Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1896-09-10
Just Before the Collision.

There Is something attractive about
railroad life to the man who once enters
it. The railroad companies rarely give
up a reliable, faithful man. He may
become manned and unfit for the most
remunerative positions and be forced to
accept some humber place with a
smaller salary attached to it, but itis
an unwritten law with most of the
great railroad corporations that the
man who is injured in their service
shall be placed in some position where
he NAV obtain his livelihood.
Thus it may happen that when You
fell in conversation with the man who
occupies an humble switch-house or a
aagnan's shanty, you are talking with
one who has had his share of excite
ment, and been through experiences
that would make the hair Of the aver
age man stand upon end. A reporter
met switchman the other day. the
pathos of whose life was expressed IN
the wooden leg which he used, and as
the Empire dashed by he looked up
and said:
Yes. | like railroading. have
been in the business all my life, and
expect to spend the rest of my days
over the rails, but | am quite content
to remain here in my little cottage and
tend to my tagging rather than have
the position of the man who holds the
throttle on that big engine which Jast
whizzed by here You may think 1t
a snap to sit there and ride oyer.the
country at the rate Of a mile minute,
but tell YOU that man carries load
of responsibility on his shoulders which
7 would not want on mine, and which
the average man knows very little
aLon+ know something of it. for |
va. fireman some wears AGO on one of
the fast engines, and lost my leg man
accident between here and Albany.
But if 7 had come out of that accident
os sound as Won are never should
have been able to hold my nerve for
anv more fast trips. That finished me
for that work.
Then if man has been hurt in a
railroad accident it makes him scarry
of that kind Of work, does it p asked
the reporter.
ovor hat Il does answered the
.,,.;.oL,,.r With omnb,sjs "and don t
Ioto,vope fool You that it don't The
-, .,l ,,.,s r,nr;ngtbat engine the
dow was bnrt escaped with hardly a
scratch bnt he never could keep his
time m the way he did before that,
and fn.IIv was put ON freight en-
,;oo whore be runpjng was a great
I,,l .Iouor
- I'LL ,,o,..r foro.t tbe wav he
1ooI,oJ the afternoon the smashup oc-
curreJ. just before the crash came
loo,od st him We were rounding a
crrye down bv Schenectady. His
Iopo gray hair was flowing in the
breeze. his face set, and his eyes fixed
on the track ahead.
oAII at once he Jumped to bis feet
and reversed the lever and exclaimed
in startled tone, My God, we are
oor,btr Il was probably not more
than half minute after when I was
Iv;rg beneath the engine with my leg
orrsbod utterly unconscious Of the fact
that a great wreck had occurred, but
every movement and occurrence Of
that half minute is as vividly I'M
,ressad ppon nv mind as if it had
toL.n weeks Of time to impress it
+bore
n..Lo .roI,e 7 looked through the
..h ,,.;ndor ,bsad Of rs. and there,
,,.;,h;n tvontv rods was a freight en-
....,..-,;,ost str.i,bt At us and there
IN oborco 70 e.car,e a
- IT, eroireer was doing his
49,, L,ew that He was revers.
a.. I.ror onrIy;og the brakes. and