Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1905-02-02
RAILROAD NEWS.
Cause Of the Alton.Burlington Mis-
understanding

understanding
The discontinuance OF the joint
freight traffic between the Burling-
,on and Chicago s. Alton over the
,ut.off is said TO be due to st. louis
terminal facilities and not to
business in this city. An official when
approached upon the subject said
that matters will be amicably adjusted |
In short time; in fact that the ten
Burlington freight crews which were
to Hannibal week ago were |
told to leave their families in Mexico. |
1t was understood then that the two
roads had disagreed over the contract
for joint freight service, and II was
that the reported control of
the Alton by the Rock Island was the
factor, The change has
greatly increased the Burlington's
freight business through Chillicothe.
The cold Of to-day hS been par
ticularly hard on engineers, who have
to fight to keep their engines going.
The principal difficulty lies In the
fact that the journals are SO cold that
oil will not lubricate them, and 1t is
almost like pouring melted lead upon
them instead of oil-it hardens In
tantly when it comes in contact with
the cold steel, thus leaving the journ-
ais dry. An engineer will bring the
oiler out of the warm cab and string a
stream of oil along the piston rod, and
at the first stroke lit falls off on the
ground like so much tallow. Thus it
is that journals run hot during the
coldest weather. For this reason and
various other little defects caused by
extreme cold weather, the tonnage Of
the locomotives is very much reduced
and the engineers probably feel the
cold more than any other class Of
railroad men.
Jack Griffin, road foreman of en-
gines, recently from a trip to Kansas
City, states and looked as II he had
been participant in prize fight, but
but he lays all the blame, for a badly
mutilated face, on an innocent little
quail. 1t happened in this way
While riding on the hummer engine,
which was going at the rate of 5C
miles an hour, between Odessa and
Mayview, covy Of quails were flushed
and one of them came through the
cab window like a bullet. Severa
pieces of glass struck Griffin in tht
face, one of them cutting an ugly
cash below the eye. 1t is reported
that, Notwithstanding the game Law
of Missouri, Jack took the bird to tht
dining car, where it was served Oh
toast.
Beginning last Monday the Chicag'
s. Alton shops will be operated on re
duced hours, the order affecting ever,
department except the roundhouse
The car department, whichincludes th
coach shops, the planning mill, the car
, penter shop, the cabinet shop, the ca
and axle shop, and the red tracks
have been working but nine hour
! and they now will be reduced to eigh
quitting work at o'clock, the morr
! ing hours remaining the same as pre-
viously. The locomotive department
has been working ten hours, and II
cludes the machine shop, the tan
shop, the boiler shop, the blacksmit
. shop and the foundry. These will no
! 90 back to nine hours, quitting at
o'clock.
!, Something OF the enormity of th
Q work being arranged for on the west
\ ern division Of the Alton can abe In
!. agined when it is estimated that
s will be necessary to change 137 mile
of track between Kansas City ar
Roodhouse to obtain the desired grad
At first it was thought that only I'll
hills between Slater and Kansas Ci
would be cut down, but this work Il
!, engineers and surveyors began work
= the Strout hill In Illinois, and is nc
= stated on good authority that u
work, II done at all, will cover the e
= tire line of the western division.
ID Attention of trainmen is called tC
IN recent peculiar case, where bre
81 beam fell from freight car in q
i. middle of the train and remained
T. the track while the entire train pass
a over it. A passenger train followi
O. had a narrow escape from bel
o. wrecked by the lost break beam, whi
LII occupied a position across the rails
such a manner that had the engin'
not observed it and stopped, it mis-
have up-ended the engine and ditcf
re the train.
no The Chicago & Alton officials
he becoming a little suspicious about
ew claims of horsemen for damages
Is animals shipped, and are going
lc- have the stock in future examiI
ISIS by trainmen to ascertain whet
lc- there has been any damage or 4
me 1t is quite easy for stock shipper
Sh- file a bill for alleged damages to ST
ND and In nine cases out Of ten the q
mo pany is unable to tell whether
md the claim is a true bill or not.
nd As soon as the frost is out OF
ground the Wabash railroad
nd commence a systematic process
'od improvement. The road bed
be bridges will be the first to feel
inn. effect of this plan. New brio
and culverts will be put in betv
Ferguson and Luther and near
Charles, at South Liberty, Kel
and vile, Brunswick, Triplett and N
are other points on the Western divi'
the