The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-10-29
RAILROAD MEN ON ".oo7."
Some Expert Criticisms of Rudysrd Kip
ling's Engine Story.

The story of Rudyard Kipling, entitled
e.O07," i'm which many Of the characters
are locomotives, has attracted considerable
attention in railroad circles, and many
professional railroad men agree in credis-
ing the author with unusual knowledge
of railroad usages, technical terms and
mechanical matters. Much of the CONVEX
sation i'm the story Is carried on by loco
motives of various types, which meet in n
roundhouse, where .007, ian eight wheeled
American loco" becomes acquainted with
4 number of his fellows.
"You can't expect writer OF jungle
stories TO be letter perfect in railroad mat
ters," said an old engineer, especially IL
the writer is an Englishman and the rail
road matters i'm his stories are American
He tries hard TO appear American, but In
the first sentence in which the engine with
the impossible name is referred to he
shows his Englisx No one on this side Of
the water ever refers to an engine as
"loco and the author never once uses
the word engine i'm his story. If Kipling's
'.007 had been written for England or the
colonies, it would have been perfectly
proper to refer TO "a certain style of engine
as American in build, but in this coun-
try we have only American locomotives,
and no practical railroad man in the Unit
ed States uses the word 'bogy' when
speaking of a truck. These errors show
that Kipling is like Sullivan's tar and
'In spite of all temptations
To belong to other nations
He remains an Englishman.
"If he had been reared in this country
or had more than bowling acquaintance
with railroad people, he would not have
spoken of an engine as he, and he would
have chosen some other decoration than
pea green with a red buffer bar for one
of the most conspicuous of his collection
of 'locos I"
Edgar Van Etten, generals superintend-
ent of the New York Central and Hudson
River railroad, says 1T is one of the best
| railroad stories l ever read. Many writers
| try to write similar tales, but they usually
! fail when they strike technical points.
| But Kipling has made none of the usual
| plumbers, and his story would be most ex-
| cellent from the railroad mans point of
view, but for few slight errors. For ex-
| ample: I've trouble enough in my own
! division, said lean, light suburban loco,
with very shiny brake shoes. My com
muters wouldn't rest till they got parlor
car They've hitched it on just ahead OF
| the caboose, and it hauls worse a snow
| pillow.
| 'Now, a caboose every one knows, Is
the car at the end of freight train, and
no one ever saw n caboose and a parlor cal
hitched as Kipling described. His satire
| on the yardmaster is simply delicious. II
may be little overirawn, but it shows
that officer TO be an unlimited monarch
and that S what he is for the time being
| But when the author has the yardmastel
examining freight receipts he makes an
other error A yardmaster never sees thes'
documents He handles way bills anC
running bills, but never freight receipt
Mr. Kipling shows that he has been arounI
engines and knows much about them b.
mentioning the fact that they carry jack
screws, but he probably never heard o
any one in a roundhouse talk about 'ice'
water. New York Tribune.