Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1905-04-07
SURPRISE TESTS INAUCURATED
IN THE INTEREST OF
SAFER AND BETTER SERVICE
Time and Place Kept Secret Enginemen and
Trainmen Did Not Know When or Where
An Official Would Bob Up.

The Qp"on a Crescent route Is TAX.
ing UP HE idea. first utilized a few
years ago y T.. II. Hartman on the
Southotl Pacific. OF putting engine
men aud trainmen through severe
tests IN the interest Of safer, better
and more expeditions service. The
management has quietly put into ef-
feet a system of surprise tests"
which are cal ulatcd TO awaken engin'
GERS to their responsibility,
In a recont circular issued 10 engln.
GERS, the men were advised to follow
printed rules 10 The letter and not to
rely on ~'fuatOI'ary practice in cases
Of douli. The circular was issued
before The TRANSFORMATION Of the sur
prise tests. Soon after the circular
had been issued the company started
In on it's secret tests. Englnemen
never knew when a red light would
be turned against them or when they
would be placed in a position to
choose between their own discretion
and the strict letter of the printed
rules. The campaign Of tests includ-
ed the various s%emaphore signals,
whistles signals of all sorts. placing
Of rear end flagmen, torpedo tests,
burning fuse tests and all kinds OF
safety signals. The time and place for
the tests were kept secret. Engine
men and trainmen did not know when
a trainmaster, a road foreman. q sup
erintendent or a train rule examiner
was standing behind the glare Of n
red light or in the shadow OF a sec.
ton house.
The manner in which the train rule
examiner, a new position not known
to many railroads, performed his du-
ties is illustrated in the case ofthe en-.
gineer who unwisely follows wha. We
thinks is customary practice" in
stead of plainly printed rules. When
this engineer fails in the surprise test
he is notified 10 appear before the ex
aminer, who subjects him to a severe
examination on his knowledge Of train
rules. Should he make a high aver
az Elm this examination the Super1n-
tendent, who examines the examiners
report. is quite correct in assuming
that the engineers failure at the sur
prise tests was due alone to careless
ness.
Since this surprise test has been In
augurated the discipline of the engine.
men has been greatly improved. One
Of the features of the surprise test
system is a stenciling in bright let
ters in the cab of every engine, Safe
ty Before Speed
Over a hundred cars OF California
fruit went east through this city yes
terday.,
Engineer Gus Peterson Of the 49, l;
off the cushion today, nursing a pain
fully sore hand that needs the rest
It is getting.
Fireman REVISING is unfit for duty
on account Of having been poisoned
by eating canned goods that We're no
properly put up. though hermeticall,
sealed.
The wife OF Irving Harmon. thu
latter employed as a brakeman on thu
Madrid branch, passed through will
her babe for Denver, Colo, on a Wis
il to her mother In that city.
r. W. Hoyt, travelling auditor 10
the Santa Fe, with headquarters II
Las Vegas. came down as far as Wa
ro,s from Trinidad yesterday, accom-
panied by VIM. McFaren. the Wells
Fargo travelling auditor.
Engineer Dennist0n and Fireman
Nielsen Of the 757 on the work tran
are resting their minds and muscle
today, being relieved at the safety
valve and the spade by Engineer I
H. Schultz and Fireman Hardage.
49,
f. NJ. Brown, president Of the Me,
ican National railroad company. wa
on route through Las Vegas last e'