The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-08-29
HE GOT THE RIGHT OF WAY.
The Engineer OF the FIyinE NiEger
Passed the Crossing First


From the PhiIal.ratia Times.
Yes" said the old engineer rehecuvely,
as he filled his PIPE. "these interlockin'
signals and 20 on ar 400 very pretty in
theory, but the thea-y doesn't always
work out. as. for instaa-e. in the Atlantic
City wreck For ny part. give me the old
fashioned way of stopp1' az all grade
crossin's, and there'u Dee no trouble
And that reminds me-. be continued.
returning the borrovel tobacco bag 10
the fireman. of an iIr---nt which Oc-
CURED one time about twenty years ago
when ] was runnin' Oh the Crooked River
branch Of this line At that time the
Danville road crosse Us al grade near
Monterey. There wasn't no fancy set Of
switches nor signals there in them days;
not even watchman The rule was that
all trains must come 20 a dead stop 800
feet short Of the cro-s.u', and after max
IN sure the way was clear. 10 go slowly
over Passenger trains had right Of way
over freight, and freight over coal
Well. sometimes We stopped, and some
times We didn't. especially II we We're late
or IN a hurry. I was running the day ex-
press then, and on account Of the cars be-
in painted black as web as our fast
schedule. the train was known as the Fly
away Niger. something like the Empire
State express and So On to-day. There
was a mean, crusty engineer on the Dan
Vile road, who used TO chase himself
across in front of me day after day with
his old mixed train Of freight and pas
senger cars until I got tired out. See here,
Bill said / TO him one night you don't
want TO be so burned quick on the trigger
in goin' over that crOssin at Monterey
ahead of me. You know we'll enough
nave the right Of way over your blamed
old train, and its only fair you treat me
white Bill snorted out that I could go
TO the devil, and that he'd run his train
to suit himself. All right, Bill says 1,
II that's the way you're goin' TO act,
you've got TO take the consequences
Coin to report me. I spose, he said.
Not much, says l. that amt my style,
but the next time you get in my way,
look out and with that ] left him for
was too blamed mad to talk"
well. next night ! saw Bill with his
pesky little train crawlin' along toward the
crossin' just as I blowed for Monterey. 1
had two express, four coaches and a Pull
man; a pretty heavy train in them days;
but put on steam, pulled the whistle
and hustled out lively Bill had the start
of me, however, and he made his old
teapot Of an engine nearly bust, but he
got there first and went hckety split over
the crossin', yankin' the trail end of his
train right from the front of my engine.
Then 1 saw him and his fireman maxim
faces at me. All right my boy thought
1, your turn viii surely come"
Next night he did me up again, and the
night after that he once more bumped
his rickety old rollin' stock under my nose.
] nearly had a At, but I never let on. OF
course. by this time the crews were on to
the case, and one scared brakeman re-
ported me 10 the superintendent. / got
a note TO come 70 his office at once. l went,
& inc nd ma 4 "a
the order that If 1 didn't get the F1yaway
Niger over that crossin' ahead of the
Danvflle train that night / might hunt
another job. Oh, he was a dandy, that
superintendent. - t-
We'll, ! didn't want to lose my job. and
l was blame anxious to take a wheel off
Bills train, so didn't feel very much cut
up over the order. Get a good head of
steam on, Pete said to the fireman, the
Flyaway Niger goes over the crossin' first
tonight, or Bill and us go to he'll together.
Good said Pete.
Owe got to Monterey two minutes ahead
of time, and was swingin' along conf
dent Ike when, bust my hide, II old Bill
| didn't Room up IN the distance hell bent
for the crossin', at a speed which I could
easy see was goin' to land him there just
| about the time we would be usin' them
| rails. I blowed, and he blowed. We were
| both goin' about the same speed, say forty
| miles an hour. The passengers were dead
game They was hangin out the win
dows yellin' and cussin' each other as hard
as they could, and l heard afterward that
two of them stak6d their accident insur-
ance tickets on tine result
"Bill was dom himself proud; he had a
train of one fiat, three box and a pas.
senger car. the fiat being next the en-
CINE. I saw he was about thirty feet
! ahead of me, and calculated I'd &c
| through him inst a bOut the fiat oar uyhar
| Pete yelled, and I saw him pointin IL
the box cars. 1t was no wonder he yelled
| on every canvas q big sign: