Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1907-07-25
THE BREAKDOWN GANG
Quick and Hard Work When a
Railroad Smashup Comes.
THE ROUGH AND READY CREW.
They Board the Wreck Special and
Are Speeded TO the Scene OF the Ae-
cidcnt-The Rush, the Peril and the
/ Difficulty OF tho Work They Do.

cident-The Rush, the Peril and the
Difficulty OF tho Work They Do.
rld YOU ever hear of the minute
men of the breakdown gang-the fel-
lows who are the rough and readies of
the linef In the roundhouse or repair
shop YOU see them hammering, rlvet-
ing. perhaps running the drill press or
plate cutter. Then in rushes the can
boy. Not stopping to get out OF jump
or and oyeralls. but grabbing their
cans. off they run to the wrecker.
A howlder fell on the track. The
switch handle was turned the wrong
way. A loose spike may have mis-
pIared the rail. But it is not for them
TO stop and learn how it happened
The shapeless mass Of torn and twist
ed framework. which few hours be-
fore people called a train, must be at
tackled with chain and rope, bar and
.,x-burned. If need be-to open the
way. for untu they have performed
their duty the line is blocked, and the
wheels of perhaps a thousand cars
cease to turn So away goes the break
down gang at breakneck speed. Or
ders have gone ahead for clear track,
and even the limited and fast mail
must take the siding until the minute
men have passed on the way to the
rescue.
You don't hear much about them un-
less YOU are a railroader, but the Su-
periutenGent. the manager perhaps
some of the directors, know them. Sc
lected from the veterans in the shops,
they are all round mechanics, but
brains as well as fingers are needed,
and a man has to be quick witted to
get into this gang.
In the fifteen or twenty which make
up the average crew you can general
1y find two or three little men; for
there are tight places in wreck where
they can do considerable work in prop
ping up or loosening part, crawling
into holes which no one else could
reach. The boss wrecker tries to get
two or three left handlers also, as their
services are valuable in hammering
away in corners where right handed
sScAA-S Va s~N>
best wrecking crews in the country
Include a number Of sailors. The half
bitches and other knots that only the
Seamen can make are Of great service
I'm securely fastening lines to portions
of the wreck and to the crane or 10
comotive used in pulling 1t away. The
old salts are familiar with the assist
~, of will
give, for they have been taught it on
shipboard. while usually they are very
strong and wiry. Consequently man
OF This kind who is out of job at
any time can frequently go with the
wreckfng crew.
Their limited Is not much for looks.
Like the men, it is also rough and
ready. Down by the division round
house or repair shop it stands on a
gliding where it can take the line at
minutes notice. There is nothing un-
usual in its appearance except the
crane car, which carries the heavy ar
tillery of this little army Of rescue.
Two or three fat cars, box car or
20 and at the end a passenger coach or
caboose make up the train, but every
article it carries, from the extra truck
wheels to the coupling pins, has been
loaded with such care that every man
knows where to put his hands on what
he wants. Usually the running gear
gets the worst Of It In wreck, so one
Of the fat cars contains extra trucks
and wheels to be substituted for the
broken ones. Next to this car Is placed
the big steel crane, which yanks masses
OF wood and metal about as though
they weighed pounds instead Of tons,
and is capable ef lifting ffty ton en-
gine.
Enter the hox car land you see q
miniature lumber yard-sQuare pieces
OF timber ali the way from an inch to
a foot through. They are wanted Tor
propping up the wreckage, which may
be holding down the living as well as
the dead. These props may aid In saw
Ing life, but they ;alss are handy to hold
up coaches when the crew are putting
wheels or other parts in place. In one
corner are coils Of rope an inch or
more thick Bexes of bolts and nuts
and screws lie side by side on the
floor. On the walls hang hooks, pull
ieys, saws and axes. Heavy steel
erowbars are piled in another corner.
In short, this is repair shop and
Etorehouse on wheels.
fr'Any old coach win 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 70 get nap on the way, but II
they have time for little sleep half a
dozen wooden hunks round the sides
give them q chance. Sometimes an end
Is partitiOned off into galley where
they can make q pot of coffee or fry
steak while en- route.
Such is the usual makeup Of the
"wreck special" as the rairoader
terms it. 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 a dozen feet apart
Only on the shorter curves and on the
down grades and bridges is the throt-
tle again moved and the air nut on