Story time

I just posted this message over on the retired railroad workers forum, I'm going to throw it out to you guys who are still on the line. Whether they be tall tales or true, it's time to put pen to paper, change the names/roads to protect the guilty, but tell the story.


I gotta tell ya, why don't you tell some of those great stories, that's what boards like this are for. Share the wealth for kids like bc railking and us kids that are a mite older. You have a heritage that is irreplaceable, our children and grand children should have a look of what it was like moving America's commerce. Guys like you and others on this board should step up to the plate and talk about a steel wheel on a steel rail.
I salute you.

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When in doubt, empty your magazine.

 

I could tell you about hitting a big tree on the tracks, and kissing the steel deck plates praying that it would not derail us. That tree was 2-3 ft in diameter. Fortunately it was a Willow tree, and blew it into a million bits without derailing our excursion train at 20 mph.

 

ChrisDante-
Thanks for the moving words. I agree that we indeed have some very interesting, humorous, and, unfortunately, very horrifying stories to tell. I have little time to answer these posts, but I do have time to read while on an engine sitting idle. I bought a very interesting book to fill this time; "From the Cab, stories of a locomotive engineer" by Doug Riddell. It is available from Pentrex Publishing, and I ordered mine over the phone. It brought back very fond memories from me, and it is an excellent book for those who worked, are working, or hope to work on a railroad someday.
P.S. I return your salute, ChrisDante.

-Dave
NSBrakeman

[This message has been edited by NSBrakeman (edited 18 April 2000).]

 

An uncle of mine worked for the B&O and recalled when he engineered a train once that it took 20 miles to finally findout about the last car had been off the rails. by ythe time the train stopped ther weren't any coal left when the third hatch hit the rail and busted it open and spill out the coal. Never did findout about what happened.
Guess B&O was too embarrassed to admit a minor derailment ( Sheeeesh!!)

 

I worked for the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio in Illinois as a machinist apprentice in the Bloomington shops, and later as an agent, operator leverman. I talked to a lot of the old timers about some of their experiences. The best one I heard probably happened 30 or so years ago just south of Springfield, Illinois. A man had a house which he was going to move, and in doing so had to cross our main line. He decided to move it in two halves, and had the first half moved and set up on the foundation. He had a borrowed farm tractor and home built low-boy. When he got to the tracks, the whole mess got hung up. I might add that he did not have the foresite to notify the railroad of what he was doing. As he was trying to remedy the situation, a northbound passenger train approached. The engineer told me that he put the train into emergency, but went right through the living room at about 45 miles per hour. I asked him, "What did you tell the dispatcher?" "We just hit a house!" was his reply. The dispatcher asked, "You just hit, WHAT???" The engineer answered, "We'll call you back on it!" There were boards and splinters all over the cab, but fortunately, the train stayed on the rails and there were no injuries. The engineer also told me that when he walked into his home after the trip, his wife just looked at him and asked, "Well, what did you hit today?" He then looked at me and said, "I've hit everything but a boat and an airplane. Give me time and I'll get them, too." The conductor commented, "I never found out what that guy did with his half a house."

 

Thanks for the posts gentlemen, by the way what is an operator leverman???

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When in doubt, empty your magazine.

 

Back in the old days of steam the Tower sometimes had a row of levers sticking up out of the floor. By pushing or pulling those levers, you could throw a switch (turnout) from one setting to the other. Early remote control. I have heard of those fellows refered to as Levermen.

 

I just love reading stories like these, makes my day. I wish to salute all the hard working Railroaders out there. They do a thankless job, and a job most people don't even consider. Thank ya'll and keep 'em rollin, Safely

 

Chris, I'll throw this one out for grins. Its not one of the gory ones, and I swear I didn't do it, I just know about it.

There was a certain very wealthy business tycoon who paid dearly to have his private parlor car attached to the rear of a passenger train to take him and his weekend party people to a destination. A small switcher pushed him up and coupled him on to the end of the train. As was the custom for private cars, his car was checked of course, and he had to sign off that he agreed his car was safe for travel, had insurance, fire fighting equipment aboard, and happened to have newly turned wheels, and new brake shoes, re-built couplers, and air hoses, etc.

The train started out gently enough to not spill any of his guest's drinks, and they rolled through the yards and out onto the mainline where the engineer gradually picked up the pace to road speed. About three hours later they pulled into another yard, where this private car was to be coupled onto another train.

While they were waiting for the other train to pick them up and drop them off at their destination, there was a knock on the vestibule door. The man at the door informed the business man that a wheel was smoking! It turned out the brakes had been set on his private car all the way from the start, and had worn flats on the wheels, ruining his newly turned wheels, and had overheated his new brake shoes beyond use.

The Yardmaster could not allow his car to be moved until new wheels and brakes could be installed, so the party was over!

He was the only one sober enough to realize what had happened, for all the rest of his party goers were having a grand time by then.

I never found out if he sued, or if his signing the clearence prevented that action.

As it turned out, the only wheels that had rolled, happened to be the lead axle on both 6 wheel trucks, which kept the car from derailing!