and a Fireman’s Story

The articles that follow have been gleaned from a range of mostly 19th century magazines but are believed to be of interest as they relate to railway matters that appeared of interest at the time. The stories from The Locomotive & Firemen’s Monthly Journal (the forerunner of ASLEF) are reproduced with grateful acknowledgements to that organisation – Ed

The Locomotive & Firemen’s Monthly Journal Vol 1 No 2 March 1888 p36

Paper Railway Wheels

The paper railway wheels, frequently employed in Germany during the last six years, have called forth the following remarks from the officials of the Imperial Railway Department: For a long time, paper wheels have been used upon American railways. These wheels consist of a number of layers of thick paper which are pasted one upon another under powerful hydraulic pressure until the required thickness is attained. The greater elasticity of the paper and its smaller expansibility under changes of temperature as compared with metal, led to the conclusion that the safety of railway travelling would be enhanced by the application of paper railway wheels, and that more particularly the wear and tear of the tyres would be reduced, and the motion of the carriage rendered less noisy. These theories induced certain railway authorities in Germany, subsequently to the year 1881, to carry out experiments with paper wheels. With few exceptions, the wheels in question were exclusively employed under passenger carriages and sleeping cars, and in express trains, being in certain cases controlled by brakes. First of all, the excellent results obtained in America appeared to be confirmed, and no tyre breakages or accidents took place, the cause of which could be attributed to the use of these wheels. In the month of December 1886, however, the Imperial Railway Department received information of a passenger carriage having left the lines, in consequence of the complete breaking up of its four wheels, which were made of paper, the tyres and axles being hurled under the carriage. From the appearances of the fractured wheels, it was thought that some alteration must have taken place in the structure of the material. The paper wheels used upon German railways were therefore subjected to a very narrow investigation, and numerous injuries to the material were discovered, the periphery of the paper discs being in most cases burst. The injuries had invariably taken place in wheels which were subject to the control of brakes.

Vol 1 No 2 March 1888 p43 A Fireman’s Story

Yes, ours is a risky sort of life, as you say; you have to go at such a fearful rate now. So many signals to observe, and so much to think of, and all sorts of weather to encounter, that it tries what the strongest man is made of. But still it does not trouble me now as it used to at one time, for although I am as fond of my engine as a sailor of his ship, yet I never use to mount her at one time without thinking it would be for the last time, for I had a presentiment that I should get killed someday, for you must understand that this engine, which I have fired on for nearly eight years, has been rather an unlucky one, if you will allow me the use of that term, for she has been in one collision, killed one man, and knocked three others down, besides several other minor accidents that I will not trouble you with now.

But it was the collision that gave me such a shaking and caused me to begin to think what would have become of my wife and family if I had been killed, and whilst these thoughts were passing through my mind, I came in contact with a brother fireman who was a member of the A.S.L.E. & F., who speedily noticed my downcast appearance, and asked me the cause of it, and after telling him of the concern I had for my wife and family, should anything befall me, he said, well, why not join our Society, and in doing so you will not only be making preparation for your wife and family in the event of your death, but you will be preparing for sickness, old age, incapacitation, and securing protection for your labour, &c. It did not take me long to make up my mind, I can assure you ; and now, no matter what may come, I know my wife and family will not have to go to the workhouse should anything befall me, and I feel more secure than I did formerly, knowing that I have made these preparations.

And since I have been a member I have tried all I knew to induce others to join our ranks, in many instances I have been successful, but in others I have been met with the answer, “ I cannot afford it,” but there’s an old saying “Where there’s a will there’s a way,” and surely any engineman or fireman receiving regular wages as we do could afford to join us. Many a man besides myself regards the Society as one of their best friends, knowing that it will prevent the home being broken up on the death of the bread winner. It is all very well when the grim monster Death steals away the husband and father, for relatives to cluster round and tell the bereaved ones that he is better off, forgetting the struggle which those who are left behind will have to endure, in fighting their way through life. But some people say, “ Oh, trust in providence, and you will be all right.” I say trust in providence also, but I say in addition to trusting in providence, join our Society, for God helps those who help themselves.

I am, yours, &c., F. R.