----- Original Message -----
From: "John Knopp" <jdknopp@w...>
To: <BRHSlist@egroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 21, 2001 3:21 PM
Subject: [BRHSlist] Sunday Only CD - questions
> Hi all,
>
> Just got my copy of "Sunday Only" - what a great recording. It did bring
> up a question or two, though.
>
> The recordings were made between 1959 and 1962 and it got me to thinking
> about the crews who operated the trips. Since I'm from Burlington
> originally I've pretty much worn out (if that's possible) the track on
the
> CD that has the 5632 with 10 cars climbing the westbound grade out of
> Burlington towards the Shops. It'll bring a tear to your eye, even if you
> were weaned on the sounds of EMDs and GEs climbing that same hill as I
> was. Believe it or not, one of the most interesting things about the
> recording is the "whistle" work. Someone once wrote that Casey Jones
could
> make a whistle "scream like a banshee" or "say its prayers" but the 5632's
> hogger this day was no slouch, either!
>
> So, who was this guy? Was he an old head who was specifically set up for
> fan trips such as this or was he just "next on the list" out of Galesburg
> that Sunday morning?
This is another of those *heard it around town* anecdotal things, so it is
subject to the "I know better (with refreences and citations)" response -
BUT: As a resident of the Burlington/Mt. Pleasant area during most of the
Murphy Fan Trip era, I was repeatedly told that the engine crew assignments
were regarded by the front office as a form of reward to senior personnel,
and as a result, the most experienced and reliable of experienced crew were
assigned. There was no pot luck to it at all.
Marshall
|