The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-06-19
Many Due to Some One Having
Been Asleep at Post of Duty.
LACK OF REST BY THE men
Engineer Grows Reminiscent Over Read.
ing Accident-How Billy Gardner
Awoke just in Time to Pre-
vent Bad Smash-Up.
From the Washington Post.

eVlQence regarding the terrible aCCl-
dent at Exeter, Penn, on the Reading
railroad, the other day. and, while it
is contradictory, believe that the YER
dict of the coroner's jury will be that
same one of the employees was asleep
while on duty"
The speaker was one of the Oldest
railroad engineers in the country, who,
after 20 years in charge of the throttle
of a locomotive, voluntarily resigned
to seek other pursuits not so dangerous
or exciting. When the Pennsylvania
railroad was completed to Pittsburg
nearly so years ago he took the second
locomotive over the Allegheny noun
tains, with the late Thomas l.. Scott
as his conductor. At that time the
Pennsylvania railroad named all of its
locomotives after the rivers or creeks
along the line, and this engineer was
known as Billy Gardner of the Black
log" the later part of the title being
the name of the locomotive and the
former the engineers name. Resum-
ing, the engineer said:
There is something about railroad
ing that conduces to sleep. 1t may be
the rumble that causes drowsiness, it
may be the long hours on duty, but in
many cases, in my judgment, it is the
failure of the employees to secure need
ed rest when they have the opportunity.
During my 20 years experience as
driver of the iron horse I knew of hun
dreds of severe wrecks due entirely to
some one being asleep on the post of
duty Even the responsibility imposed
on the man would not have the effect
of causing him to keep awake. Some
times it is the fault of the higher Off
Gals in compelling the men to work
too long without sleep.
Il remember one occasion during
the first year of the civil war when all
the members of my crew, including
myself, were required to work " con-
secutive hours without sleep, and then
were dismissed because we declined to
make another trip before seeking re-
pose. During that period there were
times that the only way l could keep
keep awake was to rub tobacco juice
into my eyes, and the pain, of neces-
sity, banished slumber for a time. How
ever, when the superintendent was
told of the facts leading up to the dis
missal he not only reinstated all those
dismissed, but gave them two weeks
leave of absence with nay. At the
same time the master mechanic, who
made the dismissals, came in for Sc
we're scoring at the hands of the super
intendent.
But once in my railroad career did
7 turn my engine over to my fireman
and go back to the cabOose for little
rest, and the narrow escape that
then had from severe wreck and the
killing and Wounding OF hundreds OF
sleeping passengers taught me lesson
that was never forgotten. The incident
occurred in Illinois in February, 1870.
A that time l was running an engine
pulling a fast freight on the Illinois
Central railroad MY fireman was a
young man named House. whom had
instructed in all that he knew about
L. IL 49,
best at that time, as l had been an an
nual victim of the ague that pervades
southern illinois, and my system was
shattered from the shakes In addi-
ton, there was some sickness among
the members Of my family, with the re-
suit that my nights at home would be
broken UP in looking after the com
forts of the loved ones. Business on
the railroad was brisk and there was a
heavy passenger traffic, due to the an
nual Mardi Gras celebration in New
Orleans.
"On the night in question my train
was running south. I had five and
half foot Rogers engine and was haul
ing 40 loaded cars. Along about 10
o'clock / found that 1 could hardly
keep my eyes open. The road ahead of
me was clear of trains for an hour or
more. About the only thing of import
ance in view was to meet and pass the
Chicago express at Makanda, which
was "a miles away. I then yielded to
temptation. Placing my fireman in
charge of the throttle, with the head
brakeman to do the firing, I went back
to the caboose to secure little rest.
1 should not have taken this step if
I had not reposed every confidence in
my fireman, and believed that he was
thoroughly competent to run the en-
CINE.
sHow long slept do not know, but
I woke with the premonition that some
thing was wrong. AS I regained my
senses realized by the swaying of the
train that I was running much faster
than 1T would have been had l been in
charge of the throttle. There was a
heavy down grade for five miles to the
point where I was to meet the express,
and my first thought was that we had
struck the grade and gained the inn
petus. Springing to my feet / hurried
out the front door of the caboose and
climbed to the top of the first freight
car. The sight that met my eyes near
ly parayzed me. There in full view I
saw the headlight the heavily loaded
express train waiting at Makanda for
my train to take the side track and
permit it to pass. How I got over that
train to my engine / hardly know. But
I did. Jumping down on the tender
I sprang into the cab, shut off the
duce the momentum.
Il glanced at the fireman. He was
sound asleep on the seat; the head
brakeman kept him company on the
other side. I realized that it was utter
ly impossible to stop the speed of the
train and l had visions of the awful
wreck that would follow. My engine
was making 40 miles an hour, being
propelled by the heavily-laden cars In
the rear, and certain destruction SEEM
ed to face the express and the hundreds
of sleeping passengers. AS the rules
required that I should stop, and, after
after the head brakeman had opened
the switch, should pull by the passen-
ger train, there seemed to be no way
to avert the disaster. All these things
flew through my brain in twinkling,
and as I expected to meet death at my
post I wondered who would care for
my two boys who would become or
phans.
FORTUNATELY the siding was a short
one, and that fact, coupled with my
reputation as careful engineer pre-