The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-02-04
Name of Road,


A local railway official who has been rail-
icading for twenty years, commencing at
the bottom, in speaking of the most danger
Gus positions in railway service, said he
had given the matter much attention and
had found that more men, in proportion to
the number employed, were manned for life
or killed in yards, the men who do the
switching service. The next most dangerous
position is that Of freight train brakeman.
Brakemen often do switching and in that
manner receive injury; they are knocked
Off the tops of trains by bridges. slip off
when running over the train, and are ex-
posed daily in hundreds of ways. Next
comes the fireman. who in case of a col
lision stands a poor show to get off the
footboard as compared with the engineer.
said the gentleman: 1T should be borne in
mind that in running 100 miles the fireman,
two-thirds of the time, is throwing coal
into the fire box, and If an engineer sees
trouble ahead and calls to his fireman it
is difficult for him to hear what he says so
much noise is there when the fire box door
is open; 1t takes several seconds for the
called to by his engineer. Engineer come
next AS to the dangers in their occupation,
an engineer, when he sees a collision inevi-
table or a rail out, or some other thing
which means serious trouble, stands by his
engine until he has done ali possible to stop
he has, is caught in the wreck and crushed
to death. Passenger train service Is much
less dangerous than freight service. even to
the engineer and fireman, as PASSENGER
trains are usually better protected than are
freight trains. On passenger trains the
are those Who usually suffer- in case of
wrecks, collisions. etc. Occasionally a con-
ductor is killed. but it Is rare for a brakeman
on a passenger train to be MANNED or
killed: in fact q passenger brakeman has
one OF the most desirable jobs in the train
is running back in case Of trouble with the
train he is on and tagging against a follow
Ing train. and SO many roads are now run
alert II the airbrake fails to operate, but
they often run months without putting on
the old style brake to stop a train, as, When
the airbrake fails to operate on the train,
the engine equipped with one will usually
Statistics of Interest.
The Lake Erie & Western earned in the
last week of January 500, SOL. So. an increase
over the corresponding week of 1894 of 3d.
122.3 30. The earnings for January were $271,-
42s.01. an Increase over January, 1894, of
$s9.612.51. No road. it is thought. in this
section of the country VIII show such an
increase in January this year as does the l..
Il. & w. on Its mileage. and the exhibit
would have been even more favorable had
the road not been shut out of Peoria a por-
ton of the month on account of being
ahead of its agreed per cents. on business
cdSt ATOAi- JIG punt
Belt road engines handled at the Indian
apolis stock yards, in January. 1851 car
loads OF live stock, against 5,4H in December
an increase in January this year of 147 cars.
There were transferred over the Belt road
in January e4,2s9 cars, against $500 in De-
cember. an increase in January of twenty
one cars.
In January there was handled at the Pan
har die city freight depots 1885. 903 pounds
Of freight. representing 3,s12 cars, against
2s.5e5, $40 pounds in the correspe nding month
of 1894, representing 3.155 cars; an increase
in tonnage this year of 3,S22, 26S pounds; in
number of cars handled. 157.
The Peoria, Decatur e. Evansville earned
in January SO. 763. IS, an increase over Janu-
ory, 1894, of S14,5701 6. Since July i. the be-
ginning Of the fiscal year with the road. ii
has earned 1861. 1851 an increase over the