The daily morning Alaskan., 1902-03-14
TRAIN DISPATCHING

|
 not now and don't want to be. rms s the reason:
 One night the road was fairly not with trains when l came on duty' wondered how In thunder l shouiu ever get the passenger train through without delay. There seemed to De a train on every sldetrack over the whole length of the road and more between stations. I worked like beaver. It was in the old days of what are known as single" orders. when each train received separate order, which must be sent to each one concerned slngiy. You will easily see how In the rush or buslness a single order might be incor' rectly transmitted and trains leave sta tlons under conflicting orders, which would certainly bring them together unless corrected.
 ! A double header left the foot of the @spptsnRp nRpOst ,9 midnight Ff tS S0IsanS su%Smit 2e About thlrty-ive minutes ahead of lt was fast freight. The latter had an engine numbered 427. and the double train had engines 3i2 and 327.
 Along toward morning train was ready to go down the mountain, and I gave the order to run wild" and walt for engine I2T at Summit. In some way or other the double train follow ing slipped my memory completely. l have thought since 1 must have got mixed on the two numbers 42I and 32T At any rate, when the operator at Summit reported the two trains leay- Ing lt came over me with the sudden ness and pain of a galvanlc shock that | had given what we call lap" or. ] der.
 The horrible feeling that seized me often makes me shudder when I think of lt now. My hand fell from the key Imp and ncrvclcSS. Something seemed tO cast a blur before my eyes so could not read the orders before me. The blood rushed to my head. and my tenn pies beat Ike trip hammers. But only for second Like q Hash seized the key and asked the operator 10 stop the down train. lt was too late. It had gone. Then tried 10 reach the double ,ga'n. but it too. had passed the last telegraph office and knew no earthly power could prevent those trains from striking hard. for the grade Is nearly twenty feet Co the mile up there
 sent for the chief dispatcher imme Gs,,ly and told him the situation. He ..1 | Hssstn md .a lEa'r of thls kind frcttcd his nerves .Gast Co the point of insanity. Ig | aid.d nearly 100 per cent Co my agony | lf IiHd. llc would slt down and look | li' tsuiu sheet over and seem Co de. vyrr tEc fatll orders wlth hls eyes. I jump up with a gesture of dc ...- and say. By gosh that's too
 d,' Then hc would pace up and iwl thc floor. repeating to himself That's too b1d. too bad. Thcyn strike ls .1rc as the world" returning al 0u. Go pore over the train sheet and s'.r book conld have screamed v.tl tbc awful strain of nervous sus l...-.a -canllcnilX -hGliGIe taRt -natll, Fascination kept me from rushing ou' ,el jumprg Into the river seventy i've feet below.
 I-f,lt absolutely certain that some ol ,,,,.e mon would be Killed. Had botN ,ri.ns bc,u single the drivers might possibly sec each others headlights in t.mr Co jump. hut was sure the men on the second engine of the double | header would go into the wreck all over and die as sure as fate. lt has be come fashionable nowadays to dlsbc. iicve in a physical hereafter. don't | know anything about that, but | do know that if mental torture be the loi l of those who sin In this life, after our accounts are audited. l should prefer To take my chances with the old fash toned style of punishment.
 Suddenly both relays opened with snap. The chief looked at me with a pcrfectly lndescrlbablc expression and went Co the switchboard without a word. We both knew without telling wrat it meant. The trains had struck and the piled up wrcckagc had broken the wires down. We tested for the break and soon located it half way up thc mountain. gave up the last paru- elc of hope at this and only waited In stud of dull wonder to learn the extent ct the casualty.
 The thirty or forty minutes that elapsed after the wire failed until we got the official report Of the accident seem Co me now as misty as a dream. | worked away at the wire mechanical- ly. guided only by the force of habit and using the circuits as they were made up by the chief He kept fussng nt the switchboard In perfect misery 1f nervousness.
 At length the Summit operator call ed. and my heart beat almost audibly as | answered him. for knew from hls tremulous sending that he had re- ccived the report think hc must have understood my feelings. for the arst words he tclegraphed almost crazed me with qualification. Before sending line of the formal report he told me. There's nobody hurt"' gave up right then and there and said. "Slr. H.. you'll have to take the rest Of this report; can't" and got up and went home.
 It seems the engineer had seen the headlight and jumped, and the men on the first engine of the double header. after giving a sharp whistle for brakes shrleked to the following crew to Jump and kept on shrieking after they struck the ground and until the engine pass cd them. The warning was heard tn time. and all hands got on with noth' Ing worse than fewbruiscs. But that finished my train dispatching.
 \ Promoter.