The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-06-14
ENGINEER DOUGHERTY
 BREAKS DOWN AS HE
 RECALLS AWFUL WRECK
Touching Recital of Events of Stamford Cat- astrophe Moves Spectators to Pity-
 Had Premonition of Disaster

type of engine-the largest and most powerful in operation-of which he had never had practical knowledge except from books.
 They were new, these moguls of the Pacific and their very size and weight scared him. Besides this they were not sufficiently smoothed down in their parts to make operation easy. Their valves and levers were new and at times hard to control. Other en- gineers had had similar troubles and because they passed the stopping-sig- nals had been temporarily suspended while investigation was made.
 But a day or two prior to the fatal run Dougherty had attempted to re- verse a lever and finding that one man could not budge it had sprained his back and been compelled to cut short his run. He had. if his own words are to be believed, notified his superior that he was not in condition to make the next days run unless circurnstan- ces changed He had feared to re- main absent as his opportunities to secure permanency on the express runs might be jeopardized. And so he had reported for work and taken out the biggest and most powerful en- zine on the road.
 He had felt disturbed of mind, tfnervous,S he said, but did not feel that such qua1ms as he might enter tain would fncapacitate him from driving carefully. He had left New Haven on time and first realized that his charge was not responsive at Bridgeport when he ran by his sta ton, and passing Fairfield avenue had to back up to allow passengers to alight.
 And to demonstrate how small things sometimes contribute towards great happenings, a delay of three
 minutes was occasfoned by the neces- sity of evicting an inebrfated colored man here. That time had to be made up and they pounded along with only one block against them until Stamford was reached. At Norwalk f a little boy had almost run into the path of the cars, and Dougherty found some slight difficulty in bringing his 1 train to 8 sudden stop. It was only l then that a dawning Knowledge over came him that the brakes on the new engine were not as good as on the or 1 dinary and more tried older 1ocomo- i lives. But in his conscience he fel | them safe enough, and though he did 1 not have strength to reverse a stiff | lever, he Knew no reason why he should back up on straight run | and, it might not be credit to him tc 1 engine. And so with the 1eviathan tc which he had been assigned, after 1 inspection and guarantee by thost more proficient in selection, he, drov' l onward at the minute clip t. 1 the funeral of his fellow beings.
 He rushed forward, with a con
 fdence that he would be safe and tha
 those behind him and before him wer l not in danger-for could one with tn
 sensitive nature of Dougherty, in hi heart and soul, and with the new re
 sponsibility of carrying human live l in his grasp, feel otherwise than saf 1 with the newest of safety devices an' | the perfection of mechanical applian l ces under. his seat.
 At Glenbrook he had been given clear track into Stamford and on tn down grade long before entering tn yards he testified he had shut off tn 1 power. In the cab was a fireman
 whose duty it was when not engaged in firing the boiler to report the sig nals, and Dougherty when approach
 ing the yards had found the "dis I tance'' or caution signal against hin l and had called to his assistant, ac l cording to the rules, f'Yellow Eye. 1 and the answer had returned "Yellov l Eye" indicating that both knew the, .I must slow down And when aske