Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-05-26
oLD-TIME TRUNK JUGGLING
How Billy Skaggly Transferred Pa,
gage for Time at Prairie Junction
New York Sun)

(New York SUM
II has always seemed to me thu.
about the slckest thing IL thu v,a,, u
| trunk juggling that | ever saV, s.id
an Old railroad man, was SOMETIME,
that baggage man named Biuv sL.a,
Gly used 70 do at q place called prai,i,
junction on the NJ. ". and r. road
/ Billy was running then on the old q
=. ana a. which was at that time All
independent line, but practically
| branch Of the NJ. n. and r.. coming NJ
at Prairie Junction, running alone
/ back Of the station at an angle ana
striking the VI. ". track q hundred faar
/ or more TO the west
This inclosed q sort III 4 V-shar.d
| open space. like Y lying down On IT,,
I side, between their track On on. sid,.
ana the station and the NJ. \. track ],
| the other, the widest part being back
Of the station. This part was plankad
/ over from the station to the G Y
| track making q broad platform there
/ and when trains came in on the G. X
ana q. man used To roll a baggage
! truck across this platform to the bag
! gage car, and they'd get the baggage
7 out on ill., ana then he'd ron II bark
across the broad platform to the sta
ton.
That's the way they We're doing there
before Billy came-the way they do Il
! under like circumstances everywhere:
but Billy said that was all waste of
time, labor and trouble, and he soon
put into operation here a transfer sys-
TEN of his own BY which he easily but
/ the trunks over alone.
The trains on the g. X. used 10 halt
with the baggage ear right back Of The
rear door Of the station. From the
door of the station To the door De The
car was maybe 50 feet. Billy could
throw trunk az far as any other man
/ ever knew, l don't know but what
further; hut he couldn't throw a loaded
Saratoga that distance. ana what ~
used % do was TO bound EN- over He
made fast in the middle Of the platform
a thick rubber cushion about as biz
az q door mat.
Where he learned how to do this. or
how ne got the skill he had l don't
know; he may have had a run some
where before Where there was a plat
form like that cover. or it may be that
he invented the system to meet this
situation. and then practiced up some
whore, with blank tin he could hit
the mark. but certain it is that he
could stand in the door Of his baggage
car and throw a trunk in such a man
ner that it would land with one corner
on the bouncing pad and bound up and
m plumb through the back door of the
station every time.
Il Was running then on the NJ. n. on
train that stopped a Prairie June
ton. and We used To meet BilIy's train
IN -ha branch. ana often I've looked
out down back Of the station. where
the branch came in. to see Billy bOunc-
ing the trunks.
After he'd got EN- started he'd keep
two in the air all the time: starting
on on its arched course through the
air from the ear door to the pad be
fore the trunk ahead had disappeared
through the door Of the baggage room.
And this went along just AZ nice and
comfortable as could be till, as usual,
something happened
billy pulled down from the stack in
Inc car one day, and rolled along on jus
END to the car door, big. massive trunk.
marked Snakes; Handle with Care
BILLY had seen the words handle with
1-1tf bt4tl e. anu ne nttu also heard OF
trunks being marked Snakes 'Dyna-
mite and That sort Of thing. and 50 the
marks ON this massive trunk did uur inn
press him strongly.
He hustled it along to the doorway.
seized il by the handle. lifted ii and
launched ID through the air. Very likely
this was the first trunk that Billy ever
missed the mark with. and | don't sup
pose ned have missed with this one IL
the handle hadn't broken just as he let
20 nf ID; but it missed the pad by about
AN inch ana a half ana came down nn
the hard platform with a bang tuat bust
"a that corner wide open. 4
Even as il was, the trunk bounded NelL&
up into the air. 1t had rubber knobs on
the corners to protect it and the plank Il
struck on was springy; out ii didn't
bound toward the station door; it was
detected at another angle: and as ii rose
snakes began dropping out Of its busted
lower corner. 4 man who could easily
nave got out of the way but for the fact
that he was sort Of fascinated by the
sight of the falling snakes, was knocked
down by the flying. trunk and had his
leg broken.
This accident broke up Billy's trans
fer system at Prairie junction. The SUI
Per said they proud of Billy as a bag-4
gage tosser, but that that one misllaH
had cost en- in one way and another
more than the hire Of man to carry the
baggage across would cost them for five
years. and the first think | knew the
bouncing pad had been taken up ana the
man was back with the baggage truck,
rolled up in front Of the baggage car
door in the old familiar way