Minute Men of the Rails 



Much of the fascination of railroading centers around the wrecking crew and the im- 

 portant and ofttimes gruesome work of clearing wreckage and keeping the lines oi>en 



WRECKING-TRAINS arc located 

 on every division of important 

 railroads, standing idle in theyard, 

 waiting for calamity. A crane-car, with 

 sufficient power to lift a freight-car "as 

 a child lifts a toy; a supply-car, contain- 

 ing rope, cables, chains, jacks, crow-bars, 

 tools, lanterns, fire apparatus, dynamite, 

 rails, ties; a caboose for the wrecking- 

 crew. 



When the word comes over the wire 

 that the express and the fast freight 

 have tried to see which could butt the 

 other off the track, the wrecking-crew 

 assembles in a hurry. They are i)icked 

 men — these minute men of the rails — 

 each with his six'cialty. Mechanics, 

 track-men, men skilled in explosives, 

 strong men, slender men, at least one 

 small but muscular man, they come 

 from roundhouse and shop, freight yard 

 and office, at the 'supreme call. The 

 wrecking-boss takes command, the best 

 engine available backs down, and with 

 a clear track the wrecking-train gets to 

 the disaster, often ahead of the special 

 containing doctors and nurses. 



There is only one order to be obeyed 

 when the wrecking-crew gets in action — 



"Save life." But once the victims are 

 extricated — and they are taken out in a 

 remarkably short time — the order 

 changes. It is not, as might be e.xpected, 

 "Save property." It is "Clear the 

 lines." It makes no difference that five 

 jumbled freight-cars contain expensive 

 automobiles, or pianos, or phonographs, 

 or fruit, which might be savcfl by careful 

 work. If the contents cannot be saved 

 in less than an hour, there is only one 

 thing to do. The big steam crane is 

 backed down to the mess, a long, 

 tentacle-like hook descends, chains and 

 ropes are brought into play, and slowly, 

 surely, almost daintily, the crane swings 

 the wrecked freight-car and its contents 

 to one side. 



Sometimes the easiest way to clear 

 the lines is to burn the wreck or blow it 

 up. Track can be cjuickly relaid, if 

 damaged, but nothing can replace lost 

 time. The price of a cargo of auto- 

 mobiles is nothing against a five-hour 

 ilelay. F"or the price of delay mounts in 

 stunning geometrical progression. .A 

 few hundred dollars for the first hour, 

 it may be many thousands ot dollars in 

 the second or third hour. A stoppage 



16!) 



