The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1897-01-20
THE ROANOKE TINES. WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 20 1897
TRAINING GRIPMEN.
BREAKING IN CoUNTRYMeN FOR CITY
RAILWAY SERVICE.

foung Farmers Mako tho Best Griprea
on Acceunt Of Their Strength and eau
tion-A SituatIcn That Requires Close
Attention and PLENTY of Nerve.
"Where do the gripmen como from?"
3 strong armed. blue uniformed en-
ployee of the Washington and George
town railway was asked last night as he
left his car at the end Of tho route for q
cup of coffee and sandwich in tho all
night restaurant.
why, from the country, most Of
them. These fellows who are raised on
cigarettes and beer in tho city don't
seem to have the muscle necessary to
throw on the brake and stop the train
Oh down grade. Then again country
man is mighty careful about going
through the streets. He's afraid that ey-
cry 1sAn he secs step off tho pavement is
going to be run over, and he is absolute
ly certain that every team that comes
out from cross street is going to collide
with him. 1t takes him about two
years TO got over this fear, and then, as
he becomes little careless, no has few
accidents that smash up Tenders and take
the paint off tho coaches, and then bo
gets fired, and the road is ready to break
III another oountryman.
"How do they break them in?"
well, thoy arc mighty careful with
them. a new man on the grip is about
the worst scared object in the world.
Talk about your condemned man being
scared when he's walking ont to be
hnnged-why, his sensations mint in it
with the man who's running Il grip car
for the first time. To be sure, Ill expert
enced gripman is on tho car right be-
side him, ready to throw on tho braker
and sound tho lookout bell But be-
tween tho grip, and tho wheel brake,
and tho track brake, and the go ahead
and stop signals, and the look out
bells, and tho people jumping on and or
the grip car, your new gripman just geta
scasick. They say they don't mind it,
but they're talking through their bon
nets, that's all. Then, another thing,
the way they throw on tho brake yanks
their arms out Of joint and makes 'em
good and sore, tell you.
There's something funny abous
braking up grip car. came from the
country to my job, but WASH It always
a plowboy. When Twas u young fellow,
used to work i'll country printing Of
flee, and used to have to run n Washing
ton hand press. Ever run Washington
hand press-you re in the newspaper
business? What Never run one? Well,
then, can't tell you anything about it,
except that if you don't know tho trick
you can t throw 'er over and get an i'm
preston no more than u rabbit. You
may have muscle like a blacksmith,
but if you don't know the knack you
cant pull tho lever over, but if you are
on to the trick, and don't weigh more'n
80 pounds, you can throw her around
just like lightning and mako 600 i'm
presslons al hour-that is, if you've got
n good devil to do your linking.
Well, as I was saying. that's just
like braking up grip Car. Some big
follows weighing 200 pounds, with mus
Giles on them like Fitzsimmons, go ous
on ono of these grips with two coaches
behind EN-, and the way they brake 'er
up makes all tho passengers think they
have gone to sea. Then little fellow,
who don't look heavy enough to handle
team of mules attached to sulky
pillow. gets job on the road, and he
grabs that old grip liko drum major
throwing baton, and he'll get the
knack Of the thing right quick, aud when
he brakes 'er up the passengers think
that the first waltz at tho Charity ball
is just starting.
But while he may he throwing Oh
the brakes all right he's kind of off his
pins when 1t comes to hearing the two
bells for go ahead. You see, new man
can't do everything at once. Takes
about week to get tho shiver off, ais.
during that timo regular gripm.n runs
with the new man. keeping sharp look
ont. Then the new man, after his week,
goes TO the superintendent and has ia
pass an examination. They ask him all
about tho signals, and where other cars
cross, and where the dead men are
dead man IS block you strike if you
don't let go tho cable where you have
to, and If you over strike dead man
your jobs gone, no ifs and ands ebout
lt-and all about tho street and so on.
We'll, II tho now man passes the eXami-
nation, he puts up $40. and they give
him certificate, and no can go and put
that up for uniform and an overcoat,
and there you Arches Il gripman, ready
for 20 degrees below zero and 100 do
grocs above zero and his little old 81
day.
1.-The company's breaking i'll six new
gripmen on the Fourteenth street line
right now. Two of tho old men died
and couple quit. Each line always
keeps about dozen extra gripmen on
hand ready for an emergency, so they're
breaking Ill these new ones. One of the
new boys had an accident at Ninth and
the avenue tho other afternoon. Ran
into an Anacostia bobtail car. By GIN