The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1902-11-17

| lHSy Cdl couple II TO the WfeehluS tram
land bring it in. The car that brings up
the rear of the train is the derrick car
1t is built exceptionally strong and
carries a large derrick, which is used
for the purpose of raising parts of cars
and engines. This derrick is construct
ed upon a ratchet turntable, so that the
object raised from the track can be
laid to one side. Take the wrecking
| train as a whole, it is built much
stronger and more durable than the or
binary train. 1t has no unnecessary
trappings about it, for everything is so
| arranged that nothing will hamper ii
in making all of the speed possible.
The wrecking train stands on a side
track in the yards, which gives it
easy access to the main track. The rule
of the company is that this siding shall
never under any circumstances be
blocked by another train, the reason
for this being that if aw reck does oc-
cur there will be no delay in getting
the train on the main line. In the
roundhouse there is always an engine
for wreck duty kept fired and carrying
full amount Of steam.
| The number of this engine is posted
on the blackboard, for each day a diff
ferent one is used. The instant the
whistle blows the hostler of the round
| house runs to the board and sees what
engine is to go. He then backs it out
on the turntable, turns it around and
runs it to the water tank, where he
gets a full supply of water. While he
has been doing this the Wrecking crew
has been gathering, and yard engine
has pulled the train out on the main
track. The engine that is to pull it is
then backed down and coupled on; by
this time an engineer and fireman are
found to run it, and in tn eneXt few
minutes the wrecking train is speeding
over the road as fast as steam can haul
it,
| 1t seems as though all of these pre-
| liminary arrangements would take con-
siderable time, but every man who
helps gets the train started knows his
| part so well and works with such
promptness that everything is executed
in a very short time. Recently the
whistle blew, the men all hurried to the
train as usual, the engine was coupled
and run as Ear as the Belt Railroad,
when ii was stopped.
The crew then for the first time
learned that it was being tested by the
general superintendent, who wished to
| determine just how long it took them
to get out on the road. He was greatly
pleased when he found that from the
time the whistle blew until the train
was upon it's way was just seven min
utes. OF course, at night it takes a
little longer, for the men have to come
from their homes, but even some of the
time that they make is considered by
railroad officials as remarkable.
Every engine that is detailed for
wreck duty is capable of running from
fortyfive to sixty miles an hour. The
wrecking train, of course, when a dis
aster occurs that blocks the main line
| is given the right of way over all other
trains and often the time that is made
would equal that of the flyers. The
reason why the wrecking crew must
work with such quickness is to get the
main line cleared. In a passenger
wreck where a number of people are
injured they are generally rescued be-
fore thee rev gets there, unless some
unfortunate is buried under the cars.
In the wrecking train there is no pro-
vision made for the injured, and they
are always cared for on a special train.
In clearing the main line when it is
blocked the means that are sometimes
employed are very unique. AS for in
stance, not long ago two engines ran
together and so completely embedded
themselves in each other that it was
impossible to move them. The wreck
master ordered them lacked up high
enough so that the rails could be got
ten from under them. After this had
been done a track was built around the
wreck with the rails that had been
taken from under the engines and traf-
&c was at once resumed.
The amount of time that it takes to
clear away wreck, of course depends
wholly on the size of the disaster and
how badly the cars and engines are
smashed up. The wrecking crew never
quits work, no matter how many hours
it takes, until everything is restored to
order. Only few years ago a freight
wreck occurred near aHttle town call
ed Bushrod, on the I. and V.
An engine was hauling long train
of coal cars when it jumped the track,
dragging a number of cars with it, and
the front part was buried in an en-
bankment several feet deep. When the
wrecking, train arrived it took the crew
thirty-six hours to get the track clear
ed enough so that traffic could again
be resumed. Another wreck that re-
quired long time to pick up, as clear
ing away wrecks is technically called,
occurred at East Haven, a small town
just this side of Richmond. Two
freight engines, both running at high
rate of speed, came together with such
force that it took considerably over a
day to get them apart and get the track
put back in. order, for the force of the
collision had torn the rails up for
some distance. In bad weather, espe-
cially in the winter when sleet or snow
is falling, or everything is covered with
ice, the work around q wreck is ex-
tremely hard and dangerous What
these men suffer during such a time
can only be appreciated by themselves
Indianapolis Journal.