The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1907-06-25


In short, this is repair shop and
on wheels.
Any old coach will do for the crew,
provided its wheels and axles are |
sound. Taking out some Of the seats |
gives room for a table where the men
can eat and play cards if they don't |
want to get nap on the way, but if
they have time for a little sleep half a
dozen wooden hunks round the sides
give them a chance. Sometimes an end
is partitioned off into "a galley where
they can make pot of coffee or fry
a steak while en- route.
Such is the usual makeup of the
wreck special" as the railroader
terms 1t. When called into service,
big driver engine backs down to it and
couples on. There Is no need of any
speed orders. Those are understood in
advance On the straight track the
man In the cab opens his throttle to
the last notch, and the telegraph poles
at the side of the line fit by so fast
that they seem only dozen feet apart
Only on the shorter curves and on the
tie again moved and the air put on
until the heap Of ruins, from which too
often arse flames and smoke, come
into view
The first thing to find out is If any
thing human is underneath. Whether
dead or alive it must come out, and
the gang need no urging at the task,
even if they hear no moan or cry to
hasten their rescue. Then the next job
is to clear the tracks. Holding up
trains for even five or six hours means
a big loss to the company, and they
don't stop to save anything that takes
too long. Beams, wheels and rods,
perhaps entire cars, are thrown down
entertainments if necessary to open the
right of way When a car has merely
been derailed it is of course an easy
matter to replace it; then it is run to
the nearest siding, but it is the unex-
pected that happens in railroad acct
dents.
A locomotive may turn bottom up on
the track, with the driving wheels in
the air. Then it must be turned over
and pulled to one side of the railroad
until there is time between the pass
ing Of trains to right tiff it can be
righted. Cars may be swung directly
across the track, lying on their sides
or ends, possibly ground into a mere
mass of splintered timbers, or literally
reduced to kindling wood, their con-
tents scattered hundred yards about
The wrecker who has been in the
business for any length of time can
tell In a moment the most difficult
task before him and, if possible, goes
at that first. If a loaded freight car
prevents him from reaching the part
ly demolished engine, he sets 1t afire.
One of the greatest delays, however, is
caused by the track being torn up, for
new ties have to be put In position and
perhaps dozen rails weighing a ton
apiece cut and Strengthened in order
TO form foundation on which to
move.
Everything goes with a rush from
the first news of the accident. Once
the wreckers get busy there is no stop
ping for rest or refreshment. although
man may have to work all night or
all day. With the broken and twisted
mass of steel and wood piled ON one
side of the roadbed, however, there
comes breathing spell, and the SUI
perintendent or other officials look over
the debris to see what is worth saving.
Going from pile to pile, they soon de-
eide what to pull out and block up,
and then the wreckers get to work on
this. II there is an engine, 1t Is gen.
orally secured first. Perhaps 1t was
imbedded in two or three feet of mud
or ten or twelve feet down an embank-
ment. Here the little men come in
handy. Worming themselves under
the boiler, they scrape holes beneath,
so that the steel tendons of the crane
can be passed round it.
Now the crane goes into action. If
the embankment is sloping the usual
plan is to drag the locomotive along,
allowing the earth and ballast to as
sist in supporting it until the top is
reached. But there are places where
it has to be lifted clear of the ground,
then swung over on the track
Machinery has done much to aid the
breakdown gang in recent years. But
away back in the early days of the
way of steel they were called to many
a disaster, for then, as now, trains
sometimes butted into each other on
the same track. To clear the road the
locomotive of the wreck train could
sometimes be pressed into service, but
many a derailed car or engine was
pulled back on the rails merely by hui
man muscle. Here again the sailor
man came in very handy, as he knew
SO well how to arrange the ropes and
pulleys and to make lines fast around
the car or engine that had to be
moved.
One of the curious methods of en-
ploying the locomotive of the wreck
train was to make it move a car for
ward by starting the locomotive back
ward. Fastening a tackle securely
round the car, it would be passed
through pulley fastened to tree or
post in front of it, and the rope then
led back to the locomotive Reversing
his lever, the engineer of course pulled
the rope around the pulley on the tree,
thus forcing the car ahead. By this
novel plan, which is still used occa-
sionally, much of the debris in front
of the wreck train could be cleared
away.
There are times, though, when even
the most careful Triggers make a mis-
take. They have not realized the strain
which the tackle must stand when
things begin to move. Then, like the
crack of rifle, snap goes the line
More than once a loose end has caught |
some poor fellow round the legs, break |
ing the bones like pipestems. Many |
man on the railroads payroll who is |
fit only to wave the signal flag at the |
street crossing was among the wreck |
ers until the day the rope broke.-Day |
Allen Wiley in Denver Times