Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1910-03-02
WHY TRAINS ARE
LATE IN WINTER
BLOCK SIGNALS SOMETIMES GET
OUT OF ORDER AND
CAUSE DELAY.
AND LOCOMOTIVES ARE HARD
TO STEAM IN COLD
WEATHER.

invariably Oh iheiI ScheuulS uut ms
the winter season. was the question
propounded to a practical railroad
man.
To answer that question exhaus-
lively wOull consume many columns
of space" vas the 'eply. Eliminating
the causes fer delays which are Of
minor importance, ] will tell you
something about what happens TO a
passenger train ON its run from one
terminal TO another, say of 300 miles,
he continued. when passengers,
mail and baggage are all loaded and
inspection shows the steam heat
pipes are in operation as well as all
the pipes Of the throbbing locomotive
ahead, the conductors high balls and
the long train shoots out from the
station. Threading its way out, the
train finally reaches the city limits
and a clear track. Often trains lose
time during this stretch of slow run
ming, this due to the interlocklng
plants and switches working slowly
and perhaps frozen. When headed
straiShtway, the engineer hopes that
he will be able to make up some OF
the delay. Does he do it? Not often.
More often lie loses. An aggrayating
source of delay is the electric blocks.
These delicately constructed safe
guards, are easily put out OF business
by extreme cold, and when out of or
der they show danger by dropping
their semaphore arm Unless they
are known to be out of order, the en-
gineer must slow down to walking
speed and feel his way around curves
until assured that there is nothing in
his way This procedure consumes
valuable time. Stations where stops
are made, the wait is longer than
usual Baggagemen can not load and
unload trunks in winter time with
their cold, numbed hands as they can
in the good old summer time. Trains
carrying express. have an added delay
for the same reason A few additional
minutes are wasted through this pro-
cedure. Multiplied by many stops,
and the delay becomes considerable.
The engineer and firemen are
happy despite all this delay, if they
can see the steam gauge keep about
rs TO 200, but If the frigid atmos-
phere and the heavy pull OF the train,
due to chilled journals. tracks covered
with snow. etc, develop lung trouble
in their engine, then the crews have
cause for depression. If the flues De-
gin to leak or for some other reason,
due TO the cold weather, the engine
will not steam, and the pressure drops
to the neighborhood of a hundred
pounds, then the speed of the train
begins to perceptibly slacken until
it drops to 20 to % miles per hour.
Perhaps the engine becomes COM
pletely dead and it is necessary to
substitute another engine. This IS
usually miles away and many minutes
are consumed before the exchange is
made or the double header coupled.
Even while standing at stations,
The condensed steam in the air and
steam heat pipes, or the water in the
injector pipes, freezes and has to be
thawed out. This requires time. The
operators along the road. also have a
distressing habit of blocking trans
by their inattention 10 duty, keeping
the stopboard out too long and in
other ways arousing the ire of the
engineer and increasing delays. Coal
of the quality essential to make steam
is not always obtainable during winter
when there is famine on. The
roads have to take what they can get,
not what they or the engine crews
want. II there is more dirt than coal.
1t is up to the fireman to curse and he
usually makes the air blue. while
there is noisy chorus from the engi,
neer's side
When one train is late, it lays out
others. Meeting points have to be
changed, and the whole schedule is
disarranged. Everything goes wrong
and everybody gets out Of humor
and balls out everybody else. Rail-
reading in winter time is anything but
a joyous forever. There is big money
in It for the men who handle the
trains as they are given much extra
work 10y reason of cold weather They
would willingly forego the money,
however. for the presence of more
tA
become annoyed by reason of long
waits at stations for their trains and
long delay in arriving at their destk
nations would lose much of their
anger ii they could take 4 ride in the
engine and see what the eagle eye,
especially Hose on drag freights
nave TO contend with Then Ii they
nave time, let them follow a switcn-
man up and down the ice and snow
covered Yards or 4 detected shack
with a dope bucket walking a mile to
coo' hotacx with the temperature
20 below zero. Oh, it's gay life on
the rail in winter | don't think.
Often motive power is poor-worn
out That adds to the sorrows OF
'ranmens lives. Companies seek to
keep down expenses, and rolling stock
OF coarse t1ers. Bat de YOU know.
reads 1af ug the finest Of engines
have had ain schedules all fcazzled
o't -aI~ ter. A train from Madi-
SON may b. in hop, or TWO late into
'.n.ea@o s- eastern fiye arrive
l3eVa gust as or more much behind