Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1903-03-05
LOST HIS NERVE.
Many Old Engineers Say That Is What
Happened to Davis.

Many Old Engineers Say That Is What
Happened to Davis.
Many old locomotive engineers says
the New York Sun, thought, before tne
actual cause OF the New Jersey Contra,
railroad wreck became known, thai
they could explain why Davis, the en-
gineer, ran past his signals. They at
tributed his error to loss of nerve.
This comes one Tune or another
to every man who handles throttle .
said an engineer of years experience.
Nobody can explain 1t, ana nobody
can tell when it will occur. The slight
est unusual thing ON run will some
times cause it-eNen a thing so Slight as
,nnaing S S.!alS out of their usual con-
,dltioli.
nave Known experienced engineers
on Il generally clear run to pull UP
their trains before reversed signals, SC
overcome by the unusual occurrence
that they have all but Jailed, and have
iuropped to their seats pale and covered
iWltn cold sweat. Once, when l hao
iDeen blocked this way at place where
i had-never before known one fast train
to stop. my engineer lost his nerve sc
foadly that he could not close the
throttle, and we would have been in a
wreck ii had not jumped up and shut
ner OFF.
+ Il have myself been badly ratified by
unusual occurrences. The slightest one
that l remember was when was run
ping night flyer ON stretch where l
lsnew had clear track for five miles.
u was going at the rate of sixty miles
an hour on slight down grade, when /
saw light. In flash, and so clearly
as though 1t were broad daylight,
thought could see a locomotive coming
full speed toward me on my track. l
could see even the engineer, friend o..
Lnine, leaning out of the cab window,
and l could hear him, an absurd thing,
Shout to me to shut off.
! Gould l shut off? My arm seemed t.
be paralyzed. l could not reach the
throttle. though my life and the life of
all the people in my train seemed to de-
pend upon 1T. braced myself for the
shock and ran pasta man walking be-
side the track carrying lantern.
told nobody about my scare, of course,
but 1t was two days before I got my
nerve back.
/; Any engineer can tell stories about
momentary loss of nerve. The nerve Of
nm engineer needs mental bracing all
the time, especially If he runs an ex-
press We are on strain from the
moment we start our engines until We
leave them at the end of the run.
! The machine Is throbbing, jolting
and swaying under US all the time; we
are constantly on the alert for any OBJ
struction on the track, and our ears
are strained to detect any sound that
would indicate loose joint, bolt or nut.
So tense are our nerves all the time
that have known a driver to be ac-
tually incapacitated for week because
he hit a dog, and have heard compe-
tent engineers, whose nerve nobody
ever questioned beg to be let off for a
fast but usual run because they didn't
feel up to it.
Can't Stand Strain.
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 the flyers
They have lost their nerve and they
know 1t. have seen men, still young,
cry like babies when they knew they
We're no longer fit to run a fast train.
There Is only one man in the busi-
ness who has the reputation of never
losing his nerve. He Is John Kinsella,
who takes No. / on the Erie from Port
Jervis to Susquehanna.
TT was his train that ran into a big
rock just above Shohola in 1883 and
went tumbling down a sixtyfo bank
to the edge of the Delaware river.
Many lives were lost there, and Johns
fireman, pinned by the legs under his
engine, was roasted before his eyes.
Johns own foot was caught, but his
shoes were not buttoned and he man
aged to wriggle his foot clear, leaving
the shoe behind.
HE stood by his fireman, talked with
him as.the. flames were creeping nearer,
gave him water, took his last message
for his wife and saw him burn to death.
Johns left foot was a little lame for a
long while after that, but he showed up
the next day, cool as cucumber, and
insisted on taking his usual run. He
says that he has never lost his nerve
for an instant, although he has had
half dozen accidents, and believe
him."