The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1907-09-27
TIE rail- WAY PAY CAR
Romance That Hung About It IN
the Good Old Days.
WATCHING FOR THE YELLOW

The Appearance Of the Brightly Var.
nished Gold coiored Palace on
Wheels Always an Event on the
Road-Ths Present Check System.
"Railroading isn't any fun any more.
Eordid commercial folk in Wall street.
with never an idea in their noggins but
to invest money and make it pay divi-
dends have improved all the romance
out of life on the rails" writes cor
respondent Of the American Magazine
In commenting on the present system
Of paying off railway employees.
'Ah, no! Railroading isn't what It
used to be. But If those Wall street
money grubbers had only left us the
pay car all else could have been for
given. Do you remember how in the
good old days the decrepit jokes about
what was to be done when the pay car
came We're taken out of the moth balls
along about the 10th of the month
and busted off and put through
their PAGES? How, toward the 18th a
feeling of sprightliness gradually
stole over every one from the wipers
In the roundhouse to the lucky dogs
who had passenger runs? How this
e1uberance swelled in volume as an
ticipation became more keen until to-
ward the 18th everybody went about
with broad grin and nerves all
a-tangle, the way you feel when the
orchestra is playing the creepy music
to accompany the Villains midnight
assault with intent to kill? How,
still later, everybody drifted down to
the depot about four times day to
ask the station agent If he had heard
anything about the pay car until he
grew as grabbed as a sitting hen !?
How, about the 22d, the waiter
girls ut the depot hotel would give
you a saucy wink and bring you
great, juicy, melting, extra special
wedge Of pie you didn't order for des-
sert. along with the ice cream and nuts
and raisins and fruit and pudding and
shortcake you did order? Those girls
knew how to work fellow for tips
about pay day, didn't they?
cat last, one day as you were letting
'em down the hill into the junction, the
operator pulled his train order signal
on you. Your heart leaped into your
throat because you knew-well, you
! just felt it in your bones. You went
down the side Of the car without
knowing how you did it and sprinted
for the switch to head 'em in on the
passing track and then few to the
station on winged feet, leaving the
engineer to hold 'em with the driver
brakes or let 'em run out at the lower
end, as he chose. And the grumpy
old curmudgeon stopped 'em beautiful
~, without SO much as saying boo,
when on any other occasion he would
have Embossed torrent Of vitupera-
ton that would have set the ties on
fire, and would have followed it up
by heaving a monkey wrench at you
If you had been in range.
''There behind the counter was the
old man, looking over the shoulder of
the operator, who was spelling out the
order without breaking ~oftener than
every second word:
i Train No. Z, Conductor Flatwheel,
. Engineer Poundem, will meet pay car
special. Conductor Linkenpin, Engi-
neer Moriarty, at Emerson
'Such an air of nonchalance as Old
Man Flatwheel did assume as he turn
ed away to discuss with the hind man
| tho odvica hi1i+v oP p,oI,ino a c1,,;&ob 20
that through car Of con next the en-
CINE, to get 1t behind the way cars, so
we wouldn't be bothered with it at
| Lyons in doing our work on those
heavy grades, and affected to forget
that he was getting orders until the
operator called him over to sign them
He was so slow about his signature
that before the dispatcher's o. X. was
received you looked out Of the big bay
window and saw the section gang that
was working just beyond the throw
down their shovels and run down the
track like herd of stampeded steers.
| "There, Just coming around the
curve, was glittering vision of brass
and varnish, half hidden in nimbrs
! Of smoke and dust Two short blasts
on whistle greeted the gang: the
vision hesitated for a minute, while
the section men disappeared in the
nimbus and reappeared as suddenly as
If they had been shot out of gun, and
here came the vision gliding up to the
platform, with bell ringing and pop
valve suffering soto voce,' like a
young lady trying to suppress ticklish
cough. 1t was the pay car At this
point you lost consciousness.
Coupled to the engine was wheel
ed palace built on graceful lines in
freshly vanished yellow paint which
rfvaled the brasswork on the engine In
brilliance. The plate glass windows
were curtained with bright hued bro
cade. Not speck nor flaw was to
be seen. Even the yellow wheels bore
only SO much dust as had been gather
ed on the days run. Through an open
window came fragrant odors, while in
the background white jacket, sur.
mounted by black face, vibrated at
intervals.
s"All this time Old Man Flatwheel