Читать онлайн
The Nerve of Foley, and Other Railroad Stories
The Nerve of Foley, and Other Railroad Stories
The Nerve of Foley
There had been rumors all winter that the engineers were going to strike. Certainly we of the operating department had warning enough. Yet in the railroad life there is always friction in some quarter; the railroad man sleeps like the soldier, with an ear alert – but just the same he sleeps, for with waking comes duty.
Our engineers were good fellows. If they had faults, they were American faults – rashness, a liberality bordering on extravagance, and a headstrong, violent way of reaching conclusions – traits born of ability and self-confidence and developed by prosperity.
One of the best men we had on a locomotive was Andrew Cameron; at the same time he was one of the hardest to manage, because he was young and headstrong. Andy, a big, powerful fellow, ran opposite Felix Kennedy on the Flyer. The fast runs require young men. If you will notice, you will rarely see an old engineer on a fast passenger run; even a young man can stand only a few years of that kind of work. High speed on a locomotive is a question of nerve and endurance – to put it bluntly, a question of flesh and blood.
"You don't think much of this strike, do you, Mr. Reed?" said Andy to me one night.
"Don't think there's going to be any, Andy."
He laughed knowingly.
"What actual grievance have the boys?" I asked.
"The trouble's on the East End," he replied, evasively.
"Is that any reason for calling a thousand men out on this end?"
"If one goes out, they all go."