Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
Maybe a little late, but here is yet another story, from the other side of the Big Pond, for you to enjoy!<meta http-equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 3.1 (Win32)"><style type="text/css">  </style> This is a story my grandfather told me years ago. He himself had heard  it from his grandfather, an engineer with the Royal Prussian  Eastern Railway. It was an icy cold night at the end of October 1872. Snow had fallen the previous day, covering the land with a pale white blanket, sparkling in the moon-lit sky. Oskar Schneidereit, the engineer and his fireman Maslonka were waiting in the staff´s quarter of Dirschau station for the courier train to Konigsberg to arrive and to relieve the train´s probably weary crew. The train was running late, due to the unexpected spell of cold and the snow. Schneidereit and Maslonka sat in silence, enjoying the warmth reflected from the iron stove in the room. The silence was only interrupted by an occasional puff of smoke from Schneidereit´s pipe, giving the scene a peaceful atmosphere. All of a sudden, the entire place was turning busy, as word was given that the delayed train was about to arrive. Schneidereit pulled himself up from the chair with a slight groan. At the age of 48, he was not an old man by years, but working with the railway was taxing one´s health in those days. When the two stepped out of the room onto the platform, an icy cold wind blew into their faces. There were only two glowing lights in the distance, growing bigger, as the train approached Dirschau station. But what a sight to see, when the train finally stopped! The locomotive, one of those new-fangled “Americans” 4-4-0´s, was thickly covered with ice and snow, as was its crew. The Royal Prussian Railway Administration did not believe very much in protecting their crews from the influence of the elements, as not to distract their attention. The cab was a mere windshield with a roof, but open sides, and the crew had no provision to sit down and relax a little while driving the train. Schneidereit and Maslonka climbed onto the loco and performed the routine tasks of a take-over with the parting crew. The train consisted of 7 coaches, in which the passengers were seated comfortably, enjoying the warmth of a little stove sending little plumes of smoke over the coaches´ roofs. They did not know the hardship the train crew was exposed to. Every second coach had a brakeman´s seat. Air brakes were unknown in those days and the trains had to be stopped by handbrakes. The brakemen were still in the station building, warming up before service commenced. But what is that? The brakeman of the last coach was still in his chair! Maslonka went down the train to call him – but he saw no reaction. Fallen asleep during service? No, the man was nearly frozen to death. It took quite a few strong hands to move the half-frozen body from the roof of the coach and move him inside the warm building to recover. Moments later, the station master blew his whistle, signaling the departure of the train. Schneidereit carefully opened the throttle and the train started to move slowly out of Dirschau station. Shortly after having left the station, the train crossed the big Weichsel bridge and was heading through Eastern Prussia´s vast country side. Only now and then a light could be seen – little signs of human life in a sparsely populated country. The two people in the cab did not talk much. The ride was bumpy, the icy wind blowing directly into their faces – no reason to talk . Maslonka now and then got a bottle out  and took a drink, but Schneidereit pretended not to see it. He knew that his fireman was suffering from rheumatism which he had acquired in many years of service. Life of a railway man was not a walk in the park! Two hours had passed when they reached the next station. Both climbed down from the locomotive to warm up for a moment in the station building. The station master greeted them with the words “Turned cold early this year. Probably a lot of critters will come from Russia this winter”. Schneidereit nodded his head. With critters wolves were meant – still a fear for many people. Schneidereit was not worried, as they were quite safe on the loco. After a few minutes, the train left the station again, heading out into the dark. A little while later, as they passed a whistle stop, they could see the station master holding up a sign. When the light of his lantern lit up the scene, the crew could read one word: WOLVES! Both crew men were not really worried, but you could sense an uneasy feeling. After all, there were many reports of wolves attacking railway men while walking along the track! The train moved on, but both men trained their eyes into the dark. It did not take much time, when a signal, showing red, made them stop the train, Schneidereit blew the locomotive´s whistle twice to signal the brakemen to close the brakes. The train came to a halt right in front of the signal. Maslonka got out a hose and fastened it to the boiler valve. You could feel the tension grow, as Schneidereit and Maslonka were looking around. Wasn´t that little spot moving? There, one , two three, four – more and more little black spots to be seen in the distance! A wolf pack – closing in on the train. You could see their yellowish glowing eyes zeroing in on the train! But what the h*ll is that, right ahead on the track? A man, walking on the track, holding a lantern. The wolves, have they seen him? Yes, they are after him – oh my god... Schneidereit pulled the throttle open, and the locomotive started to move, the exhaust bellowing in the dark. But, quick, close the throttle again, we don´t want to run over this poor soul! As the train came to a halt, a young man climbed up. “The signal is frozen” he told Schneidereit. “I had to inform you”. “ Man alive, didn´t you see the critters?” Schneidereit replied. “Yes, but I had to inform you – it is my duty!” When the train had reached the signal post, Schneidereit slowed down and the man climbed off the locomotive. The rest of the journey went on without any further incidence. When they finally reached Konigsberg, the locomotive was uncoupled and pulled into the loco shed. “That was close” Maslonka said – the first words from him since they had left Dirschau...
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag

Update Reply

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Model Railroader Newsletter See all

Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!

Subscriber & Member Login

Edit post

Post Body

Tags (Optional)

Subscriber & Member Login

Users Online

Search the Community