Evening star., 1926-11-14
Observer W Shares Quarters With Engineer Monarch of the Rails Finds Pace Productive
Wonder
L9@ty-H0 the Unfortunate the Crossing May Upset Railroad Sd41Fnn Moment Of Rest

I No. 3149 to ease her down into the
! terminal. and he and Phelps jump
] o the ground with their oil cans tn
make the best of a 5-minute halt ana
/ see if everything is as il should he
( with the big locomotives running
GEAR.
! Just as they climb back into the
! cab. Dunohue, from the hind end. -"
: .mpatientiy sends them on again. The
/ daylight has given way to dusk, and
| the dusk soon turns L. dark. The
semaphore signals with their eloquent
arms have been replaced hy lights
hat simmer in the distance. We
watch for the clear signal a red
light. which marks the spot for seek
ing eyes, and directly above il Il green
light. The signals come and go with
i steady regularity, Bush, crouchinS on
his seat. singing them out as he spots
, them. Phelps singing back. bending
all the while to his endless task of
keeping No. 3749 fun of coal and
) Steaming.
/ Phelps screams an interesting bit OF
/ information into the observers ear.
He is saying that the train Will take
I water soon. No. 3749 takes her water
on the run, as all fast passenger
trains do. And TO enable them to do
this, trOC&@F are constructed for
maybe u quarter of a mile between
the rails. When the train passes over
The trouShs the fireman pushes over
lever which lowers scoop and the
water rushes UP into the tank ON the
tender.
Bush applies the air and we slow
down It bit.
"COuidnt take water at - miles
AN hour" he explains
Phelps has his hand on the lever.
Bush yel.s Hey" and Phelps pushed
it over. The train rushes along
water kissing. Hey" yells Bush
again. Phelps brings back the lever
with 4 jerk and the opera tion j.
, over. If he let the scoop down too
soon, 1t would tear itself to piece.
/ on the roadbed. If he didn't take il
up at the right time, the same thing
would happen. He acts quickly.
! blind and deaf To everything but
, Bush's emphatic Hey"
+ Passing the trough and getting her
III! of water. something that. No.
I 3749 does tour or five times on her
/ way To New York. we eat miles and
: coal. swish through Wilmington and
: strike out for rhiladelphia.
The block ahead shows orange
'ApproaCh.' YellS Bush.
J "Approach." Phelps agrees, barely
! pausinG as he passes coal.
! There's another fellow ahead of
! us Bush explains. Hell either
/ get out of our way pretty soon or
! we'll go around him"
! Slow running for Il few blocks.
! then a signal which tells Bush to
! slow down To 80 miles an hour for
! q cross over to another track. and
| pretty soon we leave the track uc
| cupied by the other train and speed
| up on one of our own.
Clear" shouts Bush, and No. 3749
follows n clear track into West
/ Philadelphia. where she pauses for
a moment to allow Bush and Phelps
| to anoint her limbs with oil.
Again the whistle in the cab toots
/ the signal tG start, and Phelps. with
his shovel and Bush. with his
| throttle and injector. push No 3719
laboriously UP the steady grade from
West Philadelphia to North phila-
delphia ana out on the main line
again, where the. ruuning's clear and
the lights fash green.
= x X =
| WE are now on a lnuch-trav.led
division. Trains flash past us
in the opposite direction. their ap-
prOach heralded far down the tracks
by the burning eye of the locomotive
/ then the sudden roar as the loco
motives greet each other in passing:
Il flash of lighted windows, white
cloth and cleaning silverWare: an
abrupt shutting off of the roar and.
looking back from our cab window. we
see the twin tail lights of the passing
stranger dancing away far down the
track.
Here the blocks are rather close
! together, In spots. but the Congress
| Sional has q clear road and she plows
along through the dark, shooting gay
sparks from her smo<eStack and
| changing the color of the plume of
| steam she wears from white to Grim
son as Phelps throws open the door
to his roaring fire and feeds her more
| coal.
Here Bush. the engineer. sitting 81
! lent at his throttle, keeps his never
! ending vigil for the lights that beckon
! him on. There seem to be many