How the Switchman Keeps
Wheels of Traffic Moving
N E w li o
travi'lH In
in odor ii
Htylc UH u
rulu gives little hec.l
(IH t() till) (lulIlllH, till!
modus operandi. r
hlH trnvullng. H U
enough to know that
thu faro 1h satlsfae
tory, tliu tlino Ih run
Hiinalilu ami ttiu uc
commodallons BUili
iih incut with tho
IIIHtll (r l'L'(IIIUIII(!lllH
of tho pillions of tho
rallroail. It raroly
OlltOIS thu licnil of
such a olio to 1 ii c 11 1 1
Into thu organization
that Iiiih iiiatlo possl
bin tho ooinfortuble
fits
I
tm v -v m mat: n Hia
is a practlco that has nlwnys tended to
keop down tho supply of Hwltelunen.
Any old thins that will nfTord a foothold
will do for thu switchman though. In otiu
of tho cuts you will notlcu one pulling tho
lover to unloosen a coupling. Ills loft foot
Is on the "grease box" and his right on
thu first step. It Is a singular fact that thu
chief of theso forces, expert nearly always starts to get on tho
He gets his orders cars by stepping first on tho "grease box."
fiom the trainmaster This practlco goes almost hand In hand
and master of trans- with the deadly "frog" In nlTordlng work
portatlon. Through for tho surgeons nnd tho makers of nrtl-
his oHlce goes all the flclal limbs.
Information as to thu ""Itm .! tlm.1" HH. Sonus
location and destlna- Modern methods iiave done much to
tlon of every ear In ameliorate tho life of the switchman. To
thu yard and of every o Patent coupler he Is Indebted for a
.. . t. rennmmliln ilii?rii of xufetv to his fingers.
car tnai goes uiroiiKii ------------ -
tho yard each day.
Air brakes aid him viry matirlally In es-
I . . .. . 1 .. . . . I . . . . . II, , , n .1 .ill
Ills Is onu of the " i
really dilllcult places l hls n,nu Improvements In construe-
i,. nil mill li has t,on 01 tracks and switches have done a
l ee sai l that good Kroftt Jcnl to mitigate both the danger and
,,2 I k th0 t0- 01.Uln.tT8. who can recall tho
jar.luiasti.rs, 1 I K COIum,onH UIllk.P whch IIlcn worked a do-
iTiu. "hoTs K r? k,,ow hnt i;.h""KC8 ,nT
corps cf tried as
sistants and through
butter than can be explained to an out
sider. Even with the Improvements the
switchman has not been admitted to thu
f!HIIMl.H III. THU. inmilVn 11ISTIMP.T.
U.U11. ...HI W.U U.unr, . ,,- 11,l.....r,r.
trips no manes iitiwi'iii iiih aiiiiiiiK ilium, rnruiy n ever nearu oi. .tiayoe, wiiun m ino suverai engines nun iucuik "" Quo feature of tho oldtlmu swltchnian's
and his destination. Is w .mil ilu n the stu i nu makes a misstep and is ground to bits tearing through thu yards lie keeps thu Jlfo wllcll Bllfuty C0U,i(.ra nnd air brakes
ilonl gives boiiio attention to the orgiinlza- undir a long string of cars, his nanio gets business of the road moving. Jmvo cm,mtc,j was the pulling of pins,
tlon .if tho inoilern servli i-i f Haiisiioi union, into tho paperH In connection with a brief livery lii.y IIIm lluny liny. Until a very few years ago the freight cars
but rarely gets buyond certain conclusions statement of the fact. Quo of thu other fundamental 'functions were coupled by pins In heavy Iron castings
than may bo predicated on an airay of 'inmciy ..r lli Ii.imIm. of rallrcad business, which belongs In the called drawbars or drawheads. These were
llgures grouped In well-appearing stalls on. a reporter In Oninhn wiib sunt down ynrdmaster's realm, yet does not properly (lf vorylng designs and sizes, each Indl-
tlcal tables and which convey to tho boy (() (m) ymH ((( t tl(!till8 r nn ncci. classify us switching, Is the work of tho virtual road having Its own as a rule. When
mind llttlu, It anything, inoro than wi.ulrt (1(,Mt Uo (()(i tho victim laid out ovi tho carchecker. All he has to do is to stand n freight train entered a switching yard at
tho arrangument of a similar number of ,,lltform ()f t10 rrt!K,t depot, awaiting tho with his book and pencil and take down tho a division terminal tho first duty of thu
bricks. This.) never gel to the life that lrrlvilj ,)f U10 j,ir wagon which was to numbor nnd Initial of each car In the train switching crew was to dispose of thu cars
revolves around thu great central Idea con- . . . . . ,. il(lt4tili 1. Until his lees as It comes rolling Into the yard. This according to their destination. With tho
were crushed below thu kneu. Ilo had run off looks easy, but Bomu day you stand along- bills turned over by tho conductor the fore
tbe end of a string H'llo tho track as a frulght train Is passing, man of thu crow hastily madu up a swltch-
of cars In tho Bay nl 11,0 nll OI vc" or eigui nines an mg list anu tno worn went aneau rapnuy.
