Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1905-11-30
RECORD OF LOYALTY
sPLENIlD WORK OF RAILROAD
MEN IN AN EMERGENCY.
Enormous Amount Of Traffic Success.
fully Handled on Single Track In
Face Of Heavy Handicap-shows
e. Quality Of American Train Crews.


The well-known writer on railroad
subjects, Mr. Frank II. Spearman, in
his book entitled The Strategy of
Great Railroads. describes the sur
prise of the general manager of one
of the eastern trunk lines, on hunt.
ing trip in the north woods, who sud-
denly found himself on the right of
way of a splendid, well-built railway
line, apparently of construction and
equipment similar to the New York
Central or Pennsylvania along which
Numbered in quick succession heavy
trains of iron ore, splendid passenger
equipment and general freight service
of surprising proportions.
This was the Peninsula division OF
the Chicago & Northwestern Rail-
way, which covers the Upper PENN
sula of Michigan, including the hard
wood district and Lake Superior iron
and copper region, with a surprisingly
efficient net work of lines that con-
meet the mines and forests with i'm
portant lake ports, and with through
rail service to and from the outer
world.
Along this busy ore-carrying line a
splendid exposition of the loyalty, in
telligence and general good team
work that can be expected of the aver
age railroad man and the efficiency OF
the rules laid down for his guidance
in an emergency, was given a few
days ago, which so greatly pleased the
superintendent and other officials that
the story has finally crept into public
print, and Il is we'll worth repetition
in these columns.
It was all occasioned by a very
heavy sleet storm that fell in the Up
per Peninsula few days ago, which
threw down practically every tele-
graph line in the region in a few
hours, and left the AGA miles OF the
division absolutely without tele-
graphic service for no less than forty
eight hours.
The ore movement has been espe-
cially heavy this year, more lake SUI
perior ore being transported on the
Great Lakes than ever before in the
history of the iron industry, and in
this emergency every mine would
have to shut down on account OF the
shortage of railway cars to move
their product unless the road was
kept open in spite of the storm.
There was nothing that could be
done by the chief train dispatcher;
both he and the division superintend-
ent were temporarily out of the game.
1t was one of these emergencies where
the "man behind the gun" must make
good, or the case was a hopeless one.
And make good he did, in true blue,
loyal style, with that splendid initia-
tive that makes the average train
crew typical of the qualities we ad-
mire in our American troops.
There was no way in which to get
orders for train movements, no means
by which division headquarters could
be kept advised of where their trains
were, and to the onlooker, no means
existed by which the train crew could
keep track of the whereabouts OF
trains in the opposite direction. 1t
was an emergency Of the gravest char
dCl6T, anu was lIGI Will oplShulu
exhibition of good judgment and in
telligent grasp of the science of rail-
road operation that is perhaps without
an equal. They managed, on single
track line, without telegraph lines, for
two whole days and nights, to keep
every iron and copper mine in the
district supplied with equipment and
moved all trains practically on time.
4,971 cars were moved over the d.
vision Friday and Saturday, Oct. 20
and 81, and one hundred and twenty.
five freight trains and no less than
thirty-four passenger trains were
taken care of upon the division, all
handled on time on single track,
without accident, mishap, or delay
and without the help Of train dis
patcher.
Can anyone beat that record Of 10y
atty to employers, hard work and In
telligent grasp of conditions?
Any man who has ever handled the
train movement of busy railway d.
vision will appreciate how very much
Is involved in the work these train.
men did, hurrying to and fro over
sleet covered cars, keeping COOL and
ready to meet every emergency by ap.
plication of the operating rules pro-
Vided for their guidance.