The record-union., 1899-12-31
IN AN ENGINE CAB.
LIVES OF PASSENGERS IN THE
ENGINEERS HANDS.

LIVES OF PASSENGERS IN THE
ENGINEERS hands.
Crucial Seconds When the Man at
the Throttle il Severely
Tested.
To the engineer belongs the most
hazardous and at the same time the
most responsible task Of any of the
men who run the train, and the pas
sengers on one of the great flyers as
they LON back in their seats reading
the most recent work of fiction or gaz-
ing placidly forth at the scenery,
scarcely ever give a thought to the
fact that ahead of them is dust and
oil begrimed man who, for the time be-
| ing, literally carries their lives in the
hollow of his sweaty hand, and to
whose watchful and alert eyes and un-
lfiinching nerve they may owe their es-
cape from horrible death.
But SO it is, and this man, the en-
gineer, usually of humble origin and
meager education, is a man for all
that, and one of force, and with the
power and will to do and to die in the
pursuit of his duty should the occasion
ever occur. 1t is extraordinary how
few cases there are where engineers
have been found derelict in the moment
of trial. There have been innumerable
wrecks since railroads were first In
troduced into the country, but the rec
ord of the number of engineers VINO
have failed when the crucial test came
| is infiniteSimal It should be remem-
bered that there is no way in which
| the courage of an engineer can be- test
| ed, and only by actual participation in
wreck can he receive his baptism OF
fire.
| When once danger appears in front
an engineers duty is, first, to close the
throttle; second, to apply the ali
brakes; third, to reverse the engine
that is, to throw the reversing lever,
which enables the engine to run in the
opposite direction from which 1t had
been going; fourth, to reopen the throt-
| tile.
| To do these four acts calls for but a
fraction of time, but where wrecks re-
suit the danger is usually so imminent
as frequently not to leave even suffl-
Gent interval to accomplish them, and
| often when the ruins have been cleared
away the body of the faithful guardian
has been discovered with his hand stlfi
in death on the throttle, reverse lever
or brake, and bearing silent witness
as to how far he had got toward the
accomplishment of that duty which he
had yielded his life to perform.
| Many engineers are reckless, and will
take awful chances. AT one time
certain driver was taking through q
special train consisting of empty
freight cars and a caboose. The sta
ton master told him that the down
train was a. trifle late, and due at the
next station beyond, seven miles away
at 237 o'clock. CHANGING at his watch
the engineer said he had nine minutes,
and decided to take the chance He had
to cross a bridge just beyond the town
he was leaving, and midway across he
began to increase his speed.
CAME. TOGETHER HEAD ON.
| AS the engine struck ground again
on the other side, and they headed
straight up the rivers valley, ne
threw her wide open, and gave her
every ounce of steam there was in the
boiler. Three miles further on, when
running to the limi. Of his capacity, he
struck the down train head on Both
engineers and firemen were killed out
right, and the engines reduced to
condition that rendered them fit only
for the scrap heaps.
| Strange to say, no passengers or
other members Of either train crew
were killed outright, or afterward died
as the result Of injuries received. Only
the shoulders and head of the fireman
of the special were ever found. He
had been driven into the door of the
firebox feet first, but stuck at the
shoulders The white hot fire within
had completely incinerated the rest OF
his body. To look at the door of a
fire box such a casualty as that seems
all but impossible, the opening looks SC
small. In reality, however, it is large
enough, as any railroad mar can tell
| you.
The watch Of the engineer of the spe-
cial when found was still running, and
was four minutes behind. 1t was to
this error of his timepiece that the trag
ic death of himself and his three COM
panions was due.
In daylight 1t is the habit of the en-
gineer to follow with the eye the
glistening track of rails over which he
must travel Should a rail be mis-
placed it would break this line Of ligh.
and betray itself to the watchful man
in time to stop and save his train. This
particular wreck, however, resulted
from the curse and dread Of all rail-
road runners = the washout. The Gull
vert which caused it was a short one
it's width being hardly greater than The
combined length of engine and tender.
The masonry had been carried away,
but, the fishplates and spikes holding
firm, the rails still crossed the gully.
This held the rail line of light true, and
in consequence the engineer was well
up to the danger before he realized it.
He was able to stop the train, but to
do so had to go into the ditch himself,
although, fortunately, he did not lose
his life.
He was washed out of the cab win
dow by the flood. His jumper catching
over a stone, the train newsboy for
tunately found him in time to save him
from a death by drowning. So close