Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, April 07, 1907, HALF-TONE SECTION, Page 3, Image 19
THE OMAITA SUNDAY BEE: AVVAL 7. 1P07. fnauroaaing i niny i ears go onirasieo vviin rresent uay rvemoas 1 .1 J -a XTEJINALLY, the life o fthe rail- rrd man is very much the. same today bh It ha hrcn fiorn the 1- Binning, Is how, and Very likely will be to tne end of time Or- E tain features of the routine never vary, but Bo on und on with each run fiom one mjcI of the dlvlMon to the other. Hut the Internal, that H'ase of existence with which the public !' rot come into con- tact, how changes that have be-n m iny and. in mine resct, sweeping. It I only urni inai tnis snould be o, for the gen- il biwlnrm'of raid nailing has advanced uh accumulation, of knowledge and wli- lnm born of experience, and the men hive advanced with It. New types of Murine. new forms of car construction, new de vices ti.r promoting wifety of trains and facility of traffic, have brought new condi tions, and the men, have had to keep up with the times. Not so very many years ago but what men still In the business can recall the time with ease, nothing was asked of a man when he applied for a place but that he be ready to go to work when the caljcr came for him. It was under stood without asking that he wuld be ready to risk his life at any time, and that he depended on his strength and aglUty to protect his llmba. He took chance dally that would make the ordinary man's hair stand on end, and dallied with Death In a familiar fashion through nil his life. Sooner or later Death won the game, but that didn't deter any from trying the business. It was a life that made men reckless, that dlvrced them In a large sense from their fellows and deprived them of many little things that soften existence. Only hard. dangerous work was theirs, but It was a llfe with Its compensations. The work was such ns called Into the service the bolder and more venturesome spirits, and the an- na.1 of railroading teem with talea of the elf-devoted heroism and quick-witted adaptability of these forerunners of their craft. Life and limb at alt times and com- pany property at other depended on doing the right thing at the right mutant, and the man who was called upon to act didn't have than a week to make up his ' X ' n.ln I l . V. iiiu iii, ciini. . Knalnemen In Spotlight. Many discussions have been carried on by the small boy In his efforts to determine with" a graduated feed, which could be which end of the' train he wants for his filled at one end of the 'run., and was good own when he comes to be a man nnd goes for fifty to seventy-five miles of ordinary to railroading, as ho has fully determined running. I fired for one fellow who was to do. In favor of the engineer. It Is a crank on the subject and Insisted on my chiefly alleged that he has a distinct ad- treating the Dreyfus .cup the same as the V vantage. In that he can see any danger outside oiler. I had to carry a wrench that Impends on the track, and therefore along to 'open the cup.'and this made It has the earlier opportunity to seek safety, all the. more unpleasant. Another of. the The conductor's alleged Immunity from delightful features of tl)e outside oiler was danger Is scoffed at by these young heroes, that now and then" the engineer would none of whom would shrink from any ex- forget that the fireman was out there and posure In line of duty. Whatever the cause, would turn on steam Just as the fireman the men on the engine have always had opened the cup. Several firemen I knew the spotlight. To the engineer the poet were badly burned this way, 'and I nar bas sung and the orator has directed his rowly escaped a dose of It myself on one most eloquent phrases. Not without reason, occasion. After the Dreyfus cup came the for these men are of the bravest and best, Inside oiler, wjilch.was merely the outside as has boon proven on many, an occasion oiler brought Into the cab and connected when the man at the throttle has given his by pipes running to the valve chest. After life to save those In his keeping. Ills fulthful the tallow was poured Into the oiler It companion In all the dangers of the rail, was closed - and steam . admitted, which the fireman, now and agnln comes In for blew the oil Into the cylinder. The slght a little of the glory, but always shares, in food oiler Is an outgrowth of this method the hasard. Those men, probably, have and Is very' nearly perfection for its pur been more affected by the march of science poses..,.', ,- , ; . - ; , as applied to railroading, than any of the ; 5v others. All that has to do with generating ' Relief, for the . Engine Crew, steam or applying It to the work' of haul-, : "In .those two regards are the greatest in Ing the trains