The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-01-02
ENGLISH ENGINEERS.
Men Who Hold the Throttlos in
Great Britain.
Some Interesting Information Concerning
England's Fast Trnius and tho
Duties of tho Men Who
Run Them.

Before q man can become driver he
has, it seems, to spend some years in
the locomotive works of the company,
where he learns all the parts and fit
tings of an engine; he is then eligible
for the post of fireman, and if lie is
made II driver within three or four
years he is fortunate. It will therefore
be seen, says writer in Chambers
Journal, that the engine-drivcr is al
ways competent man.
A man on being appointed driver
will try his hand Mt FIRST with slow
goods train, and having shown himself
competent and careful, he will then have
charge of an express goods or slow pas
senger train, and the height of his am
bition is generally attained when he is
called upon to drive such trains rs the
Flying Scotchman, the Wild Irishman,
or the Flying Dutchman. The general
public has no idea what driving engines
of these express trains means. 1t is no
cxaggeration to say that while the
train is running the drivers whole life
is in his work, and that he has no time
to think of anything else but his en-
gine and the signals ahead. Anexpress
train often travels at the rate of sixty
miles an hour, and then signals will be
passed about every four minutes, and it
can readily be understood that an en-
gine travelling Mt that high rate of
speed will require constant attention
The strain on a mans mind working an
engine long distance without stop
ping is very great, and could not be en-
dured for many hours together; be-
sides, it would not be safe for an engine
to travel more than one hundred and
eighty miles without being examined,
and that distance is about the maxi
mum any engine runs on one journey.
Two such journeys is n good days work
for both man and engine. The average
time on duty for the men is nine hours
a day, beyond which they are paid over
time. When they are not running their
time is devoted to examining the en-
CINE.
Engines are very much like race
horses-they have little tricks and pc
culiaritics of their own, and require hui
moring; for this reason every driver
keeps to his own engine as much as
possible. The express engines of most
lines cost between three and four thou
sand pounds. Their working career de-
ponds very much upon the road they
have to travel. Steep gradients play
sad havoc with them, and will shorten
their lives by two or three years. The
speed of engines is regulated by time
tables; but there is such n thing rs
making up lost time. This depends on
the driver. If he is of cautious and
steady turn of mind he will act up TO
the time table, and be late rather than
travel beyond the authorized speed.
There arc many men. however, who de-
light in the speed of their engines, and
who glory when they have the chance
of little fast running. This can only
be INDUCED in when trains are late and
long distance has to be run without
stopping.
AS the question is often asked
(Which is the fastest train in the
world?" it would be we'll to give it
here, with the particulars. The honor
belongs to the Great Northern Railway
Company. Their train, which leaves
Grantham at 4:1S p. m, and runs
through to London (Hings Cross with
out stopping, arriving there ut G:15 p.
m, is the fastest train in the world
covering distance of one hundred and
forty-fvc and one-quarter miles in one
hour and ffty-sevcn minutes-avcrag-
ing iifty-four miles an hour for the en-
tire distance. The speed of this train
at certain places will exceed the rate of
sixty ailes an hour, but the passenger
is unconscious of this unusual CELEBRITY,
as the train oscillates very little.
Behind the black and greasy faces Of
these men there are brave hearts, and
seldom do they forget their duty to the
public in times of accident. Nine times
out of ten they could leap from their
engines without much injury in cases of
collision; but nine times out of ten they
don't, but stick to their post till they
know they can do no good. The record
cd cases of their bravery, and the mar
row escapes from accident owing to it,
give a very poor idea of the actual num-
Der of such cases.