The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1897-02-02

rSc~<-saS-S---> wv III u lliO-
ment. The
majority of people don't half realize
the work there is to do, or the re-
sronsibiIities Of the "foot-plate.
often think, myself, the differ
cnce there Is between us chaps and
the captain OF n Channel boat. |
used to think of it more when l was
on the Son Western" running the
Continental train to southampton.
Maybe had n couple of hundred lives
in tow but I'll venture to say very
few of them thought of the man who
had them and the train in sole charge,
for though the firemans along with
you, the driver is responsible for ey.
erything, including him. Yet when
the passengers stepped aboard the
Channel boat, if they got o glimpse
of the captain they'd look at him with
kind of awe.
don't say all this ont OF jealousy,
but I've often thought if we had a uni
form, with gold lace round our caps
and collars and IN engine worked on
our shoulders, folks who were going
long journey would think more of
lis, and say: That's our driver"
just rs you hear them remark That's
our captain"
Still, as say, wouldn't
change. There's charm about
the "ioot-plnte" and pride
in your engine that only n driver
knows. Why, I've seen men get quite
affectionate over favorite engine,
and almost cry when they were
changed to another. Adventures?
Well, the life's full of adventures,
more or less; not very interesting to
the general public, perhaps, but ex-
citing enough to us. Stop, though.
can tell you one adventure | had wears
ago. which will interest you-about
the most remarkable thing that ever
happened to rae, and about rs curious
an affair as you could find in the his
tory OF the line, | reckon. twas while
l was on the Sou'-Western, and before
became a regular express driver.
Before you can quite understand it,
l must tell you something about the
line itself. From Chapman Junction
to Hampton Court there are four lines
of rails, two of them used for up and
down fast" trains, and the others for
up and down "slow." You have the
same sort OF thing on some of the other
lines; the London and Northwestern,
for instance, has four lines as far as
Roade, beyond Bletchley, only they
are worked differently to the South
western.
The London and Northwestern run
their up and down fast trains on the
two left hand lines of rails from Eus-
ton, and the up and down slow on the
two right hand, so that, vixen two
trains are going in the same direc.
ton there IS always n line OF metals
between them But from Chaplain to
Hampton Court Junction the outer
;. left hand rail is used for slow, and the
next to it, the inner left hand, for
fast, the outer right aud inner right
being used for up-slow and fast re-
spectively. The "up.slow" extends all
the way to Woking. but this has
nothing to do with my story.
Thus, you see, if one train passes
another going in the same direction.
the trains are close together. Some
times ] have known two trains travel
alongside each other at the same rate
FOR two or three minutes, and more
than once / have spoken from my en-
CINE TO the driver OF another train,
4 and given or received q bit OF 'bac-v
when we were going ut the rate Of
forty or fifty miles nm hour The
Northern system is generally cousid-
cred TO be the better OF the two, but
The Southwestern still sticks 20 the
: other plan.
One day, in the winter Of l8s ~.
there bad been special cheap czcur.
sion from Portsmouth 20 Waterloo /
forget what tho occasion voe; but,
anyhow ] was detailed on duty to Toxic
this train back Co Portsmouth We
were 90 start nt 0.27, and as far "a
Hampton Continuation to run on tho
outer, or slow, line. The last trniu
b before us was the nine O'Clock, 20 you
4 see we expected clear run. We wero
not to stop anywhere before teaching
Portsmouth
The train was o heavy ono, as %
good number of people had taken % ]
vantage ~ the ezcursion, and it
seemed tlat va ahou.d hardly get OF
20 time. matter OF fact. howev-
er, We yer only two minutes late in
stnriine nuI " ne soon bowling away
merriiY towards The south
Tho boat express to southampton
leaves Waterloo ne 9.3j, and runs
from there to Basingstoke without q
: stop travelling 70 Hampton Court
junction ON the fast line. We had
iNst passed Rvan's Park when heard