The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1903-02-10
NERVE IN AN ENGINE CAB.
Lost Sometimes for Trivial Reasons; Even
for Reversed Signals.
New York Sun.

Many old locomotive engineers
thought, before the actual cause of
the New Jersey Central Railroad
wreck became known, that they could
explain why Davis, the engineer, ran
past his signals They attributed
his error to loss of nerve.
"This comes one time or another
to every man who handles throttle"
said an engineer of years. experience.
Nobody can explain it and nobody
can tell when it will occur. The
slightest unusual thing on a run will
sometimes cause lt-even thing 30
slight as finding signals out of their
usual condition.
81 have known experienced engin.
eers on q generally clear run to pull
up their trains before reversed sig
nails, 30 overcome by the unusual oc.
currence that they have all but faint
ed and have dropped to their seats
pale and covered with cold sweat.
Once, when we had been blocked
this way at place where l had never
before known one fast train to stop,
rny engineer lost his nerve 80 badly
that he could not close the throttle
and we would have been in wreck
if had not jumped up and shut her
off.
81 have myself been badly ratified
by unusual occurrences. The slight
est one that I remember was when [
was running a night flyer on a
stretch where l he'd clear track for
five miles.
81 was going at the rate of sixty
miles an hour on slight grade when
l saw light. In fash and so
clearly as though it were broad day
light [ thought I could see a loco
motive coming full speed toward me
on my track. could see even the
engineer, Il friend of mine, leaning
out of the cab window, and I could
hear him, an absurd thing, shout to
me to shut Off
"Could shut off? My arm
seemed to be paralyzed. l could not
roach the throttle though my life
and the lives of all the people in my
train seemed to depend upon it.
braced myself .Nr the shook and ran
pasta man walking beside the
track carrying lantern. | told no.
body about my scare, of course, but
it WAS two days before 1 got my
nerve back.
"Any engineer can tell stories
about momontary loss Of nerve. The
nerve of an engineer needs mental
bracing all the time, especially if he
runs an express We are on strain
from the moment we start our en-
gines until we leave them at the end
of the run
"The machine is throbbing, jolt
ing and swaying under us all the
time; we are constantly on the alert
for any obstruction on the track, and
our ears are strained to detect any
sound that would indicate a loose
joint, bolt or nut.
$50 tense are our nerves all the
time that | have known a driver to
be actually incapaciteted for week
because he hit dog, and | have
heard competent engin, ers whose
nerve nobody questioned beg to
be let off a fast but usual run be-.
cause they didn't feel up to it.
"There are engineers today who
are clubbing along on way freights
after serving long on Expresses, and
who would throw up their jobs rather
than resume their old places on fly.
ers They have lost their nerve, and
they know it. have seen mon, still
young, cry like babies when they
knew they were no longer fit to ran
fast train.
"Fhere is only one man in the
business who has the reputation OF
never losing his nerve. He is John
Kinsilla, who takes No. on the Erie
from Port Jervia to Susquehanna.
"lt was his train that ran into q
big rock just above SohoIa in 1885
and went tumbling down sixty foo,
bank to the edge Of the Delaware
river. Many lives were lost ther,
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