crew had launched another
lot at him, and ho must hus
tle back to catch thum.
Xcvcr .til n. Ik tin W.'iitlu-r.
All this was very nlcu
when the weather was good
and the tracks were clear
and there was plenty of good
daylight. Even at night a
man learned to trust to his
lantern and to his own
knowledge cf the ground nnd
tracks over which he worked.
Hut the demands cf business
are Inexorable nnd tho dis
patch of trains cannot lie de
layed on account of any
weather whoso stress can be
controlled or dolled by man,
So the making up of trains
must go on, despite snow
and sleet nnd rain. Wet or
dry, slippery or safe, tho
man who pulled the pin must
dash between the cars, break
the coupling, signal the on
glneer and spring nway front
danger, while the man who
held them up must "mount
the deck" no matter what
Its erudition. It so hnp
peiuil In onu of thu main
yards cf an Iowa road some
thing like n score of years
ago that thu unusual heavy
snowfall of thu winter had
accumulated In tho yards In
thu form of Ico until the
Biirface of the yards was
netually two or three Inches
tallied In tho problem.
There Is a life, Intense, strenuous life,
Involved In thu modern systems of Inter
communication between people and com
munities. One of tho most liiteresllng of
all tho complex features of modern ux
Istenco, with Its high manifestation of
Interdependence, Is the transportation
problem. Certain Incidents of it are
brought Into the strong glaru of the public
calcium, such as thu admliilstratlvu of
llcers, who llguru In thu dally newspaper
accounts of the various moves made by the
suverai great dispensers of existence In tho
llnauclal world; or niaybo thu heroic en
glneer, who goes with Ills mai'liliio to do
Btrucllou ami curtain death, and now and
thuu tho humble brakuman, who lings a
train at tho risk of his lantern, gets his
name In thu paper. The conductor Is nl
ways to tho front and thu llruiuan Is never
i I IB
I Iv
wagon. Only one
sound was heard
"Oh, my poo.
wife and babies!"
That was his onl
complaint. He hnd
no thought of liliu
heard of unless ho Is unlucky enough to STOPS THE TRAINS
got killed. TIicbo nru tho railroad men
whose names get Into print and whose pic
tures ndorn tho pages of thu dally papers.
IIHnIn 1(1' (lit IIi.hI.K'HH.
Ilko everything else, the. railroad busi
ness has a basis, and Its base Is noted In
a class of workmen of whom very little Is
hoard. "They also servo who only stand self. It was his dear
and wait." And while these niu rather ones at homu who
inoru nctlvo In their dally vocation than were uppermost lit his mind
would wnrrant thu thought that they merely that hour of supreme suffering. Ho llagman, who attends
wait, It Is equally true that they are baldly was only a switchman, and as far as the gates and stops
inoro picturesque. They perforin the prosal known, the business of the road novel tho Impetuous driver
necessities that make the spectacular hero Hlackcne.l because of thu loss of his legs, as he hastens toward
possible. That reporter has often wondered If tho an inevitable collls-
If you come In contact with a buslnuis life In that home was ever restored to Ion with tho moving
man who wants a shipment In or a shipment even a degree of the content It possessed freight trains. There
out. you will hardly llnd bis remarks nil- before that husband and fathur made a Is no poetry In
dressed to "a well known olllclal," to a misstep in thu darkness.
trusted conductor or to a skillful engineer One of thu accompanying cuts shows
dark and fell under 1'our, and merely say
tho wheelB. About vur thu number ami
him weru grouped Initial of each car as
Ills companions, si- Koos by and you'll
lently waiting tho gut a fair notion of
coming of the what the carcheck
er's work Is. And ho
must be accurate, for
his record Is thu
prlmnry evldenco
that thu car has
been received. Kach
freight conductor
hands In his bunch
of waybills at the
yardmaster's olllcn
on arrival and his
count and tho check
er's count must tally.
