
beforehand.
He will save himself much trouble
and possibly even preserve his own life
as well as those of the rest of the crew
by finding out which cars have theil
brakes in the best order and which are
not to be depended upon.
With the modern freight trair
equipped with air brakes, as is now
often the case, the life of the brakeman
is far easier and the major portion o.
the hard and dangerous work is elm
mated. The engineer can control the
speed of his train without the constant
care of the brakeman, and all that in
dividual has to do is to hold himself il
readiness to respond to call should
the air brakes give out.
One can frequently see heavy trains
running at high speed over the roads il
this state without soul in sight on the
decks of the cars, while under the ole
system it was never safe without tn,
brakeman at their posts every moment
With the introduction of automatic
couplers on freight cars one of the mos
risky portions of the brakeman's dutie
will be done away with. The number o
men killed or manned in this countr,
through the antiquated style of coup
ling still extensively in vogue reache
into the thousands annually, but, hap
PLY, there is promise that this fear
full sacrifice will be ended before long
Anyone who has had experience il
making up trains with the common
style of drawhead knows that it is
matter of wonder, not that so man,
men are killed or injured, but that S,
few suffer.
To have to step in between the car
on dark night, the ground slipper,
with ice or mud, with an engineer, per
| haps, who is careless or not good il
calculating distances and who send
his locomotive back with crash, i
about as sure a method of inviting
death or painful injury as can be imag
ined.
Yet it is the brakeman's duty to d
this without faltering, and it is dis
grace if he fail to make the couplin
the first time, He simply must NO
fail, and to do this he must take chance
that would make an inexperience
mans hair turn gray.
Not only must he hold the couplin
link to the last fractional part of u sec
ond necessary to guide it into the draw
head of the rapidly approaching train
but he must have the coupling pin i
readiness to drop into place like hast
he must have his lantern in one han
or on his arm, and must be ready t
move back with the cars until he ca
have an opportunity to get out from bt
tween them.