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Science Fiction Fan, v. 5, issue 9, whole 56, April 1941
Page 9
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FAN 9 high on one side while the other side sloped down into an almost tangible sea of blackness. A line of huge power towers that dotted the way for a while and seemed to me to give a futuristic touch to the scene. These could be seen only beside the engine in the firey red light pouring from the fire-box and as we passed them they were only majestic indefinite silhouettes against a starry curtain. The train really began rolling then, every time she speeded up perceptibly & shower of sparks were whipped down upon us. We were forced to keep our heads down between our knees, which were drawn up tightly against our chests, and our arms clasped around our legs. Several times my sweater would ride up above ray pants and expose a portion of skin to the frigid slip stream. I would be too miserable to pull it down until a particularly sharp or hot cinder would slap me there. Our position on top the car was torture at its excruciatingly worst, but at the time far better than hanging down in the well between cars. After some time of this Wiggins suggested that we lay down with our feet toward the engine. We tried this position and only through sheer exhaustion did we force ourselves to maintain it. The wind shreiking up our pants legs felt as though our legs were slowly being forced into ice water. As we discuss it now we have decided that when (and we are going by freight) we go to the convention in Los Angeles we are going to take cut-inner-tube rubbers to secure our pants legs. Then if you get on a train with no empties you can get reasonably near the rear and if you have a jacket that fits tight about the waist. you can main- tain this comparative comfortable reversed position atop a car indefinitely. At last we were forced to climb down into the well for as unendurable as hanging on was, it was
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FAN 9 high on one side while the other side sloped down into an almost tangible sea of blackness. A line of huge power towers that dotted the way for a while and seemed to me to give a futuristic touch to the scene. These could be seen only beside the engine in the firey red light pouring from the fire-box and as we passed them they were only majestic indefinite silhouettes against a starry curtain. The train really began rolling then, every time she speeded up perceptibly & shower of sparks were whipped down upon us. We were forced to keep our heads down between our knees, which were drawn up tightly against our chests, and our arms clasped around our legs. Several times my sweater would ride up above ray pants and expose a portion of skin to the frigid slip stream. I would be too miserable to pull it down until a particularly sharp or hot cinder would slap me there. Our position on top the car was torture at its excruciatingly worst, but at the time far better than hanging down in the well between cars. After some time of this Wiggins suggested that we lay down with our feet toward the engine. We tried this position and only through sheer exhaustion did we force ourselves to maintain it. The wind shreiking up our pants legs felt as though our legs were slowly being forced into ice water. As we discuss it now we have decided that when (and we are going by freight) we go to the convention in Los Angeles we are going to take cut-inner-tube rubbers to secure our pants legs. Then if you get on a train with no empties you can get reasonably near the rear and if you have a jacket that fits tight about the waist. you can main- tain this comparative comfortable reversed position atop a car indefinitely. At last we were forced to climb down into the well for as unendurable as hanging on was, it was
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