The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1908-09-02
A WRECK ON THE ROAD
What a Collision Means to the
Man at the Throttle.
PLIGHT OF THE ENGINEER
The Chances He Has to Take and Ais
Fate Should He Become Crippled In
Smashup-There Are Some Things
Worse Than Physical Pain.

Worse Than Physical Pain.
81 just dropped In to tell you that
the coroners Jury has exonerated you
from all blame for the wreck. They
are going TO hold the block tower
man."
drawn face toward me- white cap.
ped nurse gently brushed back the
wild hairs from his forehead
Thank you, miss" he said, "and you,
too, sir, for the good news. knew
they couldn't blame 1t on me, because
1t was white at Mentor. Poor Denny,
he'd tell you 50, too, If he was alive.
All white" he shouted when we came
round the curve, and gave him the
answer, All white, and pulled her
Wide open. Then we struck the emp
ties on the siding, and-well, you know
the rest" He wiped II trembling hand
across his eyes as II trying to blot out
some horrible vision.
His eyes began to sparkle, and bit
of color flashed into his pale cheeks.
Il suppose you fellows think | opened
her up and went into those boxes Just
for fun" 4 smile fitted over his lips,
and then he grew serious. Say, did 1t
ever come TO your mind that an ell
gineer might be as anxious about his
own life as he Is about the lives of
those who are riding 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 II mass of levers, rods and the like.
Ahead of him Is about three miles of
boiler pipe, carrying 200 pounds of
steam pressure ana enough hot water
10 cook the meat off his BONES In
jify. Gathering at his back is 60oO
gallons of wafer and 10000 pounds of
coal Under him Is 100000 pounds
of engine, and behind there Is
GOO, 900 pounds of train Altogether he
Is running along ahead Of 100000
pounds of steel, hardwood and brass
held to an eighty pound rail by three
quarters OF an inch Of wheel iiange.
"Why, when one of those big Rus
sian battleships fired broadside Mt
the Japanese the whole thing
amounted only to $4,000 pounds, 80 the
| papers say. Aud that 2i,0O0 pounds
travelling eight miles Il minute would
| strike Japanese ship eight miles
away with an impact only one-tenth
of the force we hit the emptes at
| Mentor.
"Of course | was the engineer and
| they depended on me. There Is al
ways Il 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 900 Of being killed. or one In
twenty-five of getting right where
am now, but Il passenger on the train
had one chance In about 100000 of
being killed and one in 10000 of
being hurt
81 see that Il lot of people We're killed
and whole lot more hurt. don't
want TO be grumbler, but II appears
to me that you fellows have kinder
overlooked the fact that both OF my
legs are gone. or course thut might
not mean much to you, but If you
realized. AS | do, that for the rest OF
my life 1t IL going to De my job to
hobble out into the middle Of some
country road and wave white flag as
every train goes by-if you could real
TIE what that means to an engineer
to hear the mocking toot of the whls-
tie rs she comes up TO the crossing and
to see the sympathetic salute Of the
engineer and fireman ms 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 aud softly
stroked back the hair.
81 wouldn't talk any more now" she
said.
"Al right, miss, he replied, putting
out his hand to me. Il always obey
ORDERS H. r. Winslow In New York
Tribune