| Show adventurers CLUB I 1 IN HEADLINES cheadl M FROM FM THE LIVES OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF 1 rails of death ELLO EVERYBODY H weil well sir for a long time ive been warning young fellows to stay ay off of side door pullmans ive seen so many adventure lads who have come to yarns yarns about grief beating their way on freight trains that im pretty well convinced its a dangerous ca but CUT ceic heres 0 a a iau lad i I 1 cant un i very well warn to stop riding ceic 0 a iau i un i warn ca stop riding ra freight pastime trains in the first place that was his job in the second place hes reformed and working on the railroad any andin and in the third place he knows all about the hazards of railroading he probably knows a doggone sight more about it than I 1 do if those arent aren t enough reasons I 1 could probably think up some more but here comes distinguished adventurer edwin F eckdahl of young saskatchewan canada another fellow who has come a long long way to join our club and heres the story ed started railroad work in the early part of the century braking on the pennsylvania his run was out of logans port ind and those were the days when the men had to contend with the old style link and pin and when air brakes were few and far between there might be a few air braked cars on every train but most freights consisted principally of jacks or hand braked cars ed says every brakeman tried to get a few air braked cars up at the head bead of the train where help a lot in holding back the other cars but some of the old die hard conductors allow that there are brakes on top they used to say and the brakeman is getting paid for braking them let him work for his money it was onel of those conductors that ed was working for and it came near costing him his life tops of cars covered with thin ice it was one day early in 1906 that that happened eds train pulled out of chicago about 1030 on a cold winter night with a light train of meat and merchandise we had a nice string of air braked cars he says but there were behind about ten or twelve jacks and the conductor said nothing doing when the rear end man and I 1 wanted to switch them it had bad rained in chicago and the tops of the cars were he lost his balance and was forced to step off the flat running board and first job was to go over the covered with a coating of thin ice my tops and chip that ice from the running boards on the ten or twelve cars I 1 was to use for tor braking erasing use his bis shoes to keep him from slipping ed had ice clips on they were pretty dull but he thought last him one more until he was about ten cars back trip he worked his way along the 1 C crossing at Ri verdale the of the engine and then near tor for it ile he lost his bis train hit a slight curve ed was unprepared onto balance and was forced to step off the flat running board the sloping ice covered top of the car him he started sa s1 sliding id the instant he did his feet shot out from under were but when my legs 1 back he says off the top I was on my stomach and as luck would over the side 1 managed to turn over on my board in the car ar top caught have it a nail that had worked up from a of me in there was more that in tny my coat I 1 was so far over the side of chest part my to keep the open than on the roof I 1 was just able and arms on the car and there I 1 hung all I 1 could of chance 1 I knew if I 1 slid off I 1 w have much a it was cold do was hang on and get back on top if that was possible out the longer I 1 me weather and the position I 1 was in was tiring h stayed there the worse it w would be his hands slipped on the smooth engineer would th think anle the ed knew he look for any help would think he was in in t the he he 6 was in the caboose and the conductor the side when he fe fell engine his lantern had shattered and g gone yone over hims himself elf forward with and he signal with that he tried pulling slipped on the smooth the pe flat of his hands against the car top but they ice 1 11 I know how bow long that I 1 tell you it kept me busy he says of coat would stand the nail would hold me or hc how w long the cloth the my strength rieth I 1 had all strain rain but believe me I 1 stuck tight with working in his favor the but now ed noticed something that was of the car was as melting hea eat t of his palms as they pressed against the hands top were bagi beginning nn ing to take the e thin coating of ice in one spot his head ahead melt the ice u up p hold old he began to move his palms forwar forward d to body as a snake it was a long slow process by wriggling my little L I 1 had to melt a forward would uld he says 1 I was able to bring it position and even then quite a bit of ice to get myself in a fairly fairly safe to throw me off at any threatened the we wind and the swaying of the car ahr minute nute and then I 1 ran into another obstruction action the nail holds him back from safety in the beginning clothing clothie it was that nail which had ad caught sa s1 in his back keeping him from it 11 h had ad saved his life no now w it was holding him a hand to free it move wing any farther forward ed dare to move any farther far her and and there he was fastened to the car unable in the I 1 track rack would shake lot knowing when a low spot or a c urve curve hirn off re he clawed at the top of lie he began to get a bit bilt panic stricker stricken then palms struck on groping his the car with futile futi hands and sudden suddenly ly the fir first st one like bother another anna nail worked up au out t of the boards ed says ya 1 and 0 aly I 1 caught hold of f it t by a thumb ar and A finger and 10 loosen osen the nail nallah t hat then tho did I 1 dare to move the other hand down and when I 1 reached was caught in my coat I 1 wriggled back on the and top my hands had haddad sad and face the running ing board I 1 was covered with sweat face and pant my were full ot of slivers silvers all I 1 did was lie flat on the engineer whistled for or the e train was pulling into a station and ran past the station brakes kes but bm ed move of course althe the tram train but wilen when I 1 to told id the 1 l en gi says and I 1 was in line for a bawling out t excuses for n ot seeing eing ny MY neer what had opened happened he had to make his calls in railroading railroad in g but that lantern of close disappear PPe af ive had lots was as my closest one lc |
