Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1906-06-14
TALES OF.
DANGER ON 4 LOCOMOTIVE.

QrSC OF the large, DdltleSHlp CldoS VI
engines to make it's appearance on II
line; N Murphy, my fireman, an me
were very proud indeed when she was
allotted to us.
"She was a very smooth piece OF
machinery m moved with the ease n
grace of a racehorse. Every time her
big drivers revOlved she brought you
seven feet nearer your destination.
The new machine was so high up in
the sir that the smaller locomotives
looked like watch charms by her side.
After we got her / didn't think Murphy
was takin' the best of care m dom all
he could to keep her neat. So l opened
up or him..
"'Now. Mike, old man, says I, you
want to be up an dom an keep her
tidy SOS they won't take her away
from u.s.
murphy he got sore m observed as
how, if / would confine myself to the
runnin' of the train m the wOrkin' of
the injectors IN other toys he could
deliver the merchandise required Of
him by the book Of rules.
"'Mike,' I replied, It's only a bit of
advice I'm givin' you. There's no use
gettin' warm under the collar. In this
railroadin' business many are called
but few are chosen
"'Sure n I noticed that YOU got
called good N hard last night by the
master mechanic bout them oil cans
replied Mike:
eyes, but Mike says I. see what a
! large bit Of free advertisin' you git by
bein' Oh with a man who breaks so
many records
"'Indade, N the only record I liver
heard of yer breakin' was that time
YOU tried to talk into the ponygraf m
the hot air melted the wax says he.
"After this Murphy kept up a digni-
fed silence m I retired to my side of
the cab, thinkin' the While of how
hard it is to keep the Irish down.
Sometimes I'm pretty sure that Jonah
must have had some Irish in him,
SEEM as the whale had such poor sue
cess keepin' him down.
pretty oon | got the signal to go
II I pulled her wide open, the 3OS
movin' out OF the station with her
heavy train, her highsteppin' qualities
shown i'll every motion. She was of
the stem winder type, with the boiler
runnin' entirely through the cab, her
furnace door protrudin' from the rear
Of the cab on the runnin' board of the
tender.
ION each side of the boiler was the
| space for the engineer n fireman. Her
boiler was so big n high that it was
impossible for an ordinary sized man
to see over the top, IN her lubricators
n other little toys on top Of the boiler
were SC lofty that to reach 'em there
was an iron step fastened to the boiler
about half way up.
I'VE were soon clear Of the yards N
moyin' rapidly. The 3OS was dom her
prettiest this evenin', N she ate UP
mile after mile at a sixty mile N hour
clip. without so much as strainin' a
spring. I only found one fault with her
little bug in the lubricators on top of
the boiler. They weren't feedin' prop.
erly. SO I decided hat when we got
droppin' down the Hog Back grade
n could shut her off I'd see what
was doin'; I somehow had a huncI
that somethin' was about to come of
that wasn't down on the time card
The idea had been botherin' me al
e%yenin', N try as I would I couldn'
lose it.
"Soon's I got 'em going down til,
Hog Back N takin' care that 1 had
clear block I went aloft. I think i
they keep on increasin' the size Of en-
jine boilers they better equip 'em witt
elevators m fire escapes. Well, an,
way, 1 grabbed the hand rail runnin
along the top Of the boiler m put M.
foot on the step, hoistin' myself up II
huggin' the boiler very close.
IF a nan has any such thing as
guardeen angel mine got very busy II
increased his battin' average with m
about 300 per cent. then, for I n
moren't hauled myself clear Of my sea
n there was a deafenln' crashin' nois.
! m poundin' up through the floor Q
: the cab n the seat where I had bee
. sittin' came the end of the drivin' roc
!, swirlin' m smashin' things in il
: wake. [ don't like to think of whs
, would "a happened to me if the lubr
= Gators hadn't gone dippy. The 30S ha
{ stripped her side rods on the rigf
side.
= "Not only was I myself in DANCE
hangin' on to the boiler with only or
: hand N foot, dodgin' the splinters y
= flying nuts n bolts, but the entil
- train behind, with it's load Of passe1
!, gers. was doomed to destruction in
), very few seconds, as that side re
= flynn rampant was sure to throw tt
! locomotive from the rails unless som
:, thin was done to check her speed.
;, "Already in one of it's rapid revol
q tons the heavy piece of steel hs
O struck the reverse lever a crushi
y blow N bent it so that it would
!, impossible to reverse the engine, eve
), could I reach the lever. Any seco1
I was likely to be hit by the rod