NERVOUS RAILWAY ENGINEERS.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XXXV, Issue 1942, 19 June 1905, Page 7

NERVOUS RAILWAY ENGINEERS.

A London police: official gives an interesting reminiscence of the early days of railway management in Ireland. He was travelling over a new lino in the western section of the island, and had! &a his oornpaDion in the compartment of a railway carriage an eccentric man,who snowed many signs of nervousness and uneasiness after a certain station had been paused. Finally the man seemed to lose control over himself, Springing to his fe*a he let down the window-eaah of the door, in another instant be opened the door by means of too handle outsi ie, and seemed to be preparing to tske a leap from the train. His companion, greatly alarmed, seized him by the shoulder, but was roughly shaken off. " 1 know what 1 am about," shouted the excited man, " and shall not jump unless il be noccssary to do so." The train was trundling slowly over a 'bridge at the moment. When it reached the .opposite bank and waa clear of the bridge, ,tlie mßn recovered his composure, closed the door, raised the window-sash, resumed his seat, and in a moment was deeply interested in a book. His companion, who had been taken aback by theao remarkable proceedings, quietly said *' You must excuse my cariosity, sir, but you really ought to explain why you have been so strangely excited." " Well, sir, I can tell you in a few words 'J. was the engineer of this branch of the ii ao. The bridge which we have passed was improperly constructed, but through no fault of mine. My advice was overruled. I knew t hat the bridge is unsafe, and whenever the train by which I may be travelling approaches it, 1 insist upon taking proper precautions for my own Bafety. I open the door, and am ready to leap into the stream unhampered by ebstrnctious, so as to be clear of the wreck if any accident shall occur." " As a fellow traveller you ought to have warned me of my own danger, instead of acting like ;». madman." " You would have bean in my way. Self preservation is'the first law of life." The veteran police official took pains to avoid travelling over this line until the unsafe bridge had been condemned and rebuilt. He was as cautious as the engineer of one of thej Andean railways who insisted upon getting. on the bs<ck of a mule, and riding for five, days over Use mountains in preference to. travelling over a railway constructed underj his own supervision. i " I know how Baie my mule is," he would) remark, grisniy, " and I enjoy the long ride, over the bridlepath. TrarcLlere who do notj know the risks are at liberty to take thq regular trains." These incidents of railway pioneering prove that the old-time joke about compelling corporations by law to carry a director on every train was weft-salted. Happily with the progress of engineering science reckless railway construction is a thing of the past.