The Washington herald., 1912-11-03

turns for an instant to look At his water.
glass he may miss a warning and run
over . train going in the same direc-
tion.
In the meanwhile his fireman 10 spad.
ing coal &nto the furnace-sometimes ter
tons to a trip-and can give him no help
A fireman was once asked by an ofiicial
| Of the commission how often he bent his
back from the time he climbed into his
engine until he climbed down. Just once,
the fireman replied. Besides the engine
man must watch country crossings for
buggies and wagons and look out for
pedestrians. mostly tramps. who are walk
Ing the tracks. Moreover. men and even
women and children pour in and out OF
factories all along the way. using the
railroad because It il the short cut to
their homes and their work.
Into this tangie Of duties. responsible
| tiles and absent-minded human beings
the engineer fiings himself and his train
| and he must be q man of iron to stand
! the strain. It Is 14S miles between Syra-
cuse and Albany. At an Investigation of
| an accident II was brought out that some
Of the trains on the New York Central
go the distance in 1s2 minutes passing 2Ss
signals, or one every thirty-ive seconds.
Suppose II is a greasy day or a binding
recollect that the engineer who can't
! bring his train in on time must give an
explanation. Any railroad man il profess
| sionally disgraced, in his own opinion.
at least. when he hears some such ver-
dict against himself as. Bill IL Q steady
old scout. but he Is nearly always behind
his watch
The Risks Railroaders Take.
why were you late at Squash juno
tion?' a conductor is asked by wire Pos
sibly the superintendent is only seeking in
| formation. but the conductor reads a re-
buke into the question and an hour lat
er may take a chance that piles him up
in the ditch or slams him head-on into
another engine. And IL should be under
stood that trainmen are paid by the mile
| and like other people. want to hustle along
and get through with their work. Natur-
ally. too, some Of them become care
less.
Nor is il realized that the most OBJ
scure switchman on the line has his own
individual obligation to safeguard the
fast and luxurious special that steams
daily Through the yards where he is en-
ployed. I'd teach railroad men their ac-
countability TO one another and to the
public. A broken ladder on a freight car
in Chicago. II not reported. may cause
the death of a brakeman in Pittsburg.
II is a common practice for switchmen to
stand in the center OF the track. face to-
ward an approaching engine. and nlmbiy
get on the engine by way of the pilot.
"All cars are now equipped with self
couplers still 81 men were killed or injur-
ed last year while adjusting couplers with
their feet as the cars came together. The
cars would Nave coupled mechanically:
kicking was wholly unnecessary. 1t is
these little unnecessary risks that habit
uate men to take all kinds of chances
and some day passenger train goes into
a siding and is ground to pieces. All
railroaders. from the Italian who repairs
the roadbed to the president of the COM
pany. should have the fact driven into
their heads and then clinched that they
are the custodians Of the lives Of hun
dreds of human beings. That. II seems to
me. is the first principle of railroading
Furthermore. the railroad Is no place for
booze fighters. poker players. dreamers or
reckless lads who like to experiment with
hazards. The service calls for steady. re-
liable and conscientious men and for in
telligent men whose minds act instantly
and accurately"
The Speed Of American Trains,
Should passenger trains be permitted
to run at a speed OF fifty miles an hour?'
asked.
No person i'm the world.' Mr.. Belnap
replied. can give an answer to such a
ton. Fifty miles on some roads may be
safer than thirty miles on other roads,
it Is a matter of roadbed. weight Of rails
cars. signals. and management. Very few
American trains, however. reach an aver
age Of fifty miles an hour. The fastest of
the extra-fa specials between New York
and Chicago average flfty-four miles for
the trip. but at places reach the speed
Of eighty-five miles. But those are the
most scientifically operated trains in the
country-they are operated for speed and
for safety and steel cars give some as
surance that the worst thing which can
be imagined won't happen even IL a rail
gives way or a wheel breaks down In the
middle. Steel cars, I want to say, are a
great protection to life. as was shown on
the Fourth Of July, this year, near East
Corning. n. Y. A standing train Of one
buffet car. seven sleeping cars. and two
day coaches. all made Of wood. but one
of the coaches. which was the second car
from the end Of the train. was run into
by an express going at a high rate OF
speed. Thirty-nine passengers were killed |
and eighty-six passengers and two en-
ployes were injured. The wooden coach |
was pounded into splinters. The steel |
coach was bent at the ends. and after |
telescoping the sleeper Just ahead for |
Of its length. was torn from its |
trucks and turned over. Only two fatal |
titles occurred in this car. 1t was placed |
on new wheels and was sound enough to |
be taken to the repair shops. The wooden |
coach and sleeping car, or what remain
ed OF them, were gathered up and de- |
stroyed by fire at the side Of the track
How Trains Are Protected.
What are the duties of q fiaxmanr'
You have touched another great SUBJ
ject connected with the safe running of /
trains," Mr.. Belnap said with energy.
The duties of fiagmen have not been
that is to say. rules govern
A hagman 10 supposed to be a trained |
and careful man. the best brakeman. In
deed, on the train. have known cases,
however, where green hands were given
the job. Theoretically. and actually on
some lines. 1agman is only required to
protect his train against rear-end col.
isions. On the other roads fagmen are
also brakemen. When q train stops. II
the stop u not on the schedule of that
particular train, the hagman is required
10 90 back q sufficient distance and.
with lantern by night and nag by ,day.
together with torpedoes or fuses. signol
my other train that In going the Same
way, and on the same track.
THE words. a sufficient distance aper-
nit the hagman to use his own judgment
md the phrase Ii found in the rules Of a
yreat many railroads. big ones a. wen q
little ones. There are roads, however.
which direct that dagman shall 70 back
o the fifteenth Or the tWonty.fouffh talo-l
IT1ph pole from the last car Of his traln.
Whether he gUoo = Sumcisnt oistaoeA' IN y
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