. Railway master mechanic [microform] . ll of water, and sand enough inthe sand box to meet the next days demands. Firementhen separate the cinders from the coal, dump them, andbank the fire. The oil cups are filled, the light repairsfinished, and the locomotives cleaned, usually by mid-night. After that the hostlers work is merely to visiteach engine two or three times until 5 oclock, and seethat all is going well. Between 5 and 6 oclock the firesare raked again, and when the engineer takes his locomo-tive at 6 :30 oclock the fire is bright, and the gauge regis-ters from 120 to 150 pounds of
. Railway master mechanic [microform] . ll of water, and sand enough inthe sand box to meet the next days demands. Firementhen separate the cinders from the coal, dump them, andbank the fire. The oil cups are filled, the light repairsfinished, and the locomotives cleaned, usually by mid-night. After that the hostlers work is merely to visiteach engine two or three times until 5 oclock, and seethat all is going well. Between 5 and 6 oclock the firesare raked again, and when the engineer takes his locomo-tive at 6 :30 oclock the fire is bright, and the gauge regis-ters from 120 to 150 pounds of steam. Four engines are washed out every night, and anorder is preserved so that each has a thorough cleaningonce in fifteen days. Like the locomotives that need re-pairing, those to be washed out are separated from therest early in the evening and hostled at once. They arethen run over the cinder pit where the fires are dumped,,and taken into the house where the steam and water areallowed to escape, while cold water is forced into the. FIG. 5—SECTION THROUGH CINDER PIT. C. R. I. & P. RT. RAILWAY MASTER MECHANIC January, L909 boilers and running out carries with it the loose matterthat has collected during two weeks. All this takes from5 :30 oclock in the evening until 2 oclock the next morn-ing, when the fires are started again, and at 6:30 theengines are ready for their work. To one not accustomed to such work the hostlers andtheir helpers moving in and out among the great engines,with the shadows deepened by an occasional headlight,the gleam from the cinder pit, or rays from the work-mens lanterns, make an eerie sight. Fifty locomotivesmaneuver in files of four on only six tracks, and so closeto one another that the trains almost touch, while halfa hundred men hurry about among them. It looks likea mix-up and sounds like discord; but the engines startonly on double signals, there are no collisions, accidentsare few, the work moves swiftly. At daybreak the result of it all
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1895
