But the regulator once in his hand, the engine-driver has only begun his
experience. He goes through an apprenticeship with different varieties
of engines. He must pick up what knowledge he can himself, and he must
always be on the alert to benefit from the experience of others. The
locomotive in its varying “moods” must be his constant study, and he must
work it so that he shall not infringe more than an average share of a
multiplicity of rules and regulations. The best position in the service,
apart from that of superintendence, is in the driving of an express
engine, and the greatest honour that can be conferred on an engine-driver
is to select him to take charge of the locomotive on a Royal train. Only
the best men are picked out to drive the Queen, and the best engine on
the road is detailed for the Royal service; and although on those
occasions railway officials, who are the superiors of the driver, get on
the foot-boards, the latter is for the time being master of the
situation. Should the locomotive superintendent dictate to him, it would
be to confess that the driver was unworthy of his high trust, and so the
superintendent is content to look on; but it is the contentment born of
the conviction that he has chosen for the task a driver whose experience
is great, and whose watchfulness and care and knowledge of enginery have
given him a claim to the chief service his company has for him. Not that
there is any more risk in running the Queen’s train than in running an
ordinary passenger express. In fact, the risk is reduced to a minimum.
A pilot engine has gone before to keep the way clear. The pilot engine
is fifteen minutes in advance of the Royal carriages at every station,
and the space travelled over in that fifteen minutes is kept free and
unobstructed. The speed of the train is carefully regulated, and amongst
other provisions for security the siding points are for the moment
spiked. Every crossing gate is guarded from the time of the passage of
the advance engine until the train follows in its wake. Everything is
done to make the Royal journey over a railroad a safe one. Such
arrangements, however, if they add to the responsibility, heighten also
the pride a man feels in being the Queen’s driver.
So far as the companies are concerned, it may be said that there is a
fair field and no favour all the way from the fire-box in the
cleaning-shed up to the footboard on the locomotive that takes Her
Majesty from Windsor to Ballater. Promotion comes practically as a
result of competitive examination. The mistake of a weak appointment is
soon rectified, and the precautions taken to test a man’s capacity in one
grade before raising him to another are an absolute barrier to
incompetence. But there are circumstances under which a man’s chances
are weakened. His responsibilities make him liable for the faults of
others, and mistakes of this kind go to his discredit. Then if he is not
companionable, or is over-confident, tricks may be played which will
prevent his going forward as rapidly as he otherwise would. Mr. Reynolds
tells the story of a driver who had come to a dead stop on a journey
because he was short of steam. The cause was a mystery. There appeared
to be nothing wrong with the engine or the fire, and apparently the
boiler was also in trim. It was eventually found that some one had put
soft soap in the tender, and the water there being hot, the soap was
gradually dissolved and introduced into the boiler, with the result that
the grease covered the tubes, and together with the suds prevented the
transmission of heat to the water. An enemy had done this, but under the
rules the driver was responsible for his engine, and he was suspended;
only, however, to be reinstated when once the mischief was traced to the
perpetrator. Even an act which to the ordinary spectator is a marvellous
example of presence of mind may, interpreted by the company’s rules, be
an offence on the part of the engine-driver. An engine attached to a
train broke from the tender in the course of its journey, and became
separated. Noticing the mishap, the driver slackened speed, allowed the
tender and carriages to come up, and while the train was still in motion
he and the fireman adroitly secured the runaway, and no harm was done.
The men interested did not think it advisable to report the occurrence.
But the clever management of the engine had been noticed by a peasant in
a field, and Hodge, in his wonderment, began to talk about the affair all
round the country-side. Then the story found its way to a station
master, and thence to headquarters, and an inquiry brought the matter to
light, and ended in the two men being advised not to do the same thing
again. It was held that under the circumstances the train should have
been stopped.