This is a good thread for stories so I will tell this one here. I want to see what Charlie says anyway. A buddy of mine is an engineer for Union Pacific here in San Antonio. Probably over 10 years ago he said he was switching south San Antonio and ran over some guy sleeping on the tracks. He went into emergency and stopped the train after he knew he had gone over the spot where this person was sleeping. Either the conductor or both of them got out to view what the expected was the carnage. They found this guy wedged between the rear of the front truck and the fuel tank. He was wedged in there so they helped him out. He was scratched up a lot but insisted he was not hurt and just walked off into the night. I told my friend that it was a miracle and he said it sure was! He also said the guy was a young teenager and very skinny. I guess that was a miracle for one day. Merry Christmas to all and Happy Holidays, too.
Good Story Flash! If anyone has railroad stories,please share them. We all miss the stories that Wayne(Watash) told. His were of the steam era and gave some good insight into "the way it was". Charlie
I was in our local chain drugstore this AM to have a prescription filled, while I was waiting at the check-out line, the young man in line behind me,fully clad in heavy winter gard,was wearing a BRC(Belt Rwy Co of Chicago)reflective safety vest. I immediately engaged him in conversation. He is a "marker man" and he told me that he is fortunate enough to be able to wait in his truck until a marker needs to be added and tested. He said he really doesn't need to do much else unless the air doesn't "set-up" properly and added that in severe cold weather, that is a fairly common occurence.Let me tell you....You don't want to be out in weather like we're having in Chicago right now and have to couple air hoses, hang a "fred" or walk a "set and release" . It will test your patience,not to mention your strength and stamina. It will also increase your vocabulary of epithets!!! LOL. This was pleasant interlude I had with this young man and his generally positive attitude. The trains run in all sorts of weather and he is one of them who ensures that they do! Charlie
Well folks, it's time again for my Lenten hiatus. I hope to rejoin you on or about Easter. I can be reached via e-mail. You should be able to find my e-mail address in my profile. The address is usually hidden but will transmit the message anyway. Take care and be kind to one another and enjoy the hobby! Charlie
Charlie, I admire you for giving up the internet for Lent. I usually quit beer. As much time as we all spend on the net, it has to be tough to just go away from it.
Charlie I'm going to join you this year. I'm going to give up social media. I didn't know if trainboard was in that group. So being like Charlie. I will see all after Easter.
Greetings everyone. Hope all went well for you the past 40days or so. Happy Easter to those of you of Christian belief. A most holy and blessed Passover for those of you of the Jewish faith. If neither applies to you, please join in the joy and hope of the season! Any questions about our favorite hobby? Charlie
Charlie, welcome back. Happy Easter to you. I have been busy with Maundy Thursday, Good Friday celebrations but won't stay up for the Vigil Mass tonight. Get to EM one of the morning Masses tomorrow.
That was harder than I thought it would be staying away. But now I'm back. Thanks Charlie for the inspiration!
I would normally walk home from Scout meetings as it would be dark when the meetings ended and I didn't like riding my bike at night all that much and I didn't have a headlight on it either. My route home would take me under the Grand Trunk Western Rwy main line. The right-of-way was on an elevation south of Elsdon Yard from roughly 55th st south to roughly 71st st. This was done in the late teens(1919) to eliminate grade crossings on two very busy crosstown streets(59th and 63rd). The end of Scout meeting corresponded closely to the arrival of the evening Eastbound passenger train to Canada. I would try to time my walk so that I could see the train arriving at the Chicago Lawn Station, a structure that is still standing, albeit the worse for wear, just a few blocks north of my present home. It was a marvelous sight to behold, that train arriving! This was the era of cast iron brake shoes and those brakes would be sending flames of sparks from each wheel as the luxury train came to a stop to pick up her passengers. The train would often be on the drawbar of one of the marvelous Lima built semi-streamlined 4-8-4s with the "combed back hair" cowling. This was the train whose whistle and stack talk I could hear all the way into my bedroom some half-mile east of the tracks on warm summer nights. That and the sounds of the Kedzie Avenue streetcars comprised the major "white noise" of my childhood. I miss those peaceful walks home from Scout meeting and the chance to see one of my favorite trains. But I still have the memories and the pleasure of remembering those happy times. Charlie
Nice story Charlie. And Im still getting my fix now and then from "storytime with Charlie". Keep the memories alive mate. Cheers Stu
Most places where I grew up had trains. However some did not. I don't recall ever seeing one on Okinawa or Guam. The closest to Guam was an old abandoned narrow gauge locomotive used on a sugar cane plantation on Saipan. This one was still working on a cane plantation when I saw it in the Philippines in about 1960.
The island of Kauai had an extensive narrow gauge rail system throughout the island when the economy was largely sugar cane. The hauling of that sweet substance was lost to trucks once paved roads sprang up. However a portion of the former narrow gauge has been resurrected as a tourist train ride through the large Kilohana Plantation. I have not been to the island since that was started so I can't speak to the content of the trip but there is a website up and running. Honolulu had rails down in the harbor area and the city of Honolulu had a trolley system and is in the process of building a light rail line. So yes, there are, or were, trains in some of the most unlikely places. The island of Maui has a steam tourist line which IIRC is presently not operating. I hope that is not true. We rode that tourist train while on our honeymoon. It was just across the road from the condo building where we stayed on Ka'anapali beach. Nice ride, but then again what's not to like about a steam train! Charlie
