It was described at once as "very selfish" of the enginemen to thus protect themselves, and "an act of folly to incur such expense." The editor of the "Gazette" reminded enginemen of the old fable concerning the bundle of faggots, and said isolated efforts were futile. Then when first copies of the proposed rules were available in February of 1880, instead-of printing them; the "Gazette" discussed the question of "union or disunion."
"Stick to the all-embracing Amalgamated," the editor wrote. "Its arms are open to all railway servants, from the engineman to the platelayer, and the sooner our friends the enginemen—in this term we include firemen—give up the idea of forming a separate Association the better. . . . . We cannot think that enginemen generally wish for any such efforts to be made."
What good will it be? asked correspondents, and its first efforts at formation were watched with interest. While the discussion was proceeding the A.S.R.S. tock up the case of William McCulloch, a driver on the Caledonian, who was sentenced to four months imprisonment by Sheriff Lees at Glasgow on April 30th, 1880, after his train collided with another, because he relied upon a Clarke & Webb's patent chain brake, which failed to act when needed. No one was killed, but McCulloch was sent to join the thieves and rogues in Perth gaol because of an error of judgment when driving the west coast route express Carlisle to Glasgow. At Rutherglen the signals were against him, and he tried to pull up in time, but the chain brake would net operate. He had been 33 years with the Company, and 26 years as driver without mishap, yet he was removed to Perth in handcuffs as a criminal,
This case naturally aroused great indignation, and the efforts of the A.S.R.S. to secure mitigation of a savage sentence detracted from consideration of the new Society.
Another passing sensation was the report of Mr. Rothery, a member of the Court of Inquiry into the Tay Bridge disaster, which had taken 79 lives in December of 1879. Mr. Rothery held the opinion:—
