Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-08-20
GENESIS OF BELL ROPE.
Combat That Settled Conductors Su-
premaey Over Engineer. "-'

premacy Over Engineer. -'
Although there does not seem to be
anything in common between pugiiism
and railroad rules, yet the adoption
Of the familiar bell rope that stretch
es through every car Of the modern
| train was the result Of f1stic en-
counter. At the same time and by
the issue of the same combat, says
the Philadelphia Public Ledger, the
supremacy Of the conductor in rail-
road travel was ordained. 1t was
Philadelphia which gave both to the
world.
One of the oldest railroads in the
country is the Philadelphia, Whining
ton and Baltimore, now known as the
Philadelphia, Baltimore and Wash
ington, which was opened in 1887.
The first schedule contained one pas
senger train, which went to Baltimore
one day and came back the next,
which was considered remarkable
feat in rapid travel. When a train a
day each way was placed In service
the people Of the two cities served
concluded that the acme Of convent
ence in transportation had been
reached.
Next to the president Of the rail-
road the most important functiona-
ries were the engineer and conductor.
It was a question whether or not the
head of the line was considered a sub
sidiary official In popular estimation
to the men who ran the train; but
Robert Fogg, who pulled the throttle,
and John Wolf, who collected fares,
won the Difference OF the public be-
cause Of their high and responsible
duties. .,---
Fogg, an Englishn. an, had all the
tenacity Of opinion Of his race;
Wolf, an American, had the ingenuity
Of the Yankee. and seeing the need Of
some method by which he could COM
municate with the engineer, devised
a scheme of running a cord through
the cars to the locomotive. AS the en-
gine was a wood burner. Wolf fasten-
ed one end Of the cord to- a log, which
was placed on the engineers seat and
was pulled to the floor when the con-
ductor desired to signal for stop.
Fogg resented what he considered
an interference with his rights on the
platform Of the locomotive, and on the
first run out with the new device paid
no heed to the displacement OF the log
from the seat when the conductor de-
sired to take on a passenger from
farm near Gray's Ferry, but sped on
over the bridge and did not deign to
bring his engine to a stop until Blue
Bell station, on the south side Of the
Schuyikill, had been reached. Then
he demanded to know of Wolf why
he had been Jerking that log all about
the locomotive.
Wolf hotly declared that he had
signalled to stop, but Fogg retorted
that he would stop when and
where he pleased, and that, too,
without any reference to orders
from the conductor, whom he did not
regard as his superior in the man
agement Of the train. The: alterca-
ton grew very heated, and Wolf in
vited the engineer from his cab to
settle the matter, and the challenge
was quickly accepted.
Passengers and group OF men
who had gathered at the station to
see the train come in formed ring
about the combatants, but the fight
did not last long, as Wolf proved by
far the superior artist with his fists.
and with a few blows made 1t almost
i'm mpossible for the engineer to see
sufficiently to complete his run; but
Fogg admitted that he had been fair
ly beaten, and the supremacy Of the
conductor on a railroad train was set
tied.
AS the log signal was crude and In
effective, Wolf devised the use of a
bell on the locomotive, and this meth
cd was soon adopted by all of the
American railroads. Then a code OF
signals was adopted, and these remain
practically to this day. The only
change in the bell cord is that by use
of the air from the brake system a
whistle has superseded the bell in the
locomotive cab.