The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-05-25
hesEngl1leer
AID His w ork Z:
aFIsTI1sss1iFE IS ONE OF. Constant
c4REFULNEssAN AND DAILY
DANGER.

5gss.s.s DAIMLER. -
IS - 10 the life OF soldier there
no other man r'ho 10. -r1s a ms: nus ' ns
40 constantly as does the engineer fsas
n, the locomotive. He must be a man ma,
.SIr3,t, nerves Of see1. man who Is 5 not
100. .,.f,r-s,;d to accept death II there Is any
ss.sol,s<,,sJblt chance OF saving the hres@oi
ofhers =,
s;d,S,1 Ae is constantly on the lockout
- 1or, danger. AS his leviathian 1aun'
Sders along her race. track OF steelEne :
has his head out OF the cab ~1n"o"
ne s1oops his ear to hearken 10 tne
3 z1z,ay. her inks and !eccentr1cs.. her pis-
Tons and and guides andsrods are 'orFine'
yTfShe hears pounding anywhere sne
sInowsS that Something Is wrong
~ engineers learn to have a PROFOUND
respect for their engines ana give
them better care than many pars'i'o
40 their children. Everything IS con- ION
7y,vl,ich win make their horse OF s!ee
In nerfect condition. A set sese"
.,.n,,;1,icI, Is a uife too small VIII not De
federated by engineers: before 'soihs
~, t,,e nm the mechanist takes 1t OUT
..,,d 5nnts in one to the satisfaction Oh
:Sfbe encineman, who must always oe
alert to- the conei;.t.1 ~ us sea-" ~
giant
izzz5S.sI have run a locomotive Tor elSnt
,;aars;. said an old engineer TINS
morning at the local yards He had
s;of,,n,4hisF blue overa1is. his lantern on
his arm. and a red 7kerchief around
his neck. He was getting ready lot
run. TN those eight years j nave
had many thrilling experiences +" ME
never in a wreck myself nave seen
several and have helped to clean them
I,r, a few moments after they happen
8 wreck was Just ahead OF u" Two
through freight was given the RED req.
\ & wreck was Just ahead OF US Two
sfreights had co1lided, both going at a
fun rate of speed Those LOCOMOTIVES
were completely demolished Even
the Jackets were Skinned OF the boil
ers Five men had been killed instant
" One of them we recovered from
car Of corn. He had been hurled
Einto the grain There was not
scratch upon his body. There We're
no marks upon him anywhere. except
ON his face, where grains Of corn
had EMBEDDED themselves deeply into
ghss face. Besides this, there were Pc
cn1far red spots Nothing else was
FOUND about him that would bring
death. We were unable to account
For the poor fellows misfortune, e3-
scept by saying that he had smothered
down there IN the corn
In press dispatches there IS mover
iven any accounts Of how the dead
sswere killed Yet they often are called
Into eternity in peculiar manner No
two apparently ever meet death in the
same way.
So -sThat's right, said the ensineman
sass he sat down upon the end OF a
crosstie. Now. few years ago L
was running from Grafton to Parkers-
bur~. was following No That
passenger jumped the track at Pc
+ro1eum The operator saw it happen
from the station. He was reporting
her He had sent NO. 8 fs-when shc
wreck occurred. and he simply added.
here and wrecked I was stopped
we began to rescue the injured The
fireman. I remember. was down pinch
ed under his engine. a car load OF
oysters was next to the locomotive
They were split all about the place.
and nearly drowned that fireman be-
fore we got him released From that
day to this. I have been unable TO
eat an OYSTER
The road from Petersburg to Graf
ton is one Of the worst pieces OF road
I IN this section OF the country There
are great many bridges and tunnels
The gas and heat in them are many
times almost syfocatins.
3 NO, engineers can't keep the gas
and heat out Of the cab. But in order
to Keep alive, we have large sponSes.
which we plunge into the water tank.
and then bite them so as to hold them
before our nose and mouth This
method cooIs and purifes little the
air Of tunnels
Then the engineers locomotive
was brought mp to him. He climbed
up the steps, pulled the throttle and
In few minutes he was again speed
ing towards the west. not thinking
at all OF death. but only of the lives
OF those in front and back of him.
B.