The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-04-05
how The TRAIN
LOOKED PLEASANT

Detroit, April I, - Look pleasant
please" beloved the man with the
camera. A clanking of expectancy
ran through the couplings while the
air through the train-line Kissed for
silence.
The camera man was taking the
picture of one of the largest shipments
OF automobiles aver hauled in aone
trainload. There were sixty freight
cars, some arrogant regulation auto
cars, other just ordinary hard-work-
Ing box cars and here and there were
those rakish looking non -descripts
with tops slightly awry, the weary
WillieS of the road.
From the eight powerful drivers of
the big road-engine to the red and
green tail-lights at the way-car's end
there was an air of conscious i'm
portance. The train, pulling 400
Fords from the Detroit factory to
Minot. N. D.. was about to set a
record and even the brake shoes knew
1t and were resolved to do their duty.
When a train feels as this train did
it Is but fitting as a reward for the
service 1t Is about to perform that it
have its picture taken.
Look pleasant please" did not
come from the amera man. however,
until many difficulties had been over
come, for getting the picture of a train
under certain circumstances, in the
midst of an equinoxIal storm for in
stance, is sometimes a more ticklish
job than ph~otographing Young Hope
full, aged four months.
To begin with there must be a ban
ner made to decorate the side of each
freight car. True for the camera
mans purpose it only needs one ban
ner on n a for he retouches this
decoration on the rest as easily as he
can put more hairs in your eyebrows
when occasion demands.
h train was resting on a siding
about a mile and a half from any
where. primping itself for the ordeal,
when the camera man and the banner
started with ar automobile to find it.
When they arrived the engine and
cahoose had deserted it and would
not be back until the following day.
The next day March 81; the wind
was blowing a gale. But the train
a to leave that day so it must sit
for it's picture then or not at all. There
was a delay in getting the engine and
caboose to the siding.
After much pulling and tugging
against the gale the forty foot ban
ner was securely tackled to the side
OF the big Northwestern car when
" 'AAAA RAAA SARP-LllS "AAlu CduSlll u
n tore it into a thousand shreds. A
second attempt with a second banner
proved more successful. But there
was no engine and caboose.
A ride five miles on a switching
engine, numerous calls by telephone
from a smoky shack serving as yard
headquarters, a return trip with the
big road engine and caboose were
necessary before the work could &C
On,
Then the camera man from adistanct
Of something less than fifty miles
away he had to get back nearly that
far to get proper perspective,-ciimb
ed into the rear of his machine thai
swayed in the wind, called to the dis
tant train to look at the little bird
just above his camera. got out of the
cameras insides, jerked the Tapping
shroud from his shoulders, looked
owlish, pulled a little jigger at thu
side and it was over. The train felt
so good it giggled, sending a success
sion of burr-um Jumps down Its
length.
Two days after, the camera maj
brought the photograph of the trair
to be viewed and it was just 10(
inches long.