noon
At the top of the grade , he noticed , was a donkey engine which operated the cable that drew the car up from the dock , and at the top of the incline was a huge pile of material . The car had been drawn up to the top of the grade by this time . There the engineer who operated the engine stopped it . Just then the whistle blew for the noon hour . The men quit work and went to get their dinner pails , while the engineer started to draw the fire . Beside the engine , he began to chop some wood , while the car was held at the top of the grade by the cable . .