Evening star., 1953-01-16
By Richard RODGERS

~ N'$uos0 NOo9SaS
They're neat, the railroaders
who tidy up after wrecks.
They worked all day yester-
day and all last night removing
the coaches planted so abruptly
in the Union Station concourse
yesterday.
And, like housewives facing
an emergency, they swept what
was left under the rug.
By 7 o'clock this morning
they had all the rolling stock
rolling except the engine. That
went under the rug "a floor
covering of planks constructed
by carpenters so the inaugural
crowds won't have to detour
around the crater the runaway
train dug.
The mop-up crews are modest.
They aren't at all impressed
with their achievement.
: Here's a train that bucked
into the terminal-made its own
doorWay-ran across the floor
until the floor. collapsed and
then planted itself in the base
ment.
The engines a big brute-200
tons of dead, but truly dead,
weight It's coupled to a coach
the Jagged stern of which is
thrust through the stations
lower roof and is pierced by l.
beams and tangled steel rods.
Then there are two more
coaches. They veered off from
the leaders. one Hopping into
the lower level and the other
trailing. The rear end of the
last one didn't get all the way
into the station.
Outside are 13 other cars.
Three are derailed. The rails
themselves have parted from the
ties. Downstairs there's a de-
pressing amount of hardware
missing, where the big babies
cracked water pipes. power lines.
radiator systems, supporting col
umns and only an architect
could say what else.
These are merely a few of the
bits of scenery falling down
around the players ears. But
here comes the principal with
his opening line.
We'll get it out o. K."-de-
livered casually.
But the drama follows quickly.
When trains get on the
ground" the rail outfits pool
resources. Terminal men turn
out along with workers on the
different lines. Utility COM
panies get gangs going. Car
penters and plumbers and steam
filters and others come a-run-
ming. Hundreds of them-So
many the man in charge couldn't
tell how many there were.
No Sleep for Boss.
The No. fellow in this piece
I is ]. F. Swafford, the terminal
wreckmaster and assistant mas
ter mechanic. He lives at 4209
Eastern avenue in Mount Rain
ier, Md, except when he's dis
clpling a wayward train. When
that happens, he swarms all over
the job and stays with it until
the tracks clear. He waded into
this one yesterday morning and
was still on the job at noon.
! WreckmaSters learn to wean
themselves away from the habit
of sleeping.
His first task yesterday was to
separate the cars that weren't
damaged from those that were;
it didn't take long.
J Then the ones off the tracks
had to be put back on. They
have to be coaXed.
1t requires patience, crane,
wedging. Winching, track guides
-humped-back hunks of metal.
which ease wheel f1angeS into
position-and above all, elbow
grease.
Wedging a railroad coach onto
rails involves so or so men wrig-
Cling under and around the car,
placing wooden forms on the
ties so the coach will be forced
to tilt a bit, just enough to plop
its wheels where they ought to
be.
II doesn't always work the first
time.
4 Then they get back under the
car and try again. And again
and again until wheels carriages
are aligned properly.
| End of job, except when the
tracks areSpot aligned. Then the