Fun for Engineers

1895

The Stories Written About Them by Reporters In Search of Heroes.

"Old railroaders smile frequently when they read in the newspapers the accounts of alleged thrilling adventures of engineers," said a member of the craft. "For instance, I noticed a story in some Chicago paper not long ago of the terrible experience of a man whose hair was turned white in 15 minutes or something of that kind by the close call he had for going through a bridge. There had been a heavy rain, the supports had been undermined, and the whole business would have gone down under the next train that struck it.

"All this would have happened if the 'eagle eye' of the man at the throttle hadn't taken in the situation about half a mile back on a heavy down grade and reversed his engine. The queer part of the story was that this 'eagle eye' — that's what we call 'em on the road — daren't reverse his lever until he had nearly brought the train to a standstill with the airbrake. 'Otherwise,' said this story writer, 'the engine would have jumped the track' — that is to say, if he had put on his air-brake and reversed his lever at the same time the sudden stoppage and reversal would have thrown her off.

"Now, all this reads very well, I suppose, to the general public, who don't care whether a thing is true or not just so it interests them. It amuses a railroad man for another reason. He knows that an engine won't do anything of the sort. Whenever there is danger ahead which compels a man to stop right quick, he doesn't have any time to waste setting the brakes and then waiting for his train to slow up before he throws his lever. He gives the air-brake a shove with his foot and throws back the lever, all by the same motion, you might say. It's all done in a second.

"Then, if he has a chance, he looks out for himself. He has done all he can, and he jumps. As a general rule, if the accident which he has prepared for really takes place, he doesn't have time to jump, and although engineers are as brave as any set of men alive, because a man takes his life in hand whenever he goes out on a run, they often get the credit of being heroes and sticking to their engines in the face of danger when, as a matter of fact, it was the only thing they could possibly do. When a man discovers a washout or another train coming toward him on the same track, it is usually too late to get out of the way before the smash takes place. The heroism comes in in holding a place year in and year out which is liable to cost him his life at any hour of the day or night through the blunder of some one else or some accident that nobody could foresee or prevent." — Chicago Tribune.