The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-11-14

TO me, comes the brakeman. ana SIT
ting himself on the arm of the seat.
says: Il went to church yesterday. .
| "Yesw / said with that interested
infection that asked for more: what
church did yo6 attend?"
which do you guess?" he asked.
Some union mission churcnT
hazarded.
Nay" he said. II don't like to run
on these branch roads very much. !
don't often go to church, and when l
do want TO run on the main Hne'
| where your run Is regular. and you go
4 on schedule time and don't have TO
| walt on connections. I don't like to
run on branch. Good enough, but
don't like IT."
"Episcopal?" / guessed.
i Limited express he said, all pal
ace cars and 80 extra for a seat; fast
| time and only stop at the big stations
\ Nice line, but too exhaustive for a
| brakeman. All trainmen in uniform.
conductors punch and lantern silver
plated. and no train boys allowed.
Then the passengers are allowed to
talk back at the conductor. No. l
couldn't stand the palace cars. Ricn
| road, though. Don't often hear OF a
receiver being appointed for that line.
| Some mighty nice people travel on II,
| too"
| 'UniversalistT / guessed.
Broad gauge" said the brakeman.
does too much complimentary bust
| ness. Everybody travels on pass.
Conductor doesn't take fare once
in fifty miles. Stops at all flag sta
lions, and won't run into anything
but union depot. No smoking car
on the line. Train orders are vague,
| though. and the trainmen don't get
along well with the passengers. NO.
l don't like the Universalist, though !
know some awfully good men who run
| on that road"
Presbyterian / asked.
Marrow gauge. Ell ?'' said the brake
| man. Pretty track, straight as rule;
tunnel right through a mountain rather
| than go round it: spirit-level grade;
passengers have to show their tickets
before they get on the train. Mighty
straight road, but the cars are little
narrow; have to sit one in a seat and
no room in the aisle to dance. Then
there's no stopping over tickets al
lowed; got to go straight through TO
The station you are ticketed, or you
can't get on at ALL When the cars
full.>-no extra coaches; cars built at
the shops to hold just so many and
nobody else allowed on. But you don't
often hear Of an accident on that road.
It's run right up to the rules"
Maybe you Joined the free think
ers?'' 1 said.
Scrub road" said the brakeman.
dirt road-bed and no ballast; no time
card and no train dispatcher. All
trains run wild and every engineer
makes his own time, just as he pleases.
Smoke IL you want to- kind of go-as-
you please road. Too many side
tracks, and every switch wide open all
the time, with the switchman sound
asleep and the target lamp dead out
Get on as you please and get on when
you want to. Don't have to show your
tickets, and the conductor isn't ex-I
pected to do anything but amuse the
passengers. No, sir, l was offered a
pass, but 1 don't like the line. /
don't like to travel on line that has
no terminus. Do you know, sir, L
asked a division superintendent where
that road runs to, and he said he hoped
to die IL ne knew. ! asked him IL the
general superintendent could tell me,
and he said he didn't believe they had
a general superintendent, and II they
had, he didn't know any more about
the road than the passengers. / asked
him who he reported to and he said
nobody I asked a conductor who
he got his orders from and he said he
didn't take any orders from any living
man or dead ghost
"And when 1 asked the engineer who
he got his orders from, he said he'd
he'd run that train to suit himself or
he'd run 1t into the ditch. Now you,
see, sir. I'm a railroad man. and +
don't care to run on a road that has
no time, makes no connections, runs
nowhere, and has no superintendent.
1t may be all right. but I've railroaded
too long to understand it,"
did you try the Methodist?'
said.
Now you're shouting" he said with
some enthusiasm. Nice road eh? Fast
time and plenty OF passengers. En-
gines carry a power OF steam, and
don't you forget It; steam gauge shows
hundred and enough all the time.
Lively road when the conductor
shouts all aboard you can hear him
to the next station. Every train lamp
shines like a headlight; stop-over
checks given on all through tickets:
passengers can drop off the train as
often as he likes, do the station two
or three days. and hop on the next re-
vivaI train that comes laundering
along. Good. whole-souIed. compan-
ionable conductors; amt no road in
the country where the passengers feel
more at home. No passes; every pas
senger pays full traffic rate for his
ticket. Wesleyan house air brake on
ali trains. too; pretty safe road, but
1 didn't ride over 1t yesterday.
Maybe you went to the Congrega-
tional church," asked.
Popular road" said the brakeman,
IAN old road, too. one of the very old
est in this country. Good road bed and
comfortable cars. Well managed road,
too; directors don't interfere with d.
vision superintendent and train orders
Roads mighty popular, but its pretty
the division superintendent down East
discontinue one of the oldest stations
on the line two or three years ago?
But it's a mighty pleasant road to
travel on. Always has such splendid
] class of passengers.
Perhaps you tried the Baptist?"
| guessed once more.
| "Ah, haw said the brakeman; "she's
| a daisy, isn't she, river road; beautiful
| curves: sweep around anything to keep
close to the river. but it's all steel rail-
and rock ballast. single track all the
way and not side from the round
house to the terminus. Takes heap
of water to run IT through: double
tanks at every station. and there isn't
! an engine in the shops that can pull
a pound or run "a mile on less than
two gauges But 1t runs through a
lovely country; those river roads al
ways do; river on one side and hills
on the other, and it's steady climb up
| the grade all the way till the run ends
where the fountain head begins. Yes,
sir, I'll take the river road every time
for a lovely trip(sure connections and
good time. and no prairie dust blow
| ine, In a the windows And yesterday