Los Angeles herald., 1906-08-02

Five years ago, upon graduation from
| college. I was offered chance to begin
at the bottom rung of the railway lad
der. accepted It eagerly. and entered
the operating department of a second
rate single-track trunk line in the mid
die west. After three years service in
various capacities-as yard clerk. clerk
In a chief dispatcher's office, locomo-
tive fireman, "boiler-head" switchman
and night yardmaster--I decided that a
practical understanding of train move
ment was essential to advancement and
accordingly seized the first opportunity
to hire out" as a freight brakeman.
Four months later, in T rccember, 1904,
in view of my former training and be-
cause material was scarce, l was APP
pointed to the arduous yet interesting
position of conductor on the Chicago
division. The winter freight traffic was
heavy, and this, with eight passenger
trains daily and three steep grades,
made conditions for dispatchers and
conductors about as trying as a young
student OF railroad operation could
wish.
To pilot q train, whether thirty cars
of merchandise and provisions or sixty
cars of commodities in bulk. from ter
minal to terminal without mishap and
in the shortest possible time, passing
opposing trains, avoiding those pursu-
ing, and overtaking the sluggards and
cripples, brought me often much ad-
venture and always extreme fatigue
Now, 1t is about this matter of
weariness-sheer exhaustion, to speak
C,,II tl,,N I tteI,
to write a few pages in order that the
public may appreciate fully how COM
pletely their lives and property depend
upon the mental and physical condition
of our freight train crews.
This winter a disastrous head-on col
lision occurred between the last sec
ton of a transcontinental express and
a freight train Several of the engine
men. trainmen and mail clerks were
killed, but the passengers in their Pull
mans, behind a shattered bulwark of
baggage and mail cars, were unharmed.
The cause of that wreck, the public has
been told, was the freight train crews
violation of dispatcher's orders That
is true as far as it goes. but the reason
why orders were violated is this:
The freight train crew had been fifty
nine consecutive hours on duty and fell
asleep, unable to stay awake and count
the number of passing sections. Fifty
nine hours-two days and half
sounds incredible, but I believe an
analysis of the dispatcher's train sheets
in majority of division headquarters
would reveal some startling facts, and
to give this contention more weight 1
want to tell briefly the true story of
fifty-two hours, the vivid remembrance
of which will always stick in my mind.
Arriving at Jericho after a short six
hour trip from Chicago, 1 consented to
double back without rest in charge OF
heavy tonnage freight. Bad luck
and delays, a leading locomotive, irri-
tating minor mishaps and an ava
lanche of east-bound traffic to battle
against, made us average less than
seven miles an hour In other words
when we had reached Stark, a lonely
sidetrack and non-telegraph station,
at 8 a. m. on the second day, we had
travelled only 125 miles in nineteen
hours and were still fifty miles from
Chicago. which we had left twenty
seven hours previous.
Strive as mortal may, though in
ured to hardship and lack of sleep,
nerves will relax their tension and eye
lids will close. Even the sense of re-
sponsibility may fail to jerk droop-
ing head back to consciousness. Such
was the case with Jake, the rear brake
man, who, hudded in the seat on the
other side of the cupola, despite gentle
appeal or angry maledictions, slum-
bered peacefully. At Stark we took
siding to allow two meat trains and the
night express, all going in the oppo-
site direction, to pass.
Moreover, we had been given an or
der in the form of a schedule, stating
that a special" also east-bound, was
due here at 3:15 a. m.
I took out my watch, shook Jake into
and sent him to cool
a smoking hot box.
At 3:10 a. M the night express hurtled
past, at 1920 a. m. came the first meat
train and ten minutes later the second
section thundered by, but no special.
Then, as with jangle of couplings,
felt the caboose lurch forward, 1
realized that the engineer had forgot
ten the belated special and was pull