The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-08-05
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN
TRAIN IS WRECKED
Foreman of Wrecking Car Tells
What is Done
OUTFIT is ALWAYS READY
First the Injured Are Taken Out and
the Next Thing Is to Get the
Track Cleared for
Traffic.

Ou WANT a SUI VI INV NC IA0e1A
away wrecks?
"Weu" says the old wreclking foreman.
in an article in The Iron Trail. perhaps
IL is after a hard days work on the rip
tracks. repairing broken down cars: for
usually the wreclking crew is made up of
ten of the ear repair men.
Every man knows. exactly where the
wrecking outfit is-on by the roundhouse
where the night crew is doing all il can
to hurry along the fire and the rising
steam pressure of the engine that is to
take the outfit on its errand of mercy.
This outfit. If it is modern. consists
Of steam derrick car, with steam al
ways up, weighing in the neighborhood
of 600 pounds with a lifting capacity
Of sixty-fve tons.
Behind the derrick comes the truck
car. 1t contains extra trucks TO be used
under derailed cars or car bodies whose
trucks have been ruined. Next comes
the blocking car, loaded down with all
necessary blocking and timber.
Then there is the track supply car
equipped with all the necessary track
material, such as ties and rails The
tool car is the next in order. This car
ries jacks of all descriptions, from a
6-inch pony jack to a 4o-ton hydraulic.
1t is loaded also with bars, chisels. ham
mers. wrenches. dope buckets, packing
spoons. lines, tackles and blocks, night
and day signals, tarpaullns for covering
merchandise and stretchers. blankets and
sheets for the injured and the dead.
Next is the cook and bunk car and
finally the caboose. The former has a
range, a refrigerator and a stock of food
that will keep. It has hunks for eighteen
or twenty men. This train, or outfit,
as it is called. is always coupled together
and stored on a side track.
Seeks for Particulars.
"'The first thing that a wree1ing fore
man does on being called Is to get into
| communication with the chief train de-
/ spatcher and find out all the particulars
possible If 1t is a merchandise wreck,
empty freight cars are taken along Into
which can be transferred such freight
! and grain as can be saved.
HE also finds out as near as he can
| just where the wreck lies and how badly
! It is piled If it is a passenger Wreck
why, of course, II is case of get there
! as quickly as possible. wondering all the
! time who the dead and injured are and
| what new scene of awfulness will be
confronted.
"The wrecl1ng outfit has the right OF
way over all trains between the starting
point and the place whore the wreck
occurs Passenger, stock and freight are
all side-tracled.
"A stop Is made at the station or sid
ing nearest the wreck. Here the steam
derrick is switched ahead of the en-
! CINE with the rest of the outfit coupled
| behind. On arriving at the wreck a mar
| Is stationed al the front end of the
crane whose duty it IS to give signals
to the engineer of the derrick. whether
to raise lower or to swing the crane.
"The first thing q wrecking foreman
does after finding out where the injured
| are and getting them loose Is to figure
on working a passageway through the
wreck and replacing the track as tho
debris is cleared. If the wreck is bad
one and there is the chance a tempo
rary track Is built around the mess thai
| traffic may be resumed as soon as pos
sble.
Cars that are damaged to the extent
of 500 are dragged into the ditch all tn,
truck and air brake rigging taken from
them and the body of the car set afire
All OF the iron parts are afterward load
ed on to flat cars, often even the boiler
of the locomotive This scrap Is taker
to the shop to be repaired and uset
over again
Even freight wrecks can present
terrible appearance. One of the wors
OF these I ever saw was forty-five load
of wheat, the products of many a hun
dred acres piled forty feet high ant
extending from right of way fence Il
right of way fence-a regular hill of gol,
which took one solid weeks work t.
clear away Carload after carload o
wheat had to be loaded by basket Int
new cars-while many tons of bent anC
twisted iron and heap upon heap o.
ashes told silent story of the wreck.
Worst to Handle.
lone time we went out To pick up
stock wreck of eleven cars. These, mex
to passenger wrecks, are the worst tt
handle This particular was one of grea
confusion The penned cattle were bel
lowing frghtfully On each side and IA
over toward the fence lay dead or in
jured stock
Now there is nothing that makes thes,
western steers so angry as the smell o
blood and add to that injury and th'
terrible excitement of a wreck and yol
have a combination that makes the poo
animals fairly crazy. Woe to the MAJ
who gets close to a head or the heels o
a struggling beast The cars were pilet
in such way that we were compelle,
to rip the tops off.
''1hen men crawled out along tn,
wreckage, fastened lines about the horns
and with the aid of the derrick the ami
mails were finally dragged loose. Those
in the car that were badly injured wer,
killed by blow on the head with
sledge. while the others were rounded III
by men on horseback and herded into tn,
field to be finally driven to the first stool
chute and there reloaded.
YES passenger wrecks are, without
doubt. the very worst-and 1t can be sale
of them, as of war they are anything
but cool
1.-The lessons wrecks should teach us
Never to take chances. Never max,
men work longer than nature intende,
they should Equip all roads with ever!
safety device known for safe train hand
ling Make the train order system a,
simple as possible. Stop loading carr
beyond their capacity and until they breal
down Employ only experienced men. ant
when such men make mistakes and troubl
is the resut-keep them; do not can
them. for nine chances out of ten the,
will never make the same mistake again
We all learn by experience, therefore th'
man who has made a mistake is a safe
man. for all concerned. than one who hal
not"
IDLE MONEY.