Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1901-09-25
NERVE OF ENGINEERS
T DOES NOT, AS A RULE, DESERT
THEM AFTER AN ACCIDENT.

Desperate Chances the Man Mt the
Throttle Will at Times Take With
out Being Able to Give IA Sntlsfnc-
tory Reason For His Action.
II have been often asked why rail-
way engineers disregard their instruc-
tions and the warning signals along the
line of their road" said the general su-
perintendent of railroad to man,
"and have summed 1t up that it is hui
man nature for men to take chances In
their business and that engineers are
no exception to the general run.
Sometimes they cannot give salts
factory reason why they do so. will
give YOU an authentic instance of this
habit which made me live 10 years in
30 minutes.
"On road was Mt the time connect
ed with was long trestle over bay
several miles in length, with draw
bridge in the center. The draw had
been opened, and rs tugboat was
passing through the bridge men heard
the rumble Of fast. heavily laden
passenger train as 1t struck the bridge
a mile away. Knowing that the red
danger signals We're set with the OPEN
ing of the draw, they supposed that the
engineer would slow up or stop, rs
might be necessary. Instead, to their
consternation, the train came along at
regular speed, and frlghtful accident
appeared inevitable. They yelled to the
captain Of the tugboat to go ut full
speed, and as the boat glided through
the draw in the darkness they exerted
themselves to swing the draw into the
locking bolts before the train could get
to the point where the rails separated.
The engineer, however. dlsregarded
the last danger signal, few hundred
yards from the draw. and came ON. BY
n remarkable coincidence of time and
position the draw, which was of course
In motion, swung so that the rails of
the east bound track We're In juXtaposi-
tion with the west bound track, upon
which the train was running, and the
heavy engine and one of the passenger
coaches, striking the east bound rails,
glided upon the draw and stuck there,
the remaining portion of the train be-
ing on the west bound track, making
almost figure 8 of the coaches.
IF the draw had moved the thirtieth
part Of second faster or slower, the
east bound rails would not have been
opposite the west bound rails at the
very instant that the great engine
struck them, and q frightful disaster
would have resulted. When got out
on the bridge few minutes later,
fully expected to find the train in the
bottom Of the bay and the draw smash
ed into splinters. discharged the en-
gineer on the spot and asked him why
he had not observed the signals. a.
admitted that he saw them, but could
not give n satisfactory reason for fail
ing to observe them. lie evidently took
his chances of finding the draw closed
when he reached It.
"The engineer Of today Is sober,
steady, neryy man, especially on the
fast express trains on the big roads. 1t
Is nerve that makes one man carry
limited express train through the dark
ness Of the night, fog, sleet and blind
ing SNOW Mt GO miles an hour. The sto-
ries we read about Of an engineer los
Ing his nerve after an accident are
largely fiction. In % years Of active
railroad life have had but one or two
men apply to me for a transfer upon
the ground that their nerves had gone
back on them for running the fast
trains.
II have had men who have been flung
so feet over their tenders in a head on
collision and had a dozen bones broken
come to me after they had been dis
charged from the hospital and ask to be
put back on their old run. You see, they
begin firing when they are about IS or
20, and the cab Of an engine is their
home. If they run into person or a
wagon load Of people on the track, If 1t
Is not their fault. they take practical
view of it; they have to. If 1t is their
fault, we discharge them, and they can
take any view Of 1t they please then,
for We do not wish in our employ care
less men. This is true with all of the
big roads, and rs result American en-
gineers Of today are about rs model q
set Of men in their employment rs can
be found."--Washington Star.