Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1910-06-11
HOW JIMMIE 81.
GOT HIS engine,
The Incident That Brought Him
Promotion and a Bride.
BY WILLIAM WALKER HINES.

1t was the general understanding
among all the employees OF the Law
renceburg division of the X. and Y. r.
r. that when Jimmie Kincaid got his
engine he would also get Nettie Oliver
But Jimmie's chance for getting an
engine IN the near future did not seem
particularly bright. He was fourth on
the list of iremen of the Lawrence
burg division. and that meant he must
wait until four engineers died, reached
the age OF limit or were fred. OF
course there was always the chance
that he would be able to do something
20 attract the attention of the superin-
tendent Of motive power, and then he
might get his engine at any time.
In the meantime Nettie had a fairly
good position as telegrapher at Benson
station, and Jimmie could get chance
to chat with her for a few minutes
every day when his train, passenger
No. IA, lay over on the siding at Ben
son to allow the limited mail to pass.
When he had begun scraping an ac-
quaintance with ,Nettie something over
year before Jimmie had used the
pretext that he was thinking of learn
ing telegraphy. and under her tutor
ship he had picked up a fair working
knowledge of the Morse code.
Many sly joke did the train crew
of No. IA crack at Jlmmie's suddenly
born ambition to learn telegraphy. but
he bore all of these with equanimity
and said that the knowledge might
t., "a
awhile 1t became understood among
all the men that Jimmies case was
really serious. and then the jokes stop
ped. Even the head brakeman of No.
IA. who bad reputation as a wit, for
bore to make remarks about the con-
nection between the Morse code and
pretty girls.
Benson station is at the foot of
Twelve Mile hill, and this hill is re-
garded by the engineers as the worst
place on the division. The grade is so
heavy that the track winds up the hill
In two long loops. When you get to
the beginning of the second loop you
are only a mile from Benson station
on straight line. but II is six miles
distant by the track. After he had
mastered the rudiments of the Morse
code Jimmie would take hold of the
whistle cord when No. IA came to the
loop on the down grade and signal
hello" to Nettie at Benson station In
sharp blasts upon the whistle, which
stood for the dots and dashes of the
code
So things went along for year. and
Jimmie's prospects of promotion got
little brighter. On the records of the
office of the superintendent of motive
power he was still merely James Kin.
caid, fourth on the list of fremen.
with a good reputation and the pros
pect of succeeding to an engine in the
course of five or six years. When
business picked up in the fall a mum.
Der of extra freight trains were-put on,
and he got his fist chance to run an
engine.
On the first trip 1t fell to his lot to
take out the third section of freight
train No.-1O6. eastbound. The third
section of No. 100 was made up of thir-
ty-one heavily loaded cars, and none of
these was equipped with air brakes.
AS he pulled out of Adairville the old
yard master swung himself up into
the cab of the engine and said:
II think yell pull the engine all
right. Jimmie, me bye. but for the
love of the saints be careful when We
strike the top of the hill this side of
Benson. Faith. it's a Heavy train
they've given We. and If 1t should break
in two going down that hin and thin
cyars with no air brakes on to thin
there'd be the devil and all to pay
Despite this warning there was no
fear of a "break In two" in Jimmie's
heart as he nursed his engine along
toward the top of the hill on the other
side of which lay Benson. This is an
accident which happens very rarely
and which not even the most expert
enced engineer can successfully guard
against. But as he struck the top of
the hill and began to descend on the
side toward Benson he felt a jerk
which nearly threw him off his seat.
Looking back. he saw that the worst
had happened. A coupling had snap
ped in the middle of the train.
For the present there was but one
thing to do. and that was to go down
grade as fast as he could. Looking
back. he could see that the rear brake
man, who was the only man on the
cars which had been left behind. had
made one ineffectual attempt to set the
brakes and then had jumped to safety.
Jimmie knew that II the fourteen cars
running wild behind caught up with |
the forward half of the train there |
would be wreck which would cause |
damage to the extent of thousands of |
dollars and blacklist. II not kill. the en-
gineer responsible.
Faster and faster the telegraph poles |
on the side of the track few past him.
Jimmie's mind was working faster
than 1t had ever done In his life. His |
orders directed him to wait on the sid
ing at Benson station for the west
bound passenger train to pass, and he
knew that at any cost he must save the
passenger. Away of on the farther
side of Benson he could already see
the faint line of smoke coming up from
1t, and he knew that It would arrive