The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1906-05-09
sUPERSTITTONS
OF TRAINMEN.
Locomotives with Fatal Mum.
bers--Bird in Cab Window
Foreign Lanterns.

who'll stand to his robustness longer
than railroad fool. But maybe he's
got a right to his funny ways. He's
got a hard game to battle.
"Some folks laugh when ySu talk OF
a trainmans superstition about No. 13,
but 'tain't no iaughin matter. You
can call him a fool If you want to, and
he'll not fight back when you do. He
knows what 13 means. Why, look
down in the depot now; there's the
Missouri, Kansas and Texas fast mail.
the Katy flyer See that number on
that engine? 'Tain't 13. is T.? Well
No. 13 pulled that runnln' train in and
out of Kansas City for months. Now
she's suddenly disappeared. Where Is
she? I'll bet somethin's happened to
her-bet she's in the shop for repairs
or else they can't get no one to pull
her throttle Now over on the Belt
line there's 13 engine but she's harm
less. There's a horseshoe hung from
her number-place by rusty nail.
Back in the winter of 1899" said
Campbell Bateman, train dispatcher al
the Union Depot II gave an order to a
Missouri Pacific train bound for Oma.
ha. 1t was the thirteenth order issued
that evening. Someway or other, |
didn't feel right when the conductor
came in and signed up. But l gave
him order No. 13 and went to work.
About half an hour later there came
over the wire. Pullman car on No. 8
robbed by bandit. Notify detectives
The train was between Kansas City,
Kan. and Nearman when the robber
with pistol had forced the conductor
to go through the Pullman car and
rouse the passengers. The first thing
1 thought of was that order 49,"
The robber that night secured $3.50
in cash and Eve watches. He shot
once at n passenger who refused TO
be robbed, but the bullet did no harm.
E. X. Carnes. Superintendent of Mis-
souri, Pacific terminals in Kansas City,
worked on the Ohio and Mississippi
Railroad in 1876. He was conductor
on a train to which engine No. 13 was
assigned for service. Henry Fowler
was the engineer, a very religious man.
Elijah Morris was the fireman, and
about as profane a railroader as ever
shovelled coal into a ireboX.
morris hated that '13 as bad as he
hated short pay" Mr.. Carnes said.
"'Why, she's nothing but an old
thrasher. and some day she'll pile us
all in the ditch Morris used to COM
plain. On the other hand Fowler.
the engineer, was proud of her. and
gave his '13' as much care as he gave
his wife. Day by day Morris hatred
of No. 13 grew. We used to accuse
him of being afraid but he denied it,
One day after an unusually tough lot
of work, we pulled into Vincennes,
Ind. and ran the engine to the road
house. Fowler got off and looked his
13 over with care. He rubbed a little
grease off here, little dirt there. He
felt of the boxes and wedges. Morris
stood at one side and watched. He got
hold of bottle of whisky, too, and
took several drinks. Then he went
back to the engine. slipped into the
cab. and yelled to Fowler:
"'Look out, Henry! Here goes the
last Of 49,
"He pulled the throttle wide open
and leaped from the engine. The
SdNe al DdNhM dIu UUulus anu
landed upside down in the pit, at the
rear of the turntable. Her smokestack
was crushed. her cab torn loose, one
side rod was broken. and she was truly
wrecked. Morris hatred had got the
better of him. The little machine was
given a different number when it was
ready to leave the repair shops. And
Morris? Well, Morris hunted another
job. The superintendent suggested it,"
"There's hoodoo engine and a hoo
doc caboose on every road" says f. ].
Sanford, President of the Union Depot
Company. "You may think it a fool
belief of trainmen, but it's not. There
are engines which seem perfectly
made, which work as smoothly as an
engine on the Government mail. but
which are as treacherous as an Idaho
broncho. And you'll hear the trainmen
cuss in long, deep. sincere cuss words
when they get this hoodoo engine on
their run. She'll run along as smooth
as n top for miles, and then she'll climb
the rails and sail into the ditch. She
doesn't hurt anything seriously, but
there she is-the road tied up on her
account. Put her back on the track
and she'll dig into the ditch again per-
haps inside of a mile. And cabooses
act the same way. You can hardly
drag trainman into a caboose that's
numbered 49,"
little incident showing some of the
humor In switchman's foolish ways
happened in the office of w. NJ. Cor
bett, Superintendent of the Western
Division of the Alton Railway. few
weeks ago some switchmen employed =
in the Missouri Pacific yards in the
East bottoms struck. The matter was
discussed one afternoon, and ii was
laid on the shelf" to be fully decided
the next evening. One of the other
switchmen, who wished TO avoid
strike, went to Mr.. Corbett and asked
for position.
''If they go out" he said. 81 want
to work for the Alton. Tomorrow
evening they're going to swing a Ian
tern against the side of box car. II
it sticks they won't strike. If it don't
stick they'll walk out. How can you
beat a game like thatT
Evidently the lantern did not stick,
because they walked out
gar1a inn,at, hoVa Same n,,oo. sdoocp -