The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1903-07-03

comfort and shipshape. Bunks are
provided; chairs and folding tables
stand ready for use. In short, every
thing that men want when they re-
quire humoring to do good work is
ready and waiting for them. Former
ly wrecking crew depended upon
picking up its meals at nelghboring
house, the railroad company footing
the bill. But the plan was unsatisfac-
tory. Wrecks often occurred at con-
siderable distances from human abodes,
and at times the men had to 60 hun
cry. As it is now, during the heat OF
summer-and no place on earth is as
scorching as railroad track in the
middle of August-all wrecker needs
to do IS to send for a dipper Of iced
oatmeal water, and il it happens to be
a biting winters night, there is scald-
ing hot coffee to put new life into the
veins OF the tlOZen workers.
TOOL BOX ON WHEELS.
'The second car of the train looks
like an ordinary box car, but is really
a huge tool box on wheels. In it
everything is arranged in order as neat
as the silver implements in a high
school girls first manicure set. You
cannot mention tool that might be
required in wrecking but what you
will find it here, exactly in its place,
where men can run IN the dark and
pick up what they want without hav-
ing to spend minute to search for it..
Axes, crowbars, shovels, saws, picks,
sledges, hammers, blocks and tackle,
ropes, chains, jacks, and a hundred
tools you never heard Of are to be
found in the car.
"'rhe third car is an ordinary fiat
car loaded with several car trucks.
Often in wreck the body Of = car
escapes damage, and only the trucks
are broken and bent and twisted. In
a case like this all that is necessary is
to raise the body of.the car by means
Of jacks and to put a substitute truck
under it and couple it fast 80 the car
may be hauled to the repair shop for
permanent fixing up. Besides, the fiat
car is used for taking home iron work
and whatever is and is not worth saw
ing, but would look bad and suggestive
lying beside q railroad track.
"The last car of the train is the most
important of all. 1t is the derrick car
This car is built exceptionally strong.
A short, stout derrick bull: on rachel
turn-table stands in the middle of the
car. This is capable of wonderful lift
ing power. Once the little steam
winch on one end of the Car begins to
squeal and puff, anything fastened to
the derrick just-comes. A derrick
of this description could raise an end
of the biggest locomotive ever built
and set it back on:the rails as neat as
you would set a chess figure on it's
proper square.
ALWAYS READY.
The wrecking train stands ever
ready on siding especially allotted
to it. This must not be used by any
other train under any conceivable cir
cumstances. II a wreck occurs the
track must be cleared-from three to
five minutes being, the time usual lily
allowed for crew to get under way
during the daytime. An engine ready
to haul the train to a wreck stands
always waiting. The water tank in
its tender is always full. Its coal sup
ply is a heaping tenderful. Steam is
constantly kept up, and an engineer
and fireman are ever ready to Jump
to work at minutes notice. :.
GAS soon as a disaster occurs the
wrecking train is given the right. of
way over all other trains. At speed
ranging anywhere from forty-five to
seventy-five miles an hour the engine
chases, shrieking her whistle like q
frightened cat. The one object is to
get the track cleared 50 the main line
of the road can be operated. No wreck
ever happens but what it piles over
the main line-that goes without say
ing, for it is in the law of cussedness
of things. And what it means to have
main line blocked only an experienced
railroader can appreciate. There are
the thousands of cars filled with per-
ishable stuff: A score of freig ght trains
and coal trains are held up, many of
their loads intended for outgoing
steamers that cannot afford to wait.
Thousands of persons are inconveni-
enced and put OUT Many of them
missed connections which they hoped
to make with other railroads.
"On top of all this surface annoyance