Engineman Shoots Engine

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

All of us have our occasional frustrations in the workplace and sometimes we "take them out" on nearby things.  Personally, I can attest that telephones will go through office doors and beepers (or parts thereof) can be embedded into plaster walls.  (Velocity of said objects is always proportional to and improved by the amount of cursing applied behind the throw...)

While working at Roanoke many years ago, I heard one story of such "workplace angst"  from several sources.

The story goes back to the days when enginemen had regularly assigned engines.  The subject engineman of this story was assigned an old engine from which he was unable to coax acceptable performance (perhaps due to his own lack of craftsmanship?)  When the engine would stall on a grade, the old curmudgeon would get off, shake his fist at the old girl, curse her at the top of his lungs, and throw stones at her.  Occasionally he would even take out his pistol and shoot at the old engine !

But, as the story went, the engine had her revenge.  One day while he was waiting to get his train at Roanoke, the scurrilous old engineman was "down oiling around," somewhere in the viscinity of 12th Street (which would have been the "departure end" of the yard for eastbound trains before the yard was lengthened.)  Either due to a leaky throttle or poor brakes, the old engine rolled off and ran over the engineman who had so frequently pummeled her with invectives, stones and bullets !

Has anyone else heard this story?  Vintagewise, I'd date the incident as at least pre-1905.  Engineman Maynard E. Holdren told the best version of the story, and even knew the old Hog Head's name.  Do any Listers know if Maynard is still among-the-living?

And, for Super Sleuth Ken Miller -- What year did engines go from "assigned" to "pooled" on the N&W?

-- abram burnett
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://six.pairlist.net/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/attachments/20060710/f0f06cab/attachment.html