One of these busy
men Is shown at his
work In an accom
panying cut.
Another adjunct of
tho yards of whom
thu public sees a
great deal and who
Is not a switchman
Is tho gradu-crosslng
STOPS THU TKAMS.
at
UHKAKINO A COUPMNO.
The switch engine
pulled the whole
train out clear of
tho tracks that
were to bo used and
then a series of
signals, apparently
wild gesticulations,
but really fraught
with much mean
ing, began. One man
stood by a three
throw or a four
throw switch and
as the foreman
signaled he turned
tho oncoming cars
from track to track.
Down the line the
train rumbled with
nil thu speed the
" p o n y " engine
could s u m in o n .
Faster and faster
sped the wheels,
unci bumping and
jumping over tho
frogs and switch
tongues went the
heavily loaded box
cars. All this time
a switchman has
been standing np
p a r o n t 1 y Idle,
merely watching
the cais. In real
counting them,
a signal from
OLIMPSH OF THU I2LKII0KN YARD,
his work, either; ity he has been
his part Is one that simply requires He had received
him to be on duty all thu tlmu and work, tho foreman to cut off at such a nuin-
lle Is usually a switchman who has con- her. When that numbor had passed this
tiibuted nu arm or a leg to the Minotaur of apparently Idle switchman (lushed to what
tho switch yards. would seem to nu onlooker certain death,
null) Inu wltli lleii.li. Ho sprang between the cars, his left hand
Among thu many pleasant ways of court- end of thu car in front of him, his
lug death In tho switchyard Is that of ""'But grasping tho pin that held tho coup-
"Hipping tho running board." In this, tho n'" ran, regardless of the
switchman has for somo ono of a myriad fnct lIlt ,l l"rt to skip ties, rails, frogs,
of possible reasons round himself In ad- switch-bars and dozens of other obstacles
vanco of tho oncoming engine. Ho doesn't ftt 'lmo when to trip was to fall undur
bother to step to ono Bide. Tho engineer tho wheels and bo ground to atoms. Ho
sees him. but makes no effort to stop. On tlu! nl"' lllf Ieft arm swung down-
comeB tho big machlno, nnd It Is Boon wnnl- tno engineer roversed his engine nnd
fairly on top of tho switchman. Just at " 'l, ul ",u lr",u Hi,t'u 011 "own tue iracK,
tho right moment ho lifts his loft foot, ox- w,hll, li0 other Jer,hel rattled and
tends his left hand. Tho foot touches tho j1ackit,d P and llnally stopped under tho
rln, l.nnr.1 nn.l hn linn. I i?rnHnH thn "saving pull of tllO englllO Until nt last Its
Ho will inoro likely bo directing his con- crow coming to work in tho morning, l ive " riinnlnir board has been mot'011 was reversed, nnd slowly it rolled
vernation to a switchman. It Is tho snipper men go witli eacn engine, uesiues
I... il.i II..... I.i !... lut rtiint miiiliiiwin nn.l Mt.itttiiM
wno Knows . .e.u .... " : V : : lo It, but mo Insurance or accident com- "u"'1' ""u
n.ncuons ,,, r.mi.mu .... " . " ,', 7 ".. i,r. .u ti. ,..,,, Pa"tes won't bother with your risk while Further down In tho yards was a foutth
shippers' dollars pay for tho spectacular trains ... their arrival and b.eak them up, , tho mcantlmo tho member of tho crow. Ho was waiting for
display of the traveler's magn cmico and sotting ho V engineer apparently unconcerned as to tho tho string of cars rushing along und r tho
ho switchman's lab. ko poss de o u to bo ntaule or n king I em up fc I Ultclunan. has been watching Impetus of thu "kick" given by the switch
horolc euglnoer'B opportunity to exhibit his Into other trains, to bo sent forward to encineor engine. Ho know about wboro that strlnc
