The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-12-21
SUICIDE OF s2s.
Locomotive Just Pinned Away After
Old Engineer Died.
tNeY York SUM-

I've always cOntended that a loco
motive was little less n human" said
the fat engineer, IAN that she
always keeps d little cosy corner in her
heart FOR man as is good 10 her n
don't boss her arOun' very much. Nv
belief has been backed up by a recent
happening on our road.
Jim Cregan was one of the oldest
engineers on our line m took great
pride in the machine he ran. n kept
her bright n shinin'. or saw TO il
that the fireman kept her so: never
worlkin' q locomotive any harder than
the actual business at hand called for.
lie had been runnin old 326 about two
years before his death. n in my belief
she got more firmly attached to him
than she did to any train Of cars she
ever drew.
Wen. sir, although 32e was one Of
the best pieces of machinery in the
roads equipment, while Jim had her,
maxim fast time with the heaviest
trains of Pullmans, after his death
none Of the men could do nothin with
her She wouldn't steam, m her every
exhaust was like the sob of a leadin'
lady who had lost her pet dog. The
steel on her boiler n her trimmin' s
took on a CHASTITY, grayish hue.
She wasn't worth her salt. nohow.
The road foreman Of engines finally
sent for me n told me he'd decided to
turn her over to me m Murphy, n me-
self bein' sort of locomotive trained
nurses a gettin' all the lame. halt N
blind locomotives on the road to brace
W..
Murphy didn't like it. N just ex-
pressed his opinion TO me.
'Thev might just as well put that
926 on the scrap heap iirstas last" says
Murphy. faint no use wastin' oil n
fuel on her to make her do work. She's
just pinin' away for Jim Cregan, m
that all there is to it.
Il was of the same opinion myself.
but I wasn't goin' TO give AIurf the
satisfaction Of havin' me sidin with
him.
I'VE took her. but we didn't have
any success with her. 1t just seemed
as if she wheezed N snorted like an
old woman at a wake.
"She had one OF the finest soundin
chime whistles as was a delight 10 the
ear you ever heard. After Jim died
the steam 'ud seem to cOndense Oh
suthin' just as it was enterin' the
whistle bell n the whistle would LEI
out an awful shrek. endin' w with q
sound like wringin' out a discIoth.
Things went on this way until she
laid down on the road with me q cou-
| pie O times when We had an import
ant train, n the engine dispatcher
I who was rather a hard-hearted man
p, not goin' much on sentiment, lost al
/ patience, / was standin' alongside o.
| her, seein' that her Journals were coo
| N everything was shipshape on hel
+ after finishin' a trip. when the engin,
dispatcher came along by the turntable
Well, Portly,' he says TO me. I've
/ given up all thought OF every tryin [,
/ reform old S26 n get her out Of he
/ slovenly ways. After YOU come il
with her tomorrow she goes on tn
! WORK train
This was pretty hard. lines. N vol
( bet if I was q self-resDectin n It'd.
passenger locomotive, N was re1egate'
| to dirty dirty slow-poke job OF haulin
| Dagoes aroun like that, it would be tn
last straw for me. Anyway, 'twan'
! any of my obsequies. I'll done the bes
! 1 could to brace up 326, n so / mo
| seyed along home.
THE next mornin' / came leisurel
down through the roundh0use 4
stopped a miDute by the pilot OF g
to pass a few words with the round
house foreman.
Yes | says, it's too bad Tor sue
a fine machine as old 336 was Copel
says that she's 10 go on the work trai
/ tomorrow.
Il no more'n got the words out &
my mouth when the foreman n weI
startled 10 hear sec begin to. exhaus
n backed through the brick wall lil
roundhouse. ! tried 10 grab the pile
n climb on, but she got away from n,
n backed THROUGH the brict wall lih