Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1916-08-04
DID RAPID THINKING
HOW FIREMAN SAVED TRAIN AZ
TER coNNEcTlNG-RoD BROKE.
Simple Thing, in His Estimation, but
1t Meant the Preservation of
Lives and Property-Just a
Hero of the Rail.

The fireman stood on his narrow
perch before the fire box, and be-
tween times of filling the box he would
look at the silhouetted form of the en-
gineer-in his little cab forward,
perched almost amidships of the long
black boiler. He did not have much
time to look; for the box was forever
demanding more hard coal.
There was hiss of steam, crash
of metal-and the fireman dropped his
shovel. The connecting rod had brok-
en-. They were going 60 miles an
hour, and the loOsened end of thu
heavy steel rod that had come crashing
up with the force of ten thousand men
and horses, and thrown the entire side
of the engineers cab down into the
ditch beside the track. Now the rod
was pounding back and forth-a
mighty cOmmotiOn, not soon to end ;
for the hand that clutched the thrOt-
tie lay inert upon it; the lifeless form
of the engine driver was caught in
the wreckage of the cab. And some
where in that wreckage the trembling
needle of the speed Indicator still
hung close to the GO mark.
The fireman thought quiCkly-it's
way with the men in the engine cab.
He knew that the engine must be
StOpped-and at once. But it was i'm
possible for him to get through that
Wreckage and to the air-brake control
quickly. He did the next best thing.
He took a stout iron bar, and climbed
over to the top of the sWaying tender
and down into the narrow space be-
tween it and the first of the heavy
cars of the train. With short, quick
blow he broke the air-hOSe cOnnec-
ton between the engine and the cars.
The brake set automatically, the train
stopped, and the fireman went for
ward to get his companions body.
In few minutes they We're crowd
| ing around him-the folk from the
cars-and making a good deal of fuss
over him. They said he was q hero
But he merely replied that he had
done simple thing-and perhaps the
connecting rod had broken one of the
air-pump connections and so would
have set the brakes anyway.
But today he sits on the right hand
of a standard locomotive cab-fOr the
"camel-back" engines, with theil
clumsy separate engineers cab sci
midway upon the boilers crown, are
going out of style. He sits there
knowing that responsibility rides be
side him. He knows other things
He knows that the connecting roc
may some time break again-it is one
of the most common forms of lOcomo
tive accidents, and in the very nature
of things must so remain. He knows
that danger in a thousand forms for
ever cOnfrOnts him-a broken rail,
wheel, or bit of metal dislodged from
the flying rush of a passenger train up
on q neighboring track, the break
down of the human structure of thu
operation of the railroad upon which
his safety and the safety of thos
intrusted to his care is so very de
pendent.
If you would know something of tn
man in the engine cab, go and ride
little way with him. 1t is not easil,
managed. The railroads have nov
grown very strict in the enforcement
of the rule forbidding strangers in tn
engine cabs. Yet, in this one in
stance, it can be arranged. You mere
ly sign tremendously portentous lega
releases" whose verbiage, freel
translated, gives you the distinct in
preston that you are going to you
sure doom.-Sunday Magazine of tn
Washington Star
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