Show cc Rails ati s o of Death H HELLO ELLO EVERYBODY Well sir for a long time Ive I've been warning young fellows to stay off of side door pullmans Ive I've seen so many adventure yarns about lads who have come to grief beating their way on freight trains that Im I'm pretty well convinced it its it's s a dangerous pastime But heres here's a lad I cant can't very well warn to stop riding freight trains In the first place that was his job In the second place h hes he's s 's reformed and isn't working on the railroad any more And in the third place I he knows all about the hazards of railroading He probably knows a doggone sight more about it than I do If those arent aren't enough reasons I could probably think up some more But there comes today's distinguished adventurer ad ad- Edwin Edwin F. F Eckdahl of Young Saskatchewan Canada Can Can- ada another ada-another another fellow who has come a long long way to join our club And heres here's the story Ed started railroad work in the early part of the century braking on the Pennsylvania His run was out of Logansport Logansport Logansport Logans- Logans port Ind and those were the days when the men had to contend with the old style pin link-and-pin and when air brakes were few and far tar between There might be a few braked air cars on every train but most freights consisted principally of ol jacks I or hand braked cars Ed says every brakeman tried to get a few rew air cars up at the head bead of the train where they'd help a lot in in holding back the other cars but some of oC the old die hard bard conductors wouldn't allow that There are brakes brakes' on top they used to say and the brakeman is getting paid for tor braking them Let him work for Cor his money It was one of those conductors that Ed was working for and for and it came near costing costin him his Ws life lUe v Tops of Cars Covered With T Thin in Ice It was one day early in 1900 1906 that that happened Eds Ed's train pulled out of Chicago about 1030 on a cold winter night with a light train of ot meat meat and merchandise We had a nice string of braked air-braked cars he says but there were behind about ten or twelve jacks and the conductor conductor conductor con con- conI I ductor said nothing doing when the rear-end rear man and I r wanted to switch them It had rained in Chicago and the tops of the cars were s C L 11 He lost his bis balance and was forced to step off oU the fiat flat running board hoard covered with a coating of at thin ice fcc and my first job was to go over the tops and chip that ice from the running boards on the te ten or twelve cars carsI I r was to use for braking Ed had ice clips on his shoes to keep him from rom slipping They were pretty dull but he thought they'd last him one more trip He worked his bis way along until he was Vas about ten cars back backof of oC the engine and then near tho the I. I C. C crossing at Riverdale the train hit a slight curve Ed Ed was unprepared for or it lie He lost his balance and was forced to Id step oft off the flat fiat running board onto the sloping ice covered to top of the car The instant he did his i feet ct shot out from under him He started sliding sliding sliding slid slid- ing off oft the top I 1 was on my back he says but when my legs were over the side I 1 managed to turn over on my stomach stomach and and as luck would have it a nail that had worked up from Crom a board in the ithe car top caught in my coat I 1 I was so far over the side that there was more of at me inthe in inthe inthe the open than on the roof I was just able to keep part of my chestand chest chestand and arms on the car And there I hung I knew if it I slid off oft I wouldn't have much of of-a of a chance All I could do was hang on and on-and and get back on top if it that w was s possible It was as cold old weather and the position I l' l was in was was tiring me out The longer I stayed there the worse it w would uld be His Hands Slipped on the Smooth Ice Ed knew he couldn't look for any he help p. p The engineer would think he was in the caboose and the conductor would think he was in the engine His lantern had had shattered and gone over the side when he fell felland felland felland and he couldn't signal with that He tried pulling himself forward with the flat of ot his hands against the car top but they slipped on the smooth ice I 1 tell you it kept me busy he says I r didn't know how long that nail would hold me or how long the cloth of at my coat would stand the strain But believe me I stuck tight with all the strength I had bad But now Ed noticed something that was working in his favor tavor The heat of his palms as they pressed against the top of ot the car was melting the thin coating of ice In one one- spot his hands were beginning to take bold hold He began to move his palms forward orward to melt met the i ice e up p ahead It was a a. a long slow process By wriggling my body as s a snake would he says I was able to bring it forward orward a little I had to melt quite a bit of ice to get myself in in- ina a fairly safe sale posio position o and and even then the wind and the swaying of the car threatened to throw V me off oft at any minute And then I ran into another obstruction The Nail Holds Him Back From Safety It was that nail which had caught in his clothing In the beginning it had saved his life Now Now it was w was s ho holding ding him b back ck keeping him from moving any farther forward forward- s Ed didn't dare move a hand to free it And there he was fastened to the car unable to move any farther and not nt knowing when a l low w spot or or a a 3 curve In In in the track would shake him off oft I He began gan to get set a n bit stricken panic then He clawed at the top of ot the car with futile hands hinds And en suddenly y his groping palms struck on another nail nall worked up up out of the boards like the first one I caught hold of at it by y a thumb and finger Ed says and only then did I 1 dare to move the he other hand down and loosen the nail that was caught in hi my coat oat I I wriggled ed back on the top and when I reached the running board I was covered with sweat and my hands and face were f full ll of at slivers All I did was lie Ue flat on my face and pant The train was pulling into a station and the engineer whistled for tor brakes but Ed didn't move Of course the train ran past the station Ed says and I was In line for tor a bawling out But when I told the engineer engineer engineer engi engi- neer what had happened he had to make his excuses for not seeing my lantern disappear Iva Ive had lots of close calls in railroading but that was my closest one Copyright Service |