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The Engine Driver and his Work.

(By W. Collins, Fireman, Ohakune Junction.)

Locomotive running demands some of the highest qualities in a man. An enginedriver must always take a keen interest in his work. He must, every day, make a painstaking investigation of all parts of his engine. The position and purpose of every nut and bolt, every valve and gland, must be known, so that, in no circumstances whatever, would it be possible for any part of the mechanism to go wrong without the driver being instantly aware of the fact.

A good driver has a deep sense of pride in his engine and anything amiss with it hurts him. Then there is demanded of him resourcefulness and the ability to make a decision on the instant. Add to these necessary qualifications the fact that he is often, especially in these transition days, called upon to make his engine do duty considerably heavier than that for which it was designed, and you will be enabled to form a fair idea of the type of man required to fill the position of an enginedriver.

When a locomotive man has worked his way through the various stages of his work and qualified himself to take charge of our splendid modern engines—to run the “Limited” or the ordinary express trains—with the lives of hundreds of passengers in his care, he is carrying a responsibility that must be reckoned with.

Of one thing I am certain: the locomotive engineer, wherever you find him, is generally a fine man, worthy of his trust, and entirely adequate to the discharge of his important duties.

With the progress being made to-day in, the design and build of locomotives the enginedriver's lot is (apart from responsibility for the safety of his train) somewhat more pleasant than that of his predecessor of two or three decades ago.

Improvements in running gear have made the locomotive more comfortable to ride on; continuous automatic air brakes have given the enginedriver greater control of his train, whilst larger boilers and fireboxes have made it easier to maintain steam under adverse circumstances. In spite, therefore, of having a bigger machine to manage, the actual work of management is, for the engine crew, not increased thereby.

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When on the road there are two essential factors of which the enginedriver must take account—one, the internal factor, and the other the external. The internal factor concerns the working of the engine itself, the state of the fire, the maintaining of the steam pressure and so on. The external factor concerns the condition of the engine and the weight of the train, and also the physical conditions of the track and the state of the weather.

The problem set before the enginedriver is, therefore, to maintain an adjustment between the power which is being generated by the engine and the work it is called upon to do. To get the best results in this respect, it is necessary not only to exercise skill in the management of the fire and boiler, but also to have an accurate knowledge of the factors referred to.

The driver must know every yard of the line over which he runs—know it as well by night as by day. A hedge-row, a tree of fantastic shape, a bridge or a cutting, are sufficient warning to the eye of the practised man (whose hand is on the regulator), when his reversing lever should be let out a notch, or two, or when speed should be checked for an awkward curve or junction. This is knowledge which can only come through constant travel over the same stretch of road until every yard of it is as familiar as' one's own back garden.