West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1906-06-21
g Il t Il t Il + 4 Il Il t. = Il :.


cool. clean white arms. one OF them al.
ways barred To the elbow. sanding his
points with the ash of n san Francisco
cigar. and Neighbor would begin to
heave from the middle NJ like n hippo
potamus. and Callahan would laugh his
whiskers full OF dew, Gul Il Icy would
yell with delight, and t.c slaves In the
next room would double up Oh tho dead
at the story. Blackburn world sit with
his laugh all In smile. bEt never n
noise or n word. lie enjoyed IL all. not
n doubt of that. only IL was all tenn
pered. l reckon, by something that had
gone before. At least that's tie way Il
now strikes me. anl 1 watched those
big fellows pretty close--thc fellows
who We're 10 turn while was growing
up among them into managers ana
presidents and magnatcs and some OF
them from every day catch-as-catch-can
men with the common alkal nccSlng
their boots into dead men for whom
marble never rose white enough or high
enough.
Blackburn was four years at the
Wickiup ON the night trick II wouldn't
have seemed natural IN see him there
In daylight II needed the yellew gloom
OF the old kerosene lamp I'm the room,
the specked. knutted. warped smoky
pine ceiling losing Itself In black and
cobwebbed corners. the smolderlng
murk OF the soft coal FIRE brooding IN
the shabby old salamander and outside
In the darkness the wind screwlng
down the gorge and rafting the shrunk-
en- easements to raise blackburn I'm the
dispatcher's chair. Blackburn and the
lamp and the stove and the ceiling and
the gloom-ln word. Blackburn and
the night trlck-they went together.
Before the short line was opened the
No. and No. 3 trains caught practical.
ly all the coast passenger business.
They were Immensely heavy trains.
Month after month we sent ont two
and three sections of them each way,
and they always ran into our division
on the night trick. Blackburn handled
all that main limo business with n mile
age of S05, besides the mountain
branches, say 400 more; and the pas
senger connections came of them.
mostly at night. for1 and 3.
Now three men wrestle with Black
burns mileage, but that was before
they found out that dlspatchers. al
though something tougher than steel do
wear out Moreover. we were then n
good way from civilization and extra
men. III n dispatcher took sick there
was no handy way OF filling In; II was
just double up and do the best You
could.
One lad I'm the Office those days every
body loved-Fred Norman. lie was Off
the Burlington, a kid of fellow who
looked more like choir boy than n
train dispatcher. But nc was all light
ning-a laughing. restless. artless boy,
open as book and quick as a current.
There was n better reason still, though.
why they loved Fred-thc boy had CON
sumption. That's why he was out In
the mountains. and his mother In De
troit used TO write Bucks asking about
him, and she used to send us all things
In Fred's box. His flesh was as white
and as pink as mountain snow, and he
had brown eyes. He was n good 10y,
and called him handsome reckon
they all did. Fred brought out tennis
set with him, the first we ever saw In
Medicine Bend. and before hc had been
playing an hour he had Nelghbor. big as
a grizzly. and Callahan. with q Pipe
In one hand and tennis guido In the
other, chasing all over the yard after
balls, and HALEY trying to figure forty
love, while Fred taught Bucks the Law.
ford drive. don't say what lie was TO
me; only that he taught me all ever
knew or ever Will know about handling
trains, and, though I was carrying mes
sages then and hc was signing orders,
we were really like kids together.
Fred for long time had the early
trick lie came on at I'm the morning
md caught most OF the through frelehts
that got away from the river behind
the passenger trains. There was no
use trying to move them I'm the night
trick. Between the stock truins east.
bound and the both way passenger
trains, II westbOund freight got
caught I'm the mountains ut night the
engine might ns wen be standing IN the
house saving fuel: there wasn't time to
get from one siding TO another. SO Fred
Norman took the freights as they came.
and he handled them like n ringmaster.
When Fred's whip cracked, by Joe!
train had to dance right along. grade or
no grade. Fred gave them the rights.
and they had the rest to door busl.
ness 70 do with the superintendent or
with Doubleday, Nelghbor's assistant
In the motive power.
There was only one tendency In Fred
Norman's dispatchInR that anybody
could criticlse. lie never seemed, after
handling trains on the plains. tonppre-
ciate what our mountain grades really
meant, on1 when they pushed him be
sent his trains out pretty close togetb-
er. II never bothered him TO handle a
heavy traffic. He would get the busi-
ness through tie mountains Iust as
fast as they could put II at the division.
but occasionally there were some hair
curling experiences among the freights
On Norman's trick trying 10 keep on
zach others coattails. One night IN
July there was n great press moving
sight or nine truius Of Montana grass
Frs over the main line on sOmc kind of
4 time contract We wero giving stock.