OCR Text |
Show The FVlcM Conductor' Da tie. Tlie freight conductor is simply a hijrh grade of brakeman. His work ia almost wholly supervisory and clerical, and 60. after several years' service, be becomes mure sober nnd business like in his bearing, bear-ing, the responsibilities of his position being sutlicieiit to effect this change: but he generally retains his sympathies with his old associates who liave become subordinates. sub-ordinates. Ilia duties are to keep the record of the train, the lime, niunlters of cars, etc.; to see that the brukemen regulate regu-late the speed when neci&sary. n rtel to keep a general watch The calculations necessary to make a soveniv-live mile trip and get over the lino without wasting wast-ing time are often considerable, and an inexperienced conductor can easily keep himself in a worry for the whole trip. Often he cannot go more limn ten miles after making way for a passenger train before another overtakes him, so llial he must spend a good share of his time sitting in liia caboose with the time table in one hand and his watch in the other, calculat ing where and when to side track the train. On single track roads perplexities ol this kind are generally more numerous than on double lines, because trains both in front and behind must be guarded against, and because the regulations are frequently modilied by telegiuphic instructions in-structions from headquarters. A mistake mis-take in reading the.se instinct tons, which are written in pencil, often by a slovenly penman, and on tissue paper, may, and occasionally docs, cause a disastrous collision, col-lision, These duties of conductors are etiecially characteristic of trains that must keep out of the way of passenger trains, so that in this particular lino it will 10 seen that the passenger conductor has much tho easier berth. The freight and "work train" conductor must really boa better calculator, in many ways, tlian the wearer of gilt badges and buttons, but-tons, though the latter receives the higher pay. B. 13. AdaniB, Jr., in Scrib-ner's Scrib-ner's Magazine i |