skill and daring, and all combine to add some more distant destination Thoy take J J'h" foot nlsses the footboard uero of cars should
lustro to tho glittering "braim collar." who i.rtt f,l)m warohouso and factory and olo- ' "i V ,, U tnken nrnm .t and his business It was to "catch" thn,,
presides over all fiom behind a highly pel- v,;t,,r. and assort them intc P-Por classes ? un o take s pmpt X'uion ?. S 0 b
,HhC,ll,C8 , , ....... . . lBM.,, nr , 1., , n in th loci? " "B B"ul 0T uo1"8 1118 flr8t Cnr t0 re!,Ch "ltn 1,0 ran nl'uly t0
It Is life lu the switch yards w h which 1 . g trail s that a o m do up In tho loca yorBo Iovor mj .,conter that ho nmy a ,op by ft 8kmful nppUcntlon of Ul(
tuts nrucio iniuii.iB ... "nu. 'i - - tho quickest posslblo emergency sto"p. It nnn.iurnKes orougnt tno string to a stnn.b
tho men who dally lltrt with death that their work ""romance only gr lot and nU,B ppo88lb,0 t(, h8t0,f iUno .,, within a few feet of the place deslg.
tno vans or commune im.j v ..., v r ... .hmlc, ,.,. niimlnir tho runnlmr board-
Ill their flight from ono renter of tra.lo to The yar.lmnster is tno eoniuian.ier-in
nnother. who hourly risk lllo
the
Those aro tho foro-
rail and
Hipped.'
It's easy It you know how to "" ovor . 110 swuencs to tno starting
point, nnd tho operation was resumed.
though, and "Hipping the running bonrd" noted. Ily this tlmo tho others of tho
and limb to keep the business
of tt.o road moving stendlly, who
depend for their safety on their
quick brains; clear eyes, strong
limbs and nimble hands and
feet. These men go nbout
through mazes of trucks nnd
wlldernobses of boxcars, thread
lug labyrinths of switches
crossings, turnout nnd cut-offs
almost hand In hand with the
(Jrlin Destroyer, day by day and
night by night. Their life Is
ono of unceasing toll, unrelluved
by tho glnmuur that surroundi
tho rntlioad man who comes
directly In touch with tho worl
nt largo. Columns aro written
of men who run engines and
men who run trains, but the
men who work In the yards are
4
TAKING NUMUKIt
thu engineer and ft
to have him. Hut ihi
that kind cf a mr
rolled Into the center i
was no brake en 'lie
QHEAT GATEWAY ON THE LINE $
obovo thu tops of tho rails.
Over this highly unsafe foot
ing tho switchmen dally pur
sued their dangerous calling
with as much nonchalanco
as though they wore playing
tog on a school ground. Ono
day a man who was "pulling
pins" Jumped beneath tho
cars when tho string was
moving at thu rato of about
ten miles an hour. Ho
pulled tho pin. Hung out
his left arm to signal
an 1
iiUl
;1
- . Nf-' r-T -WIT--: .
t !.' t"
AROUND THE UNION PACIFIC FHEIOHT HOUSE
which he had fallen J
his budy nicely. It)
his signal, nnd bet 'J'
reached him, when cl
hnd to sclzo the brak ')
or go under It am
was roversed and
train momentarily
with tho coolness i
vantngo of tho lull 1
under the cars, uns r.
'switching" us thoiu'i
pencil. Such tiro tin f
man takes. ,
Under tho now or.it r
necessary for tho swrt
tho enrs to couploj'i t
of the accompanying I
switchmnn swinging
ho pulls tho lever th 1
Kvoli.llo.i of tli I "'
People who have n t
tho ovolutlon of the
the "shunter," ns
around tho yards lo
chlno that pushes tl. 1
realize the great tlu'i
plaeo In Its developtn i
decade. In the first
engine wnB usually a n
or docroplt and relegi "
considered menial w '
"pony," tho little fo '
snorted nnd puffed.,! 11
about tho yards. Hut 1
bigger and bigger, aii
grow, too. So now
