Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1903-12-12
NIGHT WITH
LOCOMOTIVE
ENGINEER
How Il Feels to Ride in the Dark
ness on a Locomotive Going
Ninety Miles an Hour.

To obtain material for his Career
Of Danger and Daring" just issued in
new edition, Mr. Cleveland Mofett,
whose home is charming place in
Orange, N. j., spent many days climb
ing steeples and lofty bridge trusses
going down in diving suits and shar
in the labor and risks Of balloonists,
river pilots, city fremen, wild beast
tanners, trapeze performers, dyna
mite mixers, etc. The following chap
ter, taken from Careers Of Danger
and Daring" tells how he found IT
TO ride at night on a locomotive go.
ing ninety-seven miles an hour.
~ T is $3.50 p m, any night you
please, and for miles through
- the yards Of East Chicago lights
are swinging, semaphore arms are
moving, men in clicking signal tow
ers are Juggling with the electric but
tons and pneumatic levers, target
lights on hundred switches are
changing from red to green, from
green TO red; everything is clear
everything is right. the Lake Shore
Mail Is coming, with eighty tons Of
letters and papers In its pouches. Re
lays Of engines and engineers have
brought these messages, this news Of
the world, thus far on their Journey.
Up the Hudson they have come, and
across the Empire State and alons
the shore Of Lake Michigan. nearly
a thousand miles in 25 hours, which |
10 not so bad. although the hottest |
maddest rush is yet 10 come.
II is a fine thing TO know the men |
who drive the engines on thesc
trains. just to see them Is something |
aud 10 make them talk Of you can |
do 10 is better business than inter
Viewing most celebrities you have
ever heard about
To this end I set ont. one evening |
early IN January, for the grat round
house OF the Northwestern road, thn.
lies on tho outskirts Of Chicago =
strange place. surely 4 this 10 on,
who approaches Il unprenarod-e
place whore yellow cyl plara ont
deep shadows. whore nre-draEonf
rush at you with crunchlrgs am
snortlngs, whore the air hls5es and
roars. II might be some demon me
nagerie there in tho darkness.
To this place OF fears and pitfauG
I came an hour or so before s'artini
time, and here ! found Dan White
one OF the Northwestern cracks
Jacks. giving the last careful touches
to locomotive 908 before the night
hard run, In almost our hrst word
my heart was won by sometime
White said. had mentioned Fraul
Bullard Of the Burlington road, a ri
val by all rights. and Immediately
this blum. broad-shoudered man ex
claimed: "Ah. he's fine fellow
Bullard is, and he knows how TO run
an engine" white would fight Bul
lard at the throttle TO any finish, but
would speak only good words OF him.
"Tell me-" said |. "about the great
run you made the other night" From
a dozen lips l had heard OF Whites
tremendous dash from Chicago TO
Clinton. Iowa.
"Oh, II wasn't much; We had 60
make the time up and we did II
Didn't We. Fredg"
This TO the fireman, who nodded |
in assent, but said nothing.
"You made a record, didn't you?"
"wel. We went one hundred and
thlFty.eight miles in one hundred and
forty-three minutes; that included
three stops and two slow-downs,
don't know as anybody has beat that Y
much"
by dint OF questioning. | drew from
this modest man some details OF hiJ .
achievement The curve-bent stretch q
OF seventeen miles between Frank. {
lin Grove and Nelson they did in {
fourteen minutes. and a part OF this. b
beyond Naohusa, they took at an g
elghty,milo pace. They covered Ave
miles between Clarence and Stan. d
wood in three minutes and half, h
and they made two miles beyond Den, ii
nison at over hundred miles an c
hour. AS tho mail rushed west, word "
was flashed ahead. and crowds gath p
cred at the stations 10 cheer and h
q
"There must have been ave hun. n
ired people on the platform at Dix. 81
,n." said White, telling the story pl
and they looked 10 me like a swarm pl
n ants, just as black, wrlggling mass, IS
md then they were gone, We came q
IA 10 a bridge after a big reverse len