The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-11-06
A CAR LOAD OF
DYNAMITE.
Switchmen Handle It Carefully
In w. & L. E. Yards.
NO PLYING SWITCHES THEN
IT. Wayne II Borrowing Engines From the
o. D P-Ths New street Rail-
way Rsils-Newa OF the
Railroads.

The switchmen in the various yards
of Canton are like the men who follow
that vocation through life in any other
city, in that they are not always as
gentle in the handling OF cars as the
book of rules calls for. The officials
will tell each man when he goes to work
that he must not jump on or of a car
| while 1t is in motion, he must not use
his hands when making coupling where
there are no automatic couplers and that
unless these two rules are obeyed there
will be vacancy on the force and
another switchman will be hunting q
| job.
Then the superintendent goes his way
and the man goes to work, knowing that
II he carries out those instructions he
| will be the first man to lose his job.
He Is told to carry club with which to
make couplings, but he would be the
| laughing stock of the crew II he follow
ed the rules. Every man is to handle
all cars carefully-and they do try to
do SO, but time must be made. and
| switch engine crews are compelled to
get out of the road Of any train that
happens to come along the road. They
must do their work without delaying the
| other crews on the road. On that ac-
count cars are quite frequently brought
| together with such force that splinters
| fly and the contents of the car are shift
| ed from one end to the other.
A car arrived in Canton Thursday, on
| the w. 81. E., that is the horror of all
switchmen. 1t was a car loaded with
dynamite; and big tags all over it con-
haN s.xf4 fz t,.Ao
men. There was no need of instructions
after that car was dropped into the
yards. The men handled it like so much
glass. 1t was on the switch list and
| several switches were necessary before
the car landed at it's destination. All
the time that the crew had that car on
| their train there was no hurrying or
| flying switches made. After the car
was disposed of there was q general
sigh Of relief, and the engineer was
told to give 'em KICK" and business
started on in the same old manner.
The Fort Wayne railroad company i5
getting more business Just at present
than its motive power can handle and
quite number of c. & p. engines have
been borrowed to handle the business.
One reason Of the increase of business
is the closing of navigation on the
great lakes. Navigation will close In q
few weeks and business on the Fort
Wayne win continue to be heavy until
the ice is off the lakes next spring.
The C. & p. does big business during
the lake season, and uses great num-
Der of engines that are of no use during
the winter and for that reason the Fort
Wayne gets hold of them as fast as
they can be released by the C. & p. In
the fall.
The rails that are coming into Cam
ton for the local street car company are
all loaded on special cars owned by the
Federal Steel company. These rails are
all made at Lorain. They are sixty foot
| rails. The steel company has made cars
that will haul these rails without maxi
ing 1t necessary to chain two cars to-
gether. They are sixty-five feet in
| length and are close to the ground,
and quite frequently will strike crossing
planks or other small obstructions that
| other cars will ordinarily clear
President Lemer of the Fort Wayne
railroad company was In Canton forty
| minutes Thursday. He came in on a
special train. and carriages that were In
waiting conveyed the party to the Nc
Kinley residence. A short visit was
made at the presidents home. after
Which the party was driven to the depot
and the train pulled out and continued
its journey westward.
\ The state conference OF the secretaries
of the railway Y. M. c. A. will be held
| In Colrnhu E,ahva, ~, Of - a "a o9a ,an.