sengers think there is danger. But generally it's because the driver
has exhausted his steam.

"I drove the Brighton express, four or five years before I come here, and
the annuals--that is, the passengers who had annual tickets--always said
they knew when I was on the engine, because they wasn't jerked.
Gentlemen used to say as they came on to the platform, 'Who drives
to-day--Jim Martin?' And when the guard told them yes, they said 'All
right,' and took their seats quite comfortable. But the driver never
gets so much as a shilling; the guard comes in for all that, and he does
nothing much. Few ever think of the driver. I dare say they think the
train goes along of itself; yet if we didn't keep a sharp look-out, know
our duty, and do it, they might all go smash at any moment. I used to
make that journey to Brighton in fifty-two minutes. The papers said
forty-nine minutes, but that was coming it a little too strong. I had to
watch signals all the way, one every two miles, so that me and my stoker
were on the stretch all the time, doing two things at once--attending to
the engine and looking out. I've driven on this Line, eighty-one miles
and three-quarters, in eighty-six minutes. There's no danger in speed if
you have a good road, a good engine, and not too many coaches behind.
No, we don't call them carriages, we call them 'coaches.'

"Yes; oscillation means danger. If you're ever in a coach that
oscillates much, tell of it at the first station and get it coupled up
closer. Coaches when they're too loose are apt to jump, or swing off the
rails; and it's quite as dangerous when they're coupled up too close.
There ought to be just space enough for the buffers to work easy.
Passengers are frightened in tunnels, but there's less danger, _now_, in
tunnels than anywhere else. We never enter a tunnel unless it's
signalled Clear.

"A train can be stopped wonderful quick, even when running express, if
the guards act with the driver and clap on all the brakes promptly. Much
depends upon the guards. One brake behind, is as good as two in front.
The engine, you see, loses weight as she burns her coals and consumes her
water, but the coaches behind don't alter. We have a good deal of
trouble with young guards. In their anxiety to perform their duties,
they put on the brakes too soon, so that sometimes we can scarcely drag
the train into the station; when they grow older at it they are not so
anxious, and don't pu