The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-01-10
Freight Brakemen and
Their Life of Risk
Notwithstanding the
Hsrdships and Perils
Of the Work. Men
are AlwsSs Ready 10
Undertake Ia

!, in reaching my ear first. IL is by no means
likely that the young man who was just
here viii be hired, although he may. II he
ism given Riiey's place II Will not break his
faith nor that OF any OF his kind in the i'm
portance Of having early intelligence OF
fatal accidents 10 trainmen-and OF being
early in my office with the news and an ap-
plctaiOn, or. II the accident OCCURS some
where else. at the Office OF the one In au-
thority there"
L walked through the railroad yard and
10 the spot where poor Jimmie Riley was
killed His mangled body had been taken
away. grimy, one-arned switchman
brakeman fell on the rail. and explained
how IL all happened
THE TOP NOTCH OF DANGER.
This has beer a hard winter on 'em so
far" said the switchman. Jimmy makes
four killed on Kentucky roads since the first
Of the year Two OF EN- was took just like
him. and t'other un was hattened twixt
the bumpers while he was couplin'.
couldn't tell you how many has been caught
up along the Pennsylvania lines, but I've
been noticin that there's a good many
strange brakemen on some O. the trains
that comes. There's FIVE fellows in three
gangs alone that 1 don't know. 1 haven't
had the heart to ask where the old hands
are. for 1 suppose that I'd be told that this
one had been knocked of his car by a
bridge, an that one had missed a couplin'
an got the bumpers. an that another one
had snPped from the roof like Jimmie Just
now, an so on. IL may be, though. that
some Of them are only laid up with a few
fingers off, or an arm twisted out OF the
socket, or foot run over and smashed, or
some little thing Ike that; hope so, any
how.
what makes brakin' so dangerous? A
good many things. For instance. there's
couplln. That's always at the top notch
of dangerous from one New Years 10 an
other, every day in the year, year in an
year out. Just now the ice an snow on the
cars is dangerous. Ii isn't an easy thing
for a man TO run along the tops OF cars
going twenty miles an hour, even when
there's no ice on the boards an the wind
Is light But when you take IL like IL has
been for a week or So with the car roofs
like glass and the wind tearing along faster
IMAM the train does, 1 want you 10 know
that there's got 10 be nerve I'm a man for
him TO climb up TO the top OF car and
run over half-doZen or so every time the
engineer calls for brakes. Then. mind you.
a brakeman has no right to ride anywhere
else but on his car. matter If the snow
is falling on him by the ton or rain drench-
ing him or hail a-pelting him like hot shot.
Then he's likely in the night TO run his
head against some bridge that spans the
track. But couplin's what carries the most
OF them away 1 used 10 be a freight
brakeman myself and one day l stepped
between two cars 10 couple them, having
at the time two as good arms as anybody
ever had. When L came 10 my senses my
rlgnt arm was gone. Inc bumpers took II
off. But we don't have much trouble
now as when we had the link and pin
couplers. They were what ruined the boys.
Every brakeman knows that just for hav-
ing TO do that he has TO pay six times as
much for insuring his life as the man that
sets in warm Office and makes out the
trainway bills does. The brake chains are
apt TO part too, when the brakeman Is
twisting up his wheel, and away goes the
brakeman TO the ground. IL he don't get
in under the wheels he's apt 10 get his
head or his neck or his legs broken by the
fall. WILL DIETZ.