The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1901-03-28
THE MODERN LOCOMOTIVE.
A Thing of Beauty and Strength That
Gets its Due Share of Admiration.
York SUM

We" vi ECuHJ
The average American has a fancy
for the locomotive. Travelling, he
may stroll along the platform at the
relay station and look at the fresh
engine that is backed down TO hook
on to the train: and at the end Of the
run he likes to take a look at the
machine that has brought him in. If
the engine stands where he passes by
on his way out OF the station he looks
at her with pride as he goes by, and
looks up in more ways than one, at
her engineer, who is perchance look
ing down from the window Of the
cab upon the tbrong Of passengers
passing out along the platform. You
hear the engine breathing; she is
really net the least bit winded by her
run Of a hundred miles, at fifty miles
an hour; give her coal and water and
she can repeat indefinitely and never
turn hair.
1t may be that when the bulk OF
passengers have passed along one or
Two of them may linger to look the
engine over little, a. she stands
there for a brief time, while they are
getting the baggage out Of the bag
gage car before the train backs down
to the yard. And these passengers
may be found by one or two other
men there in the little station on one
affair and another who stops to look
at the engine as the others have done,
Just out of sheer admiration for ii.
In this minute or two of waiting
and of quiet the engineer drops down
from his cab and with light hammer
in his hand. He will utilize that
time in glance at the machine. He
is good, big man, the engineer, but
as he steps down from the level Of the
station to the level Of the track, be-
side the engine, you are surprised to
see how small he is by comparison.
And if you are old enough you will
realize wildly in another way, as you
see him standing there before her,
how big this great modern engine
really is.
There was time when, standing
beside a locomotive, you could come
pretty near to looking across over
her boiler, you will observe that,
standing upright, you can come pretty
near to looking across under the boil
er OF this eng ine-it is carried so
high, to say nothing OF it's far greater
bulk
Then while the engineer is max
ing his little tour around the engine,
touching gently here and there with
bis bay ,nar apI ,yattipu in rot,rp
the true tone Of sound metal that is
a pleasure to every practised ear, the
sghtseer., looking at this engine
from the platform, are not only look
ing a, the engine, but speaking Of her,
one to each other, their common
pride in her bringing them thus to-
gether. And certainly she is splendid.
Gigantic in form and stature, and
yet with a tremendous degree of rak
ishness. Boiler SO big and carried so
| high that her smokestack has to be
short and stumpy to let her 60 under
| bridges: it is no higher than her sand
box and bell and steam-dome are; its
| top, indeed, is on line with theirs.
She is like battleship, in fact, in her
appearance of massive strength and
in the absence of lofty top bumper,
but she also has tho dashing look of
the swiftest. slickest cruiser.
They turn out handsome engines
in those shops" said one Of the bv-
stander. to the stranger who stood
beside him, indicating on the engine,
a. he spoke the nameplate of the
works at which she was built.
They certainly do" said the
stranger. She is beautiful engine,
and no mistake. But so-and-so folks
make beautiful engines. too, and, in
fact, there's no engines made any
where in the world that begin to
compare in appearance with those
made in this country"
Ten cars and she landed them
here three minutes ahead of time,
easily" said 4 man who had come in
on that train and had stopped for
a moment to look at the engine; this
little speech being addressed ust
casually TO the man next to whom he
! had talked, and whom he had thus
addressed with entire confidence
which, in fact, was not misplaced d
that such speech would not be re-
scented.
And so it went with the little
changing bunch that looked on while
the engine stood there. They didn't
| all talk; most Of them didn't, and the
speech OF such as spoke at all was
brief; but none the less were they all
united by common admiration for
the giant locomotive.