The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1924-03-27


fellows to work with that ever lived
He goes on about his work, as
though he enjoyed it, and you never
hear him kick about working condi-
tions, wages, or about the way the
dispatcher "handed it to him" On his
last trip.
Is Good Citizen
I'm introducing Dave to you, and
I am sure that he would meet with
your approval and I might say be
sides being an engineer, Dave is also
a good citizen, and has a nice home
and family.
On this particular day, however, |
noticed that Dave was a bit ruffled
about something.
This was SO unusual that l thought
I would ask him what the trouble
was.
He said: cts those reckless auto
mobile drivers"
"You know, I've been running an
engine for pretty close to 35 years
and I've never been afraid to wheel
'em over the road as fast as any of
'em, but lately I guess I'm kinda los
ing my nerve.
"Now on this trip down, we were
running a little Iate-maybe 20
minutes or so, and I figured on max
ing this up. We were hitting a 60
mile clip.
"Well as we were getting close to
a crossing 1 whistled, and the fire
man said: There's an auto coming
from this side
at is level as a board near the
crossing, and 1 figured sure that he
would stop; of course, I couldn't see
him, as he was on the fireman's side,
but just about the time we reached
the crossing, Zip! he shot across
ahead of us. I'll bet that we scraped
the paint off the rear end of his car.
He had an open a and besides him
self there were three other people,
maybe his wife and youngsters.
He Thought 1t Smart
"What do you suppose he did after
he crossed? He turned and waved
his hand at me, thinking he had done
smart, / guess.
cts getting so that I hardly make
a trip but that some smart aleck
driver don't pull a stunt like that
and you can bet it's getting on my
It'd like to have some of them up
the cab with me for a few trips to
lee what sort of a scare they throw
nto the engineer by pulling such
tunts as that.
"You know whenever l see an auto
coming, l reach over for the brake
onnr q NJ usofaI hir,, TIC ~ OnS ri 0hf l.
to the track at 25 miles an hour, :
lever giving me any sign that he
) going to stop, and when he does :
top, he is within three or four, or i
ometimes two feet of the track. {
Il wish they would think of the I
in the cab once in a while, be- I
ause ne don't know just what a J
is going to do when he comes X
long like that.
Can't Tell What to Do 4
'It's a serious proposition to the 3
ian on the engine because he don't S
now just what to do. OF course, |
ave to take it for granted that the
is going to stop but it keeps
e guessing, and I am almost tempt q
to throw the brakes into emer- Z
ency, but just imagine what that Z
to the equipment and the pas s.
on my train!
81 have talked with some of the
st of the boys, and they all feel the
me way about it.
Gosh, l wish they would give us Il
chance, because we are human, and I
s a mighty tough sight to see a s
rocked car with the passengers &
angled and sometimes killed. =
with these big autos nowadays it b
lite often happens that they ditch ~
g engine, and l know of a couple M(
cases where the engineer, fireman rs
d even passengers were killed. 10
tSome of the drivers are a good ~
al like the farmer of the olden n
Us. He used to whip his team to @
at a train to a crossing, then, after 81
got across, would stop and watch ~
e train go by. II
"This particular type of driver has e
AIKEN the nerves of a good many BY
g%ineers, and it's getting worse.
You'd think it was a matter of W
and death with some of them the Isl
they drive over a railroad track.
We'll, 1 see the conductor giving I
; signal to pull out, so 1 guess Wen
going" ~
Old Dave swung up into his cab -
d as I saw his grizzled head, e.
help but think of what he n
d, and I felt that if the average 81
% driver would just give him a al
le warning by stopping a short B
lance away from the track, he
uld breathe a little easier, and ~
ybe could sleep better nights, ~
bout thinking of some of the mar
escapes that he had seen on his