The message from Boxcab reminded me of switching graineries in the wooden boxcar days. I've always been a city boy, so I didn't have to worry...
Here's another story from the Ol' Hoghead. In the 40+ years of running from one end of the district to the other, a lot of things come to mind....
Thanks for your reply to my question on coal burning engines. I've had several replies and they all helped me to understand the difference from...
Another story from the Ol' Hoghead, One of the many hazards of running an engine, is grade crossing accidents. While I didn't keep count, I'm...
Boxcab The term "rag" was used when you let the train get running too fast in a restricted area. I was using it referring to the hogger...
All right, you guys. The Ol' Hoghead has another story to tell. In my firing days, I worked some good engineers,also a few bad ones. Before I...
Lew, Of course it was a joint effort between the fireman and engineer on an oil fired engine, too. Nobody wanted to eat a lot of smoke....
My sentiments, exactly. Just a slight color in the stack indicates the hottest fire you're going to get. Of course, you've got to have the proper...
Say,Watash, Your age should qualify you to understand this latest memory. I'm sure some of the younger rails won't, because a lot of them hadn't...
Watash, In the days I worked the mainline, I handled many controled runaways down Cajon Pass. There were lots of trips where you lost the...
Boxcab has asked for a story or two. I got to reminiscing, today, with a neighbor, and he asked a question about mainline work.It seems like one...
YEAH, I was there many times. There's nothing like that stack talking to you on a heavy grade. Sometimes it gets a little loud, going through a...
Who in the world cares what the designation number is for any engine? How many units have you got and what's the rate of pay? That's the most...
Reminds me of the story that was told to me when I was a student fireman. When you get dust out of the bottom guage cock, it's time to get off.
I have written a couple of short books on my 40+ years of running on the mainline. I'll have to go back through them and pick out something that...
I, too, enjoyed hearing the stack talk. A lot of our engines were refitted with a bigger stack, probably to relieve back pressure, and BOY did...
This "Ol Hoghead" has a picture of the 3985 as wallpaper on my computer, which I fired and run on many trips out of Los Angeles. This picture...
Thanks, Bobcab, for a quick reply to my question. We had some ornery hogheads, back in the '40s.Especially on passenger. The U.P. hadn't hired any...
Having fired and run oil burning steam engines for about 10 years, at the start of a 40+ year career, I was never really curious until I watched a...
Been there and done that. I suppose they'll want to fire the hoghead. Maybe the remote control went haywire. Oh, they wouldn't want to blame that.
