The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-06-06
A PLUCKY ENGINEER.

i'll our profession have had exciting ex-
periences, but doubt whether anybody
but myself has ever travelled at the rate
of GO miles an hour, suspended beneath
railway carriage
l was never a man to seek adventure
for its own sake; neither was inclined
to be timid when n task attended with
danger had to be performed My work
often brought me into great peril; but
except on the occasion Of which I am
about to write, had, fortunately, kept
clear Of accidents.
twas in the seventies that received
the appointment Of chief engineer to one
of the big railway lines connected with
Boston Twas Of an inventive turn and
had recently taken out q patent for
radial axle franc for six wheeled
coaches This was device that enables
the wheels Of carriage to adjust them
selves to sharp curves and 80 obvinte the
friction of the rail and consequent dan
ger that attached to tho ordinary fixed
axles-
This patent of mine was applied ex-
perimentally to several coaches on my
line, and the results were to all appear
ances very satisfactory. However, had
technical dispute with q brother engi-
neer, an old friend III whose opinion
generally had tho fullest confidence, re-
speeding rather important detail AS
matter of fact, wo held different opin-
ions rs TO the behavior Of the mechanism
when in actual operation. and my work
ing model did not help us much.
iii tell you what will do, " said
"I'll satisfy myself by seeing how it
works !"
How do you mean?' he asked.
Why, I'll travel underneath the
coach, hang myself up in hammock
and watch the whole thing"
My friend smiled incrcdulousy.
Twill you accompany me? I am il
earnest" continued.
"No, thank you," was his reply. II
must decline to embark on such o hare
Drained adventure. 1 have wife aud
family dependent Oh mo
But was determined to settle the
point. II what he said was correct, the
sooner the modification was made the
better. SO made arrangements for my
journey Oh the Boston express next day.
When Preached the railway station,
found that my instructions had been
carried ont A large piece of sacking
was suspended beneath the carriage by
four stout hempen ropes, passed through
wrought iron staples and properly tied
and dashed. I examined it carefully end
found everything secure
A few minutes before tho train start
ed l crept into my hammock, assisted
by my friend, who had come to SEQ me
OFT on my strange journey. He wished
me bon voyage, tho whistle blew, and
we began to move out of the station
Lying as was OH my back, smoking at
cigar, the motion was at first decidedly
pleasant, but as we got up steam and
increased our speed my position became
one of considerable discomfort was
rocked from side to side with ever in
creasing violence and soon became COW
cred with dust and ashes, which, with
the tremendous draft We're driven
against my face i'll manner that was
at times quito painful My eyes were.
however, protected by o suitable pair CT
spectacles TINT 1 had taken the precau-
ton to provide myself with.
l was able from my position to watch
closely the behavior of tho axle frame.
was acquainted with the position and
character of every curve on the line.
and consequently knew Just when to be
specially watchful. My qualification
was complete when l found that in
every respect the views had advocated
We're correct. Every swivel and lever
worked splendidly, and the undue strain
ing that my friend had insisted must
occur at certain points did not exist.
There was absolutely no way of improy.
ing the mechanism that could see.
We had passed the worst curve on
the line and We're now greatly increas.
ing our speed. We were entering OH
the fastest bit of the journey, and
things were getting lively for me. The
pitching and rolling of small boat in
midchannel in "choppy" weather were
not to be compared to the motion I ex
perienced 1t was more like being vio- |
1ently tossed in the blanket
One jolt sent me flying upward. and / |
struck my head against the framework |
with such force that the blow nearly !
stunned me- AT another time 1 was
nearly rolled out beneath the wheels. |
was compelled to hold on to tho sides of |
the sacking for dear life, and my hands |
were battered good deal. To make |
matters worse, q giddiness and nausea
were coming over me-a virtual seasick-
ness-and kept asking myself why l |
had been mad enough to embark ON such |
"a foolhardy undertaking.
Suddenly turning my eyes to one of |