> We got Menked! Orders: No more passenger traffic solicitation. Run only
regular consists. No extras. <
In some cases it was worse than that! In the summer of '66 I was living in
Burlington, IA, and decided it would be fun to do something special during my
day off, so I went to the depot & checked the schedule in the glass case - it
still showed the thrice-weekly mixed to Washington on the old BN&W. So I went
to the counter and asked for a ticket. He says "That train doesn't carry a
coach any more. You'd have to ride in the caboose with the crew" I said that
was fine (more than fine, believe me!). He said "The train doesn't come to the
station tracks anymore to load. You'd have to sign an accident release and have
an employee escort you into the yard." I said no problem. Finally he said
"Well, I can't sell you a ticket for that train anyway. I don't have any." So I
asked why it was still on the Arrivals/Departures board. He said "We don't have
ICC approval to abandon that service yet, so it has to stay up there."
I later found out that if I'd intercepted the train at Mediapolis, I could have
paid passage to the conductor (or maybe even ridden for free).
How late we learn some things <sigh>
Marshall
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