Evening star., 1895-03-16
TO START A TRAIN,
1t Is Really Quite an Event and In
wolves n Complex System.

1t is Really Quite an Event and In
wolves n Complex System.
From the Philadelphia PresA
The 4:I0 Harrisburg express, mo. g."
will leave in two minutes from the Broad
street station. A stream Of trunks flies
through the door of the baggage car and
passengers hurry through the gate and
down the platform, amid chorus of good
byes and tears, mayhap. When the stout
gentleman on the parlor car platform sees
that the time Is up, he jams his watch into
his pocket and retires to his seat, knowing
or caring nothing more about the starting
of his train than that "she" is on schedule
time today. Beyond getting ticket and a
seat. the average traveller notices little
else connected with the pulling out of his
train. The train is there, and there is
nothing for it to do but so ahead 1t can't
go backward without tearing up the Broad
street station, and that's the end of it.
Notwithstanding this very logical answer,
the starting of a train is complicated af-
fair, Involving large number of men be-
sides the engineer and fireman in their
grimy cab, the natty biue-coated conduc-
tor on the platform and the busy station
master. who are prominently in evidence.
mo. 81" arrived from New York six min
utes ago, and as the long train was backed
into the train shed, the engine painted Off
up the track to rest, and a fresh locomo-
tive puffed jauntily down to take hold for
the next stage of the run. Two very en-
ergetie men in overalls. the steam inspec-
tor and the lair Inspector" have been
lodging around under the cars, and as the
new engine backs up the lair inspector" Is
seen to be a very important person. for the
engineer does not couple ON to the train
until he has been given permission by the
inspector, and then there is great kissing
of steam and whistle of air brakes as the
engineer tests the heating and the brakes,
under the critical eye of the inspector.
One of them sticks small blue flag on the
front car platform and nothing in the
world would tempt the engineer to move a
wheel while that blue signal flies. 1t
means that the inspector doesn't want the
train to go, and you may be very sure it
won't go.
They Push the Button.
When the lair inspector" has reported to
the station master that alrs right, the
latter hurrfes to an electric button just I'M
der the edge of the platform. along the
track and pushes it five times. Pushing
buttons is the most prevalent occupation
in this neighborhood. This tapping the
train" rings bell in a little cage of q box
up in the air over the entrance gates
where the train starter sits and plays a
keyboard studded with wonder working
buttons. The train starter taps a reply
to the station master, and one minute be-
fore he sends out the train pushes but
ton which tells the signal tower at 18th
street to look out for mo. st. on track
No. 8. Then the man In the cage fingers
his keyboard with one tap that tells the
ticket Office to close the sale for NO ST.
and with another tap notifies the gate
keeper down below to close the entrance
against any belated appealing passengers.
Then the starters duty is done.
The gateman looks down the platform
and sees that all the passengers and bag
gage are on board and he presses a button
which does the final trick. Up in the gloom
above the gates CLEANS row Of red lights,
one for each track. At the gateman's sig
nal the red disk falls from the front Of the
light, and to the watching train men 1t
CLEANS out clear and white. "An clear"
sings out the station master, the conductor
waves his hand to the engine man watch
ing from his cab window, and with q