Excerpt from The Principles and Practice and Explanation of the Machinery of Locomotive Engines: In Operation on the Several Lines Railway Locomotive engine driving has now become a very important duty, requiring the utmost vigilance on the part of the driver, which renders it necessary that he should possess at all times great presence of mind and promptitude of action when on the road. The importance, therefore, of these duties to the public requires a proper course of training and examination before any candidate becomes qualified to act as an engine-man. For this reason there should be a regular period of apprenticeship for every engine-man, the length of such apprenticeship being regulated by his previous mechanical knowledge and experience. The speed on railways is now about 20 miles an hour greater than it was about ten years ago; and the man who could then, with little training, drive a locomotive at a speed of from 20 to 25 miles an hour, could not be prudently appointed to do so at a speed of from 40 to 45 miles an hour, now common on all lines of railway. We therefore think that it is only a necessary precaution on the part of Railway Companies, that every engine driver in their employment should have his indentures regularly drawn up and attested in the usual way of such deeds, as they would be alike valuable to the public, to railway companies, and to engine men, as satisfactory testimonials of experience, competency, and good conduct. It is, however, highly creditable to engine drivers as a body, that in most cases of emergency they have proved equal to the occasion, and all c'ompetent drivers now employed should be entitled to indentures from their present employers. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.