Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1908-08-20
AFTER THE WRECK
CRIPPLED ENGINEER TALKS OF
RESPONSIBILITY.
Few Realize Fully What Accident
Means to the Man in the Cab
with Human Lives in
His Charge.


His Charge.
Il just dropped in to tell you that the
coroner's jury has exonerated you
from all blame for the wreck. They
are going to hold the block tower
man."
The old engineer turned his pain
drawn face toward me- A white
capped nurse gently brushed back the
wild hairs from his forehead
THANK You, miss" he said, "and
you too, sir, for the good news. I
knew they couldn't blame it on me.
because it was white at Mentor. Poor
Denny, he'd tell you so, too, if he was
alive. All white!' he shouted when
we came round the curve, and l gave
him the answer, All white,' and
pulled her wide open. Then we struck
the empties on the siding, and-well
you know the rest" He wiped a
trembling hand across his eyes as if
trying to blot out some horrible
vision.
His eyes began to sparkle, and a
bit of color flashed into his pale
checks. Il suppose you fellows think
| opened her up and went into those
boxes just for fun A smile fitted
over his lips, and then he grew seri-
Gus. Say, did it ever come to your
mind that an engineer might be as
anxious about his own life as he is
about the lives of those who are rid
ing behind him? My wife and little
one-don't you suppose my life counts
for something with them?
did you ever stop to think what a
collision like that at Mentor means to
the engineer? Just try to figure your
self in his place. He rides in four
square feet of cab room, surrounded
by mass of levers rods, and the like.
Ahead of him is about three miles of
boiler pipe, carrying 200 pounds of
steam pressure and enough hot water
to cook the meat off his bones in a
jiffy. Gathering at his back is 5000
gallons of water and $4,000 pounds of
coal. Under him is 100000 pounds of
engine, and behind there is 100000
pounds of train. Altogether he is
running along ahead of 100000 pounds
of steel, hardwood, and brass, held to
an S0pound rail by three-quarters of
al inch of wheel fiange
"Of course, | was the engineer, and
they depended on me. There is al
ways lot of fine talk about engineers
having the lives of several hundred
passengers in their hands. That's all
very true; but you don't want to over
look the fact that the engineers life
is right there along with the others
We all take chances, the train crew
as well as the passengers, only our
chances are simmer. | had one
chance in five hundred of being killed,
Or one in twenty-five of getting right
where | am now; but a passenger on
the train had one chance in about
three million of being killed, and one
in a hundred and thirty thousand of
being hurt.
81 see that lot of people We're
killed and a whole lot more hurt. |
don't want to be grumbler; but it
appears TO me that you fellows have
kinder overlooked the fact that both
of my legs are gone. OF course, that
might not mean much to you but if
you realized, as | do, that for the rest
of my life it is going to be my job TO
hobble out into the middle of some
country road and wave a white flag
as every train goes by-if you could
realize what that means to an en-
gineer-to hear the mocking toot Of
the whistle as she comes up to the
crossing, and to see the sympathetic
salute of the engineer and fireman as
they go flying BY tell you my boy,
there are some things worse than
physical pain!'
His eyes filled with tears. The
nurse gently wiped them away, and
softly stroked back the hair.
81 wouldn't talk any more now"
she said.
"All right, MISS" he replied, putting
out his hand to me. Il always obey
orders. B. r. Winslow, in the Sun
day Magazine.