The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-01
HE MADE HEADLIGHT ToM STOP.
How the Old Engineer Was Cured OF
an IncOnvenIent Habit.

fTom the New YORK sun.
Funny things happen now and then on
railroad" said the old engineer, remin-
iscently. things that don't come TO the no
tce of the heads or get into the newspa-
pers, either; and that makes me recall
little incident that occurred several years
ago on the @. and NJ.
"There was an old fellow named Tom
cHanock-commonly known as Head
light Tom-pulling one of the passenger
runs at that time who had the reputation
of never stopping to pick up flag Now
you know when a man goes out 10 protect
the rear end of his train, he carries a sup
ply of torpedoes, besides his flag or Ian
terms. He puts one of the torpedoes on
the rail about quarter of a mile behind
the caboose, and several hundred yards
further back he places two more, these last
two about fifty feet apart. Then he returns
and takes up his post by the first one.
When his train gets into the siding. or
ready to pull out as the case may be, the
fiagman is called in by whistle signals
from the engine-youve heard them, four
long blasts and a short one II westbound.
Well, if no train is coming behind wn1
this signal is given. the fagman takes off
the one torpedo and comes in. He leaves
the other two because they are only in
tended as a sort of warming they mean
Get your train under contpl So when
the engineer of the following train strikes
them and doesn't hear the third one or get
stop signal he knows that the train
ahead is safely out of the way.
But the first train often pulls out in
such hurry that the fiagman gets left.
Then unless the following train will slow
and pick him up, he has 10 walk In TO the
station; and this may be some little water
tank where he'h have 10 wait hours before
anything stops to take him on. But the
fact is that nearly oil engineers will slow
after striking the two torpedoes when they
see the fagman waiting, but there's moth
ing in the instruction book that says they
must.
well. as I've said Headlight Tom would
never stop for a flag. He was pulling
Two and Seven, and very proud OF al
ways arriving on time, though, of course,
the little he'd lose IN slowing TO pick up
flag or two wouldn't have amounted tc
anything. He was unpopular on this ac-
count. but nobody ever took any steps to-
ward getting even with MIN until Andy
Mullins came on the road.
Mullins was a man off the 'katy'-onc
az these big. rawboncd Westerners,
good deal OF a boaster and bad man
in a fight He hadn't been on the road two
months before Headlight Tom rau by him
one night ia o bowling ranstorm, aud
Mullins tumbled into q cattle pass ond
had all kinds Of mishaps walking in lie
swore he'd get even with old Tom for that,
/ ana offered 90 get box Of cigars that
Tom would not only stop for him next
/ time but ask him to ride. The bet was
J laken soon enough, and everybody waited
20 see how the thing would turn out.
THE hagman, YOU know. has charge
OF The lamps in the caboosc. Well the boys
on Mullins crew used TO notice lot Of
old rusty lantern frames Ia the oil room
I after this. and wonder how they got there
Never mind. Says Muiiins, we may need
! them some day who knowsY
l They had ecen making q test Of 4 new