Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1900-09-08
AN INCH OF IRON.
II stands Between the Passengers
and Death on Fast Trains.

and Death on Fast Trains.
passengers in modern train" said
J. l.. HUM of Altoona. Pa, an old rail-
road engineer, "have little or no COM
prehension of the speed nj which they
are travelling. They may be making
70. even 80, miles an hour, as they 90
ON some Of the great western limited
trains. and yet they do not realize IL.
The wonderful roadbeds, perfectly bal
lasted, and with steel rails weighing
10 pounds TO the yard, contribute 10
this. while the we'll built 80 ton vesti-
bulcd Pullnans that these trains are
made of insure their sticking to ana
running smoothly on the rails, no mat
ter what speed the train may attain
There used to he one exception, how
ever. and that was on the rem
sylvania There the passengers got
an idea IN former times OF what IL
really was to travel fast FROM ilar'
risburg, going west, and from illus
burg. coming east, the Pennsylvania
makes steady and continuous ascent
until CressOn, the little town that
marks the crest of the Alleghanies' Is
reached. Going east or west, the
ascent here changes TO II descent, ana
on this descent the time necessarily
lost in making that long climb has TO be
made UP. The perfect rOadDed' heaVy
rails and ears make any sort or run
ming possible. and the trip down the
mountain side used to be of character
to inspire awe in man, woman ana
child.
81 remember taking it once when the
diner was. contrary TO custom, on the
rear of the train. We were minutes
late. and seconds count OH those limited
trains. We fairly hurled ourselves
through the gathering darkness, and
even those great cars rocked ike
storm tossed rowbOat. Through cut
tings. down grades. over bridges, we
went. at an ever increasing speed. |
had lust sat down to dinner when a
despairjng shrek of the brakes an
nounced our approach to me young
curve nenr Johnstown. Round it we
flew. and the diner being last we play
ed snap the whip Our wheels ground
against the outer rail, and every bless
ed thing i'm that car seemed to sail into
air. remember plate OF tomato
soup had just been set in front OF me-
didn't get it. but the lady across the
aisle did. She didn't seem to like 1t as
we'll as thought was going TO-
EVERYTHING on the right hand tables
went into the aisles or across TO the
left hand tables Everything on the
left hand tables tried to get out OF
the windows.
"When we struck the straight again,
continued Mr. lluhn. "and the train
became steady, those left hand WIN
dows looked as though they were the
net behind whose protecting meshes
lanes Owen O'COnnOr used to give his
version of Hamlet. That was IA
years ago. and the improvements since
have made repetition Of that per-
Torrance impossible Now, no matter
how fast they take the mountain SIDE
the train holds steady on the rails.
Rut in the engine it is different. There
the full force of the speed expends IT.
self: there the brunt of the danger and
discomfort is borne. The drivers oc
casionally lift from the rail on curve,
so headlong is the speed and the en-
CINE sways In q most fearful and awe
inspiring manner. If you are unused
to il, you sit tight and trust yourself to
Providence, for you never expect to
see another day.
The amateur, as the great iron mon
! ster reaches for an acute curve WltI
I scarce a check to its speed, cannot see
or figure out how it will be possible
not to Jump the rails, and when he Is
safely round there is always curve
ahead to keep his confidence shattered
This does not surprise the engineers
| have seen a fireman start to throw 4
shoveful of coal into the tireboX just
as q curve was struck. and instead OF
that coal going to its proper destina
ton it went out of the window, BACK
TO the tender. and once | caught IT
square in the face Travelling ut thai
rate is no Joke. But the passengers
nowadays do not appreciate it. II they
took a ride in the engine, they would
| however.
Did you ever stop to think thai
scarce an inch Of iron stands Detweel
YOU and death when you are on fas'
train. Well. 1t is literally so. The
fange OF the forward wheel or the
pony truck uhe truck under the from
of the engine) must hold or the engine
will Jump the track. Let piece OF
that fange break, and on the next rev
olution. or in any event, on the mex
curve. that engine must inevitably hol
the rail, for the power to hold 1t there
is gone. If an engine running GO miles
an hour goes of the rail with heav!
train behind 1t. heaven help the train
crew and the trains passengers. fol
tive wreck will be a fearful and
memorable one" Exchange.
| Providing Missionaries with Teeth'
Everybody depended upon BISHOP
- for everything. and no one ever
asked help Of him in vain." writes Rev