The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1911-08-31

OF the great crane THAT crane won't
pick up the 1875 clear the way she's IL
ing"
Won't tT' said Lidgerwood. That's
where you are mistaken. It will pick
up anything we hare on the two d.
visions. It's the biggest and best there
Is made. How did you come to get a
tool like that on the Red Butte West
ern!"
McCloskey grinned-
'You don't know Gridley yet. He's
a crank on good machinery. That
crane was a clean steal"
WHAT"
Il mean it. 1t was ordered for one
Of the South American railroads and
was on its way to the coast over the
2. S W. About the time 1t got as
far as Copah we happened to have a
mixup in our Copah yards with a
ditched engine that Gridley couldn't
pick up with the sixty ton crane we
had on the ground So he borrowed
this one out of the P. s. ". yards, used
it. liked 1t and kept it. sending our
sixty-ton machine on to the South
Americans in its place"
what rank piracyw Lidgerwood
exclaimed. II don't wonder they call
Us buccaneers over here How could
he do it without being found out?"
THAT puzzled more than two or
three of Us, but one of the men told
me some time afterward how it was
done. Gridley had a painter go down
In the night and change the lettering
on our old crane and on this new
one 1t happened that they were both
made by the same manufacturing COM
pany and were of substantially the
same general pattern. | suppose the
P. S. ". yard crew didn't notice par
ticularly that the crane they had lent
US out of the through westbound
freight had shrunk somewhat in the
using But I'll bet those South Ameri-
cans are saying pleasant things to the
manufacturers yet"
Doubtless" Lidgerwood agreed,
and now be was>not smiling. The lit
tie side light on the former Red Butte
Western methods-and upon Gridley-
was SOLDERING.
Man that handfan and take slack!
Pay off. Darby said Dawson to the
holster engineer More slack!''
The great tackhng hook. as big
around as a mans thigh. settled accu-
rately over the 1915.
There you are?' snapped Dawson.
"Now make your hitch. boys. and be
lively about it. You've got just about
one minute to do it tnv'
Heavens to Betsyr' said McClos-
| key. Hes going to pick 1t up at one
hitch-and without blockingr
Hands OFF, Mac" said Lidgerwood
| good naturedly 'If Fred didn't know
this trade before he's learning it pretty
| rapidly now"
That's all right, but If he doesn't
break something before he gets
through
But Dawson was breaking nothing
Having designed locomotives. he knew
to the fraction of an inch where the
balancing hitch should be made fol-
| lifting one: also machinery and the
| breaking strains of 1t were as his daily
| bread
Now. then. Billy. try your hitch
Put the strain on a little at time
and often. Steady! Now you've got
her! Keep her comfng!"
Slowly the big freight puller rose
| out Of its furrow in the gravel, right
ing itself to the perpendicular as il
| came. Anticipating the inward swing
Of 1t, Dawson was showing his meI
how to place ties and rails for a shor
| temporary track, and when he gave
Darby the stop signal the hosting ca
bles were singing like piano strings
and the big engine was swinging bodi
~ in the air in the grip of the Gran,
tackle, poised to a nicely above tn,
steel placed to receive it
Dawson climbed up to the main lin
embankment where Darby could SCI
him and where he could see all TIL
parts of his problem at once. Thel
his hands went up to beckon TIL
Stacking signals. At the lifting of hi
finger there were growing Of gear
! and backward racing of machinery
a groan Of relaxing strains and CT,
Of "All gonep' And the 1915 stood uL
| TedUy ~ We Ouj "uc
the temporary track should be extend
ed to a connection with the main line
Lets go up to the other end an
see how your understudy is maxim
1t. Mac" said the gratifed superb
tendent. ut is quite evident that W
can't tell this young man anything b
doesn't already know about pickin
| mn locomotives
On the way up the track he aske
about Clay and Green, the enginee
; and fireman who We're in the wreck.
They are not badly hurt" said til
trainmaster- They both went HON
on col"
Lfdgerwood was examining th
> crossties. which were cut and SCARE
by the fanges Of many derale
wheels.
You have no notion Of what di
it, he queried. turning abruptly upo
McCloskey.
Only a guess, and it couldn't
verified in a thousand years, TT
195 went off first, and Clay an
Green both say it felt as If a rail ha
turned over on the outside of the curv
The entire train went off so thoroug
~ that it passed the point where Il
, trouble began before it piled up.
was able to verify Clay's guess-a ra
had turned over on the outside Of IL