Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1907-07-11
THE BREAKDOWN GANG.

men of the breakdown gang-the fell
lows who are the rough and readies OF
the line /? In the roundhouse or repair
shop you see them hammering, rivet-
ing. perhaps Running the drill press or
plate cutter. Then in rushes the call
boy. Not stopping to get out OF jump
er and. overalls, but grabbing their
caps. off they run to the wrecker.
A bowlder fell on the track. The
switch handle was turned the wrong
way. A loose spike may have mis-
placed 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 train, must be at
tackled with chain and rope, bar and
ax-burned, if need be-to open the
way, for until they have performed
their duty the line is blocked, and the
wheels Of perhaps 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 hear much about them un.
less you are a railroader, but the gu.
perintendent, the manager, iperhaps
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
ly 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
man would be useless. Some of the
best wrecking crews in the country
include number of sailors. The half
bitches and other knots that only the
seaman can make are of great service
in securely fastening lines to portions
of the wreck and to the crane or To-
connective used in pulling it away. The
old salts are familiar with the assist :.
ance that a combination of pulleys will
give, for they have been taught it on
shipbosrd, while usually they are very
strong and wiry. Consequently man
Of this kind who is out of a job at
any time can frequently go with the
wrecking crew.
Their limited ia 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
siding where it can take the line at a
minute notice. There is nothing I'M
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
80 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 1t in wreck, so one
Of the fiat 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 of lifting a fifty
ton engine.
Enter the box car and you see
lumber yard-square pieces
of timber all the way from an inch TO
a foot through. They are wanted for
up the wreckage, which may
be holding down the living as well as
the dead. These props may aid in say-
ing life, but they also 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. Boxes of bolts and nuts
and screws lie side by side on the
floor. On the walls hang hooks, pull
leys. saws and axes. Heavy steel
crowbars are piled in another corner.
In short, this is repair shop and
stosehouse on wheels.
Any old coach will do for the crew,
provided its wheels and axles are
sound. Taking out some of the seats