The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-09
THE STORY OF
A FRIDAY ENGINE.
From the - York So.

BY which the tourist Travelled across the
Rocky Mountains. They were 20 be COM
pact. short. strong and swift capable Of
pulling ike a mule on a heavy grade ana
running like a scared wolf in the valley.
At that time the concern was turning out
g locomotive complete every twenty-fcur
hours. Look al the workmen as they be-
gin to erect the two 'Rockaways, as they
were afterward called. probably because
they rolled and rocked when running at
a high rate Of speed through the crooked
canOns Of Colorado. on the floor of the
shop are two boilers. two sets OF frames.
cylinders. eccentrics-in short all the parts
OF a locomotive in duplicate-aud from this
heap the helpers bring one OF each of the
duplicate parts, and the machinists put
them together until one locomotive is com
pleted and rolled out TO be painted. Out
Of what is left the second engine is made.
There is no culling or sorting. and as the
separate parts Of each are made by one
and the same pattern, there is no good
reason why these two locomotives should
not ride. run and steam equally well.
When the TWO engines We're completed.
painted and numbered. they were loaded
onto a standard gauge fiat car and ship
ped 70 the road for which they We're built.
When they arrived and had taken stalls
in the round house at Pueblo, they became
engines lUl and 100, and attracted a great
deal Of attention from the enginemen of
the division
She's a scary loolSfn' devil" said Badly
HoOten, as he stood in front OF 1O7; and
she really did look a bit top heavy, with
her long legs, short body, and feet" so
close together that they could almost run
on one rail.
Take her, you fellows that are Iookin'
for fly runs, don't want her" And with
that Badly walked out Of the round house
and over to the place Of the Triangle"
and shook the man there for a cigar
When the two engines had been raced
around the yards a few days and lin
bered up 100 was coupled on to the Pa
cihc express one night and introduced to
the curves and corners Of the Grand
Canon. The road then was not what il
is now. The next time you 20 through
there, If you sit on the rear platform Won
will notice that the crumbling grade that
marks the route of the old narrow gauge
crosses the present standard track 100
times in ntty minutes. II was so crooked.
Baby said. that new runner was sure.
az some or the corners, TO shut off for
his own headlight However, 100 held the
rail and made good record; so good. in
fact, that, Notwithstanding IL was Friday
JOY was sent out on the following night
She left the house an hour before leav-
ing time, and it was lucky she did. for
she ran on the track at the water tank
and was got back barely in time TO take
her train out.
No man can eall me superstitlous."
said the engineer But they amt no sense
IN temptin' Providence by takin' a new
engine out on Friday"
'Itn be midnight before you reach the
canon, said the night foreman land
there Is no danger this side"
There danger in bed eff it's down that
way" was the sullen response of the
driver as he backed down and coupled
on to the express.
IL was one of those clear moonlight
nights that make every peak and pinnacle
on the mountain ranges stand out as clear
ana distinct against the cold sky as
they DO IN the daytime; moon that
shames the headlight, and shows the twin
threads of steel running away off Wonder
anu meeting and going on together where
me DARKNESS begins. Being new, with "A
cream Doller, lUi steamed like a burning
house, and the fireman, not being AZ
iected by the fact Of its sim being Friday.
found time TO hang out the open window
and watch the silver ripples thar were
romping on the cold, white bosom of the
winding river along whose banks the road
Not a word had passed between the on
gineer and fireman since they started out
anu now they were swinging around the
curves at a good express gait. The new
engine was rocking like a light boat on a
rough sea, but otherwise she was riding
as easily as a coach. 1t was IL 80 when theV,
passed Goodnight, and two minutes later
the fireman was startled by that dread
Iul word which almost every fireman has
hSarH at some Tune or another: Jump"
II IS as natural Tor an engineer to call
70 his fireman to jump and save himself
Ior ne Is OF no use on locomotive about
70 ne wreckedEas II is for the engineer
Jump" shouted the driver, and the fire.
man glancing ahead saw a confused ming
and the track. He Jumped and came down
on bunch of sage brush amid a shower
OF steers, and saw l07 leave the track.
plough along the side Of the low bank and
finally stop without turning over THE
train-the engineer having set the air
stopped with all the cars. save the mail
car, still on the track.
Thus, on her first trip made bad record
and got herself talked about. of course
she was put back onto the run as soon as
a Few slight injuries were repaired for IL
was no unusual thing in those days, where
the track was not fenced in to plough nm
herd OF cattle on a run like this. In fact
a. railroad track seems to be a favorite
place for cattle to sleep and deaf people
to walk. ''One-seven" went along for
week or more and her crew had begun to
thlnk wen or her when she disgraced her
self by breaking both parallel rods-those
bars of steel that tie the wheels together
and with the broken ends whiDDed her cab
into splinters before the fireman could
crawl over her high boiler head and shut
her off; for the engineer had both legs
broken, and from the ripped and riddled
deck was unable to reach the throttle
though the fireman said he tried standing
on the two stubs of his broken legs
When the 'scary lookin' devil" as
Badly Hooten had called her, had gone
to the shops and her driver to the hospi-
tai, the trainmen and enginemen began
to discuss her from a superstitious stand
point Not one railroad employe in a
dozen will admit that he is the least lit
tie bit superstitious. but watch them when
they see new moon, and if nine out of
every ten don't go down in their clothes
and turn over silver" it's because they
are broke and in the left breast pocket
OF three out of every five switchmen YOU
meet, sandwiched in between a lead PEN
Gil and tooth brush you will find the
fuzzy foot Of graveyard rabbit killed
in the dark of the moon
For the third time within three months
from the day she left the Baldwin shops
1Gl was limbered up and put onto the reg
ular night run from Pueblo to Leadville;
and on the second trip she left the track
at switch and turned over, killed the en-
glneer and fireman, and crippled the mail
agent The switch. upon examination
was found to be all right, and in fact no
one seemed able to give any good reason
why siie engine should have left the rail:
only her old driver. turning over in his
little iron bed, said Friday" and went
to sleep again.
Of course, the railway officers simply
laughed at the foolish talk of the men
about the Rockaway being "unlucky" be-
cause she went out on Friday, but when
she was rebuilt she was transferred and
put on a less important run, with not SO
many people behind her
ITS all poppycock.' said McIvor, oiling
the engine, this Friday talk is all chid's
taik; then he stopped short lOked at the
new moon, and made a wish.
OF course II is, said Paymaster O'Con-
nor, who, noticing McIvor's play at the
moon. worked his fingers N his tror7eo~-