Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1899-05-07
THE TRICKY
LOCOMOTIVE.
A Story That Puzzled the Farmer and
the SchOOImaSter.

| er's wife. delighted with his compli-
sment to her baking; there's plenty
more where these came FROM" then
she left the room.
| The farmer looked as if he did not
| fully share his wife's opinion, but he
said nothing.
, Let me see," resumed Bob, glancing
at the pan, where was l? Oh, yes
well, everything went along all right;
the engine was working beautifully,
and it was we'll that it did. for my
| grandfather had his hands full trying
/ to do the work of two men. He had
covered about thirty miles--the loco
] motive was only making twenty-six
miles an hour, which was high speed
for those days-and he could see that
! the track ahead of him was clear and
straight as could be for miles and
miles, so he did some more of the fire.
mans work, and then sat down on the
floor of the cab to repair his shoes. My
grandfather was not only an indepen-
dent engineer, but he was independent,
also, of the shoemaker, having learned
that trade as well.
well, he cut the leather and pegged
and hammered the soles, and got so
much interested in his task that he al
most forgot where he was. Just as he
had begun the heel on his second shoe
he felt the locomotive entering, as it
were, a new roadbed( and gliding along
SO smoothly that he wondered if they
had already reached the much-talked-
about section, of which the directors
had said the day before that it was so
smooth that one could hardly feel the
motion in riding over it. Judging that
this was the case and marveling at the
ease wit (which the new locomotive
was going, he gave no further thought
to the matter and kept on at his shoes
until he had them to his liking. Then
he got up, and naturally, as every en-
gineer does when his train is in mo-
ton, he looked straight ahead, and the
first thing he saw was a round, white
object with colored top, lying on the
left-hand rail two or three hundred feet
MY grandfather was little curious
to know what this object might be,
and was just about to reverse the lever
and stop the train, when he noticed
that the landscape was standing still
and that the object, whatever it was,
| approached no closer. He rubbed his
eyes several times, and pinched him
self to see whether he was awake or
dreaming, and then he looked again.
well, you can imagine his surprise
when he saw not only were the trees
and houses, and other objects, standing
| still, but the locomotive also. There
was that brand new locomotive, stand
ing stock-still in the middle of the
track, with her wheels going round,
and steam escaping as if she were doing
| her duty, only it sounded soft, like
running over a thick carpet!
When my grandfather reversed the
lever, the locomotive became as quiet
as lamb; then he put it on full again
and the machinery started to revolve
and the steam to escape, and she con-
tinued to make almost as much ado
as if she were going twenty-six miles
an hour; but she never moved an inch.
My grandfather didn't know, at
first, whether to laugh or get angry,
but he just then happened to think of
the fireman, so he got angry; and he
| gave the locomotive such talking to
that he soon got out of breath"
What was the round thing on the
track? interjected the farmer, whose
interest in the story was now aroused.
at was only a turnip," answered
Bob, ''about as big as two of these bis
cults put together" and he picked up
the biscuits and crushed them together
to illustrate the size of the turnip.
'Hallo!" he cried, as the flakey rolls
fell apart, Il didn't mean to do that"
That's all right" said the farmer.
Eat them, and take more if you want
them"
'Thank you, sir" said Bob, taking
immediate advantage of the invitation
by filling his pockets.
well, gentlemen" he continued, ''by
this time most of the passengers had
! discovered that the train had been
! standing still for at least fifteen min
utes, so they came up and crowded
around my grandfather, asking him
| questions and making all sorts of sug-
| gestions as to the trouble. Some of
! them laughed, and said they guessed
! the locomotive was tired and wanted a
rest. One notwithstanding man polk
ed all around the machinery, and said
that the rails were probably magnetized
/ at that spot, and the wheels could not
| get away from them. Another man
! sal dthat somebody must have put oil
or grease on the track; so they looked
very carefully but could not find any.
THE brakeman and the conductor, ;"