haB undergone such change , novations that havooine to the rallef of the . tflthln a generation' that the engine man firemen, although tho. bigger firebox and Mrho died Just after the big strike In' 1S77 flues have brought greater heating surface Would need some one to show him around into, the- boilers and consequent . economy, if he were taken Into a roundhouse today, although this latter, was the result cf con It Is not only In slxe that the locomotive slderation -for the-stockholders -rather than has changed, although Its Increase Is such for the . fireman. The engineer has been as can only be' understood by those who relieved ' of much of i the responsibility of have watched Its . growth from the dinky caring .for: his' machine. The machinists' little thirty-ton "mill" of the day referred work Is doiie by machinists nowadays, and to the monster hundred and even 150-ton the engineer is not expected to keep up his machine that pulls the train today. Some engine as he once was. The new airbrake engines have been constructed that weigh B something "more complicated than the In the neighborhood of 200 tons, but their old,. but its use makes the handling of the use has not become general. It seems that heavy' train possiblo, and without any seri a limit has been very nearly reached ai ous strain on the man who operates It, The to the weight that will be safely borne by electric headlight Is- anotser Innovation rails and ties, and It Is doubtful If any tBat mre, tne ngine.r mucn trouble, and Increase In the slxe of the locomotive Is so does the -metallic packing - Thousands attempted unless some new and better of men are. running engines who neve.r saw mothod of track construction can be de- a rinK cf hf,mp pacu an1 wno wouldn't vlned. know how' to make, a headlight' wick out of canton flannel . These men are good engl 1 . Memories of Bone Days. neers. too. Getting the work out of the 1 "I love to go down to the yards and Ug em?lne; Bnd dolnfr ,t' economically and look over the big new engines that are efflcpnuy, u the problem for the engineer In service nowadays," said an old timer of y ; - - j whose way of life has been along quieter ', . ' ' ' paths for many years. "I still feel .tne old Impulse stirring In my veins, but I manage ta restrain It, and I am content to make an occasional examination of . the loco motives. I have tried to keep posted on the development of the Iron horse through reading technical magaxlnes, and have fol- lowed fairly closely all the great changes that have been made as well as the details and minor points that would escape any bat the professional railroad man. When J climb up on one of these new engines and look over the conveniences, . planned not so much for the comfort of the men as for the economical operation of the machine, my mind goes back Irresistibly to the day when I was a fireman. Thirty years ago I climbed on the footboard of a locomotive ana inrrw my urisi biiuvviiui of coal Into the firebox. "That engine had a firebox fifty-six inches long by forty wide, swung between the front and back axles. The back springs came up Into tho cab. Nowadays ' the standard slxe for the firebox is 106 inches long by sixty wide, and It rides over at least one driving axle, while the springs re all far below the cab floor. The In jector was Just being debated then. It was being uin-d in an experlmentai . way to fed niutlonary boilers, and a few months i after I begun firing It was put on a few of the locomotives to see what it. could do. It was a nucccss when the engine was standing, but no one dreamed of 'running by an injector, on one engine I fired a JSuthan & Dreyfus injector worked with SUi'li succt cess that it could occasionally 'd 1' the engine was running be started lowly on a straight, sniootn piece of track. I recall very well when I made this dis covery and told the engineer, lie wouldn't believe it till be had sen It working. At the roundhouse the announcement was -received with a scornful boot, but within Jl tliroo years most -of those fellows who looked on inc as a monumental liar were running enelnr on which the pump had been discarded, and the Injectors InsiHlled. Told Walrr 1 auiit a Terror. 'That cold water pump was a heart breaker for the fireman, us well as a ouue of trouble fur the engineer. The cartlets runner could cause his fireman 11 sui ts of grief. Iiefore the water glass Was Installed, the engineer was apt to let the watr trt toe low in the boiler. All of a sudjfu he would try his cocks and fln-1 scant showing at the lower gauge. . Then he would tuin the pump wlje open, and each revolution of the wheels sent a Jet of cold water Into the butler right on the flues. This sent the steam back with a i rush, for the fireman had twen careful 1 with his fire not to have too great a pies ' sure. It meant hustle for him to hold any steam at all, and generally several miles would be covered before be had the pointer back up to the mark, lty this time the boilers would be full, and the pump shut ' off, and then It would be the siune thing k Ol'1 ' HK-lt'l In tt.i.fe tlm. ( th r.