The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-05-03
IT WAS A CLOSE CALL.
HOW A TELEGRAPHeR WAS CURED OF
SLEEPING ON DUTY.
predicament OF n Night Operator at n
Lonely station-An Evasion Of the Rules
That Gave the Boys "a Chance to Sleep,


but Which Came Near Causing Disaster.
station III, where l worked, F" he said,
lis a night station on "a single track rail
road in New Hampshire. G., the nearest
night telegraph station north of it, was
eight miles away, and N, the nearest one
south, was ~. My duty in summer was
solely that of operator. In winter / also
looked after the fires in the waiting rooms
After o'clock all the trains that passed
were freights, and there were half dozen
south bound and as many more north
bound in the course of the night. 1t was
part of my duty TO note the time that each
of the trains passed my station and report
1t at once to headquarters at A--the same
rule applying TO all the operators on the
line. That was one of the customs which
made 1t dangerous for an operator to fall
asleep, IL only for five minutes Another
thing that annoyed him and often made
him swear was the roll call. This consist
ed in the train dispatcher at A Office go
miles south of HI calling each Office on the
line every half hour, beginning with the
one nearest his own. The station that
failed to answer roll call had black
mark placed against it at A, with record
VI tAc tiiuc NHtn tnc Cdll was RlNcu. Az
first the roll call made all the boys look
sharp and toe the line. But they soon
found way to cheat it.
Several of the owls on the line ar
ranged to take turns with each other in
answering the roll. For example, the oper-
ator at G would answer my calls between
the hours of l and 3, and would attend
to his from 3 to 8. What cracking good
way this was to battle the train dispatcher
we thought, and the exchange of duty be-
tween us was kept up for long time-in
fact, almost too long so far as my own case
was concerned. i refer to an incident that
took place during the winter of 1885,
which for u few hours nearly froze the
marrow in my bones. 1t happened like
this:
Through freight No gal, north bound
was due at my station at 80, and was
scheduled to meet south bound freight
No. 2S4 at p, 10 miles farther up the road.
No PAL was scarcely ever behind time,
and thc two trains usually met at p with
out requiring telegraphic orders. The
night in question was very cold and
stormy. Fully three feet of snow had fall
en-, and it was still coming down very fast
while high wind was piling it in big
drifts across the track On night like
that the incessant humming of the wires
outside the station is enough of itself to
put n sentinel to sleep, and that coupled
with the hour, :15, and an office temper
allure of 80 degrees, was more than my
weary frame could resist. ! fell asleep,
knowing, of course, that G would, accord
ing to our arrangement, look after my roll
calls. After what seemed to me about like
90 minutes but what was really more than
two hours, was awakened by the sharp
clicking of the telegraph instrument near
my head.
"'Qk 12' was being made with great
rapidity, the call for my office preceding it.
knew it was the train dispatcher, the alb
breviation meaning Quick We want you
to hold train!'
81 answered the call, and the command
came back quick and sharp:
"'Hold No. 241 for orders
go. K, said I, and Immediately hung
the proper signal, a red lantern, outside
the door.
"Then came to my senses and looked
at my watch
twenty-five minutes past 3! And 1
had heard no train in almost three hours.
Had No. 241 got past wondered. found
that it had left N at IL 40, and the run
from N to III usually took about 80 min
utes 1 knew the storm would probably
delay the train somewhat. But two whole
hours? 1t wasn't likely. Then l heard
No. 2S4 reported from p, and knew she
had received orders to meet No. PAL some
where between p and III.
"What if No. 241 had got by me and
was trying to reach z for the down freight
In that case the two trains were bound TO
ocl fl,oy. In he, ytn
help for it, My excitement was increased
by the repeated calls of the train dispatch
err to ask if No. PAL was in sight.
Not yet, answered, trembling lest
my hopes were in vain.
"Three thirty five, and no train. / went
out on the platform and listened. Not
sound could be heard above that of the
wind, and an engines headlight wouldn't
have been visible ten rods away.
II went back, grounded one of the
wires, so as to cut out A Office, and called
g, hoping to find whether No. PAL had
reached there. No answer. Then / re-
membered that from to was G's time
to bunk off, and knew it was useless try
ing to get him.
"Ten minutes more and the freight had
not arrived.
"'Sure it hasn't gomez asked the train
dispatcher excitedly, as though doubling
me.
Sure, said 1.
For Gods sake, don't let it get by
you'll he urged.
"Well, O'Clock came, and my courage
was giving way. l could see how two
hours or SO might be needed for freight
to go IL miles on such night But three
hours and over so slow run had never
been known on the road.
"What was TO be done? To admit my
uncertainty meant the loss of my job, and
to brave it out any longer seemed almost
criminal. In my despair finally decided
TO tell the train dispatcher the plain truth
that | had been asleep ut my post. and that
No. ell probably went by more than an
hour ago The TACT woald be known in a
few hours any way, argued. and ! would
then he arrested for causing death, con-
victed Of criminal negligence and sent TO
prison.
at was then AIS. | drew u long breath
and went over To the telegraph desk. Head
quarters was again callri9 TO ask II the
n Il. 4. 49,.