-.. ular practice to pump the boiler as full as it. .would, hold. on -spproaching a hill, and thrn ohut oft the pump until well over the grade. At mnn n It wns niwured that the grade would be surmounted, the left hand pump would In. put On. as well a the engineer on the right hand sidf. and by the time st-nm wan glint' off the holler would tie, Wcll filled with water again, Sometimes the engineer would forget that the pump wss nn and would (ill the holler too full. TMs would nlwnys delight the fireman, fpr It pimply meant that he would have to. cleap the engine from end to end. 'I'll get a wafer gauze on the smokestack for 'ynil,'" wan the customary comment for the fireman on such occasion. The injec tor lias solved nil thse (llfTioultles. for the water la .now under the fireman's control, and he has diie notice alwayi when he la bout to replenish the boiler supply. The water is sent Into the boiler (it almost the boiling point, too, and Is delivered at mich a spot aslvis the least effect on .the steam ing; of'the boiler. ... Olltngr.the Valves Thirty Years Ago. "The' sight-feed oiler Is another great Innovation. When I went to firing the Dreyfus cups were being experimented with., but had not yet been generally adopted. -Outside oilers were still In use on most of' the engines. These were a cup on the top' of the valve chest, so arranged as to be craned or closed readily by hand. When the engineer Shut off .stenm It Was the duty of the fireman to grab a tallow pot off the boiler head and skate out over the tunning .board to ,the front end, where v. .... -hii. h. ... nnrdB , ppen:ng the bilprs. pouring a gob of taUow down Into the cylinder and clos- lng the oiler.' In good weather this wasn't bod; but when the weather was stormy or co)d it was anything but a pleasant proposition.' Every now and then lima nreman lost his hold and ell off. This never happened to me, but I d!d drop sev- eral tallow pots and a.lantern or twoas a result of being shaken around on the front end. In cold weather two trips were nee- apv n'jia''rule.'"f6r'a" tallow Dot 'would' freeze up by the time one valve was oiled, . ... an1 me fireman naa to return to tne caD for a second.'. The Dreyfus cup brought' the first , relief from this; this was a . big oil cun. holding about 'two' pounds of tallow. Rmi, thf Fireman's Helleht.. . , "The disappearance of the brass orna mentation from the englnea- was jk. great boon to the fireman., Once It was deemed artistic at least to put brass on wherever it might be applied, and to polish whatever of Iron" work was not concealed by brass. I fired' for thirteen moruhs on a passenger run of "ISO miles a'dky an -engine of the Mason type .that was literally covered with brass. , -Outside I had to. clean two domes, a sand box and a bell, the sand box cover and the .w-Jilntle, the flagBtaffs. the rim of the headlight stand, the handrail and its stanohlona on each side of the engine, the check valve, caps and Ave brass bands ' ' , .' ' ' ' ' .' - ., . ; 'K. -- ". '",' ' . . : " VeA i'-- " K ' x-rtfz - sr. ,;''v-' "v'l. - . ' L ' . OLD PTTT.R op REAR PLATFORM LINE TRAIN. above the running board. Below the run ning hoard I had to olon two cylinders and valve chests, two pumps, two feed pipes, two oil cups, tho rims of the driving wheel mudguards, the rim of the running board, the rim of the number plate and the numbers, and five brass bands on the Jacket. Then the rtHfia Iron Jacket nnd tho gold-leafed paint work took ns much care as the brass, and the smoke arch arid smoke stark had to be cared for with a ' mixture of bulled oil nnd beeswax, applied with care by means of a hempen swab. Inside the cnb I had to go over two heater cocks something unknown nowadays two water glass cocks, four gauge cocks, one gauge cock dripper, nn air brake throttle-, a blower throttle, a hell rln;;er throttle and : an injector throttle; the pipes from all these aa far as they were exposed; the bracket on which the steam gauge and air gauge were fastened; the cab gong; the three-way valve for the air brake; the torch and Its bracket; the squirt cans; the Bteam gauge lamps, and the water gautre lamp, and a few llttlo ornaments addd by vanity. This was all the brass, but the throttle lever nnd quadrant and the reverse lever and quadrant were of polished steel and required as much attention as did the brass, while the bollerhead Itself was a place where you might work alwaya With a scraper, swiped ono day from a monkey wrench machinist when he wasn't looking, and with emery paper of several degrees of fineness, usually obtnlned ns was jthe scraper, the bollerhead was attacked and scraped and papered and rubbed until it shone like the rest of the Interior, When all the brass nnd Ironwork was cleaned the windows and woodwork remained, nnd these had to be kept shining, too. The quickest time I ever remember of making In cleaning the outside brass on that engine was four hours, while It took about five hours us a rule to clean the Inside. In ordinary weather the outside brass had to be clewned nt least twice a week, while the Inside brass would run about a week. The pay for this was nothing. The fireman was rated according to tire looks of his engine, and If he didn't keep It shining ho was not regarded as much of a fireman. Ask a fireman nowadays to put In fifteen or twenty hours a week working to keep an old scrapheup' looking neat and see what he will say to you. Difference In Sle. "In the day I am speaking of the en gines weighed around thlrty-fivo tons, with cylinders of fourteen, fifteen or sixtccn-lnch bore and twenty-four inch stroke. Now the engine weighs up as high as 200 tons, and tho cylinders are twenty-two, twenty-four or twenty-six inch bore with thirty to thlrty-plx Inch stroke. All this tells in the load hauled. Some of the trains we used to haul didn't weigh as much as a modern locomotive. Comfort . for Trainmen. "Air brakes, patent couplers, block sig nals and the like have worked as much change In the life of the conductor and brakeman as the advance in locomotive practice has In the existence of the en-glnemt-n. llandbraking would render Im possible the loads hauled now. It would -v. ; -Vs c.'.r, i 4 y;.' END CAR ON A BRANCH NEW STYLE LIMITivD. tako- a brtikeman on top of each car, and half an hour's notice to bring one of the tremendous freight trains of today to a ftop after it had gotten under good head- way. The'brakeman's life has been reduced to one of Inglorious ease compared to what his -predecessor of thirty of even twenty years ago bad to do. Coupling now Is merely a matter of Vuroplng 'he d-rs to gether. Thrn It was n caso of being quick and wure, and . occasionally contributing u finger or a. hand; sometimes a foot or leg went .aleuig, and often e.nough a life. When a freight train was getting near a station In the oldon time, the hind man sighted a' familiar landmark, and climbed out of tho cupola window on top of the train, and took up the slack by setting the first brake. Presently the long hoot from the engine announced that the town was right ahead, nnd If a stop was to be made the head man also got out on top and the pair began to set brakes. ' Coming; to n Stop. '"Weather, conditions made no difference, and the shack was expected to mount the hurricane deck no matter how, hnrd the wind or how wet or Icy the running board might be. Sometime, when the Bldewalk Is covered 'with Ice, you try running half a block on It. The .think what It would be If the walk was 6nly twenty Inches wldo, and 'that It was cut Into sections about ' thirty feet long, and that each section was heaving and tossing in a different dlre-c-tlon, and that between'each of these sec tions yawned a chasm-of about three feet, where death In Its most hideous form awaited for the man who made a misstep, and that you had to stop at each of these chasms and twist a brake tight, with all the chances of a chain breaking or a wheel coming off, or something similar, and then repeating the operation from dark till dawn at uncertain-Intervals through the longest of winter nights, and you will have a faint notion of one phase of an old time brake- man's life. Only one phase, though.- Other Things n Bpikrmtn Did. ' ' "Besides setting brakes to hold or stop trains, tho brakeman had to make coup lings, pull pins, open switches and do a varied lot of stunts that required strength, agility and cool daring. For example, when a train was coming to a station where it was to take a 'siding 'head In' Is the tech nlcal term the hind brakeman checked the speed of the train as It neared the switch, while; the front brakeman Jumped off the engine and raced ahead that he might open, the swltqh In time to let the train run In without stopping. This sounds sim ple enough, but It required much skill ns well as speed, and at times It became very difficult. I recall one place where we used to have to head In for a short stretch of double track on a .hill. To 'open the gate" there was a trick that tried the mettle of the .best brakeman, and the misses were numerous. When one did occur tho head man usually heard much concerning his breeding, Including his ancestry for sev eral generations back, not to speak of com ment on his personal qualifications and the likelihood of his becoming president of the road "or something of that sort. It 1) v r - V 1 n 1 r i 1 ... 1 1 :'' : "v TP'. - V V' A i ' l Ml.!. .' ' JL ( ' ms' OF PLATFORM END CAR OF TIIE OVERLAND n : - if: y sasul always made the engineer feel so good to have to hack his train half a train length, uphill to accommodate a slow-footed brake man. Then, when the train had gone through the side track and out at the other end, it was tho business of the head man to hold the tr-iln back while the hind man closed the switch. This meant a nice little race for the man behind, for he was expected to drop off the way car nnd shut the gate and then overtake the train. It was a fifty-yard dash, at least, for him. with a fair handicap to overcome. "When it came to making couplings the men were on an equal footing. No matter how careful the engineer In handling the cars, accidents were numerous enough, and even the most careful got pinched now and then. As a rule, the link was placed in the drav.bar of the car that was stand ing, while the pin was balanced at the edge of the hole In the niovlnpr drawbar. At the psychological moment tho link was tipped up with one hunt nnd the pin top pled over by tho other, while the man who was In between sprang out to escape being carried along with the cars. All these stunts kept the brakman's muscles In a state of high development, und When he wasn't engaged et these he was run ning up or down the ladders, hanging on the ends or something else. Of course, darkness Increased the dangers, but It didn't lessen the necessity, for railroads run around the clock. Conductor Xnt Kxemnt. "The mere fact that a man had gotten far enough along to be mude a conductor didn't exempt him from all the work, not by a good deal, and he was expected to twist brakes, make couplings and take his . .. - . - i -.i- f:r.Vv i ' -y 7 :-i hi ' A 1ST 4 ' '' ; i -I'- as: -. "'H. . .iL. 'iim,':.. ' j'"- :'X i GETTINO -r.ys 1 y-t? ""W-r, UNION TACIFIC WAYCAR A TYPE OF TIIE MODERN full share In the work of handling tho trains, lie was responsible also for Its movements, and for the cure of the cars making up his train. He still has the train records to keep, listing of waybills, car reports, switch lists and tho rike, but his office Is one of more comfort today than it used to be. The air brake lins done away with moBt of the hard work for tho train crow, and the automatic couplers have re- moved most of the danger. Switches still have to be opened nnd shut, but are lroked after under much better conditions than formerly, while the block signal system has reduced tho danger of colllslcn to minimum. Long hours are still the r,ule, but they are spent under conditions that render them more nearly endurable. It Is still required that tho brakeman b: clear headed and nimble footed, but he wears more of lils own fingers than he used to, while the conductor has n chance to ae- quite tho rotundity cf nn alderman without endangering hiu usefulness to tho coin- pany. In Passenger Service. "All the changes that have affected the freight service have also iifforted the pas senger service. Trains are heavier now than they uoed to bo, nnd run faster, but the engines are bigger nnd the tracks nre better. On some roads a train agent has been Introduced to relieve the conductor of the responsibility of looking after the fares as well as tho movement of the train. On other lines the conductor has to collect fares as well as train orders. The front brakeman Btill retains his title, but the rear brakeman has become a flagman, and is stationed at the rear of the train always with hla fligs, lanterns, fuses and tor pedoes. The train porter looks after the Striving to Impose Penalties on Single Blessedness rv n-nn W1WKV of St Iula is preparing a lilil il icing a poll tax 3 I of SHI :l vear on all unmarried mule citizens of sound mind over twenty-live years for the benefit of the state road fund. The state hud such a statute fer several year after admitted to the union. The tax was 1 a year. The present bill will not apply to widowers. The Illinois legislature will hot at this session paws a bill to tax bachelors. It might have done so had not Representative Tony C-rmak of Chicago lost his nerve. Mr. Cermak drafted u measure to put an annual levy of i-" on every male of more than years, but after framing up things with the speaker to have It reforred to a favorable committee he weakened. The bachelors of Texan are aroused over the prospect of the legislature imposing u tax upon them. A bill with this in view has been Introduced in the house by E. C. Lively of Irving. He h:i.s canvassed tho sentiment in house and senate, and ho says the bill will be passed by a large majority. It levies a tax of $5 a year upon every bachelor between 1.5 and 30, und 110 between 30 and 4. A bill was prepared for Introduction in the Minnesota legislature Imposing a tax on baehtlon--, but it met with strong pro test, and whs not presented for the r'-ason that bachelors of the northwest are only too anxious to marry, und young women are at a premium. A UH will be Introduced In the Iowa leg islature within the next few days taxing bachelors. It Is the result of concerted ef fort bf women of the state ut the Old Maids' and Old H-k helors' convention at Forest City last summer. 1'nder the pro posed m-aimre bachelors past 40 will be assessed S-S a year und over 4o at 130. The money will lie used to found a home for fallen women. No bachelor may be taxed whose Income Is not over 11.00 yiarly. His ago must be sworn before a notary. The assessment will continue until the bachelor marries or reaches the age of 5S. The fircumble of the bill declares unmarried men sro a menace to society; that the ' -VI -Vi ' ' . - -1 '! ! " 4 'i XI III3 ORDERS TO RUN. -I - CABOOSE. passengers' needs, the brakemnn and flag man attend exclusively to tho business of getting the train over the road, und tlds is enough to occupy them. "The vestibule on tho passenger coaches has brought with it much relief for con ductor and brakemen, as It protects thent from the terrific rusih of air between tho cars that used to make it almost Impossible to get from coach to coach under the old conditions. The platforms and couplings are In keeping with this, and tho steam heatlng and electric or gas lighting plants have nlao added to tho comfort of the train men as well as tho travelers. Some of the old-fashioned platforms are Btill In use on bra-h line couches, although the patent couplers are universal, or nearly so, today.. "With all the improvements hus come a demand for greater exertion on part of the men. Each Is required to do mote In a way than used to be asked. Tho bigger trains and faft runs have added to the nerve dtraln us well ns to the responsibility, and while the work of the trainman Is free from much of the discomfort, tho hardship and tho real danger of thirty years ago, It Is still a service In which men find ample scope for the exercise of all their wit and strength. I have found nn easier way to serve my fellow man, and I am glad of It. I know the fascination of the service, and I also know its reverse side. When I turn In my warm bed at nicht It Is with no dread of tho caller's visit, and when I sit down to a meal with my family I am thankful that I am not feeding from a lunch bucket or at a depot counter. The odor of hot grease and coal gas Is as grateful to me as It ever was. but other considerations enable me to keep away from tho railroad except when I have to travel." morals cf the largi r cities ore degenerating owing to them. Delegate Victor Obertlng of Indiana failed to procure advanced salaries for teachers, hut proposed to tax bachelors to. pay teach' rs' salaries. His bill was re ferred to a committee, nnd ho asked to be heard. "It is not good for mnn to live alone and if he does he ought to have to pay for It," said Mr. Obertlng. addressing the commltt'-o yesterday afternoon. His plan Is to require unmarried men between Z5 nnd 30 to pay i'l.'J) u year Into the school fund. Bachelors between 30 and So, he thought, should pay $t a year, and those between 35 and 45. $3. His bill provides a tax of 17 a year for confirmed bachelors. This petition Is on exhibition at the Mas sachusetts state house: "To t he tlreat and General Court of Massachusetts We. the unmarried indies of the town of Wakefield, petition your honorable body for a law levying a tax upon bachelors, said tax to he graduated as follows: From 30 to 'A years, $0; from 35 to 30 years, $10; from 30 to 3.) year. tl5; from 35 to 40 years, jn; over 40 years, chloroform In large doses. Anil your petitioners further represent that bachelors are a fungus growth on the ship of society, impending its progress, and are of no earthly use ex cept as pallbearers. Therefore, li It "Resolved, That we. the unmarried ladles of Wakefield, are not udvoeatlrg this law because we are single. That concerns us the least. If you don't bellev it, ask us and see. We are women of taste, and if we could vote we believe bachelors would be scarce art lei- among us." Not Overly Liberal Nobody supioed that the little 4-year-old had ever paid any attention to the con versation of the family concerning church matters, but she hud. "Flossie," said the caller, "won't you come and sit on my knee?" "No, thank you," answered Flossie. "Mr. Plnshem, aren't you going to glvn more than U for the support of the gutpW this yearT" rrrr. -A . .. ; '