Thanks for the explanation..... I was trying to figure out how a cat that
was living today could be photographed in the cab of a CB&Q 2-6-2..... I was
only wrong on two counts (Chi-Chi is a monkey and is long gone).
Charlie Vlk
----- Original Message -----
From: <milepost206@mchsi.com>
To: <CBQ@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2004 4:26 PM
Subject: [CBQ] Re: Chi-Chi A Monkey's Tale
> Hi Jonathan & All,
>
> Re: Chi-Chi, The Burlington Monkey
>
> Animals played a role in most railroaders' lives. From their pets to
> Blackie at the Burlington Yard Office. My Dad was an engineer here in
> Burlington and the engineer the day the #5632 Color Poster picture was
> taken. He loved animals and they loved him. Well, almost all of them.
>
> Railroad families were so cosmopolitan in those days to have, or have
> friends that had, exotic pets. Although we never had a monkey, we had a
> raccoon, a pocket gopher, an opossum, cats, and dogs. Kelly the Coon
> came from an engineer in Galesburg and made several personal appearances
> at "show and tell" when I was in grade school. And Kelly made a couple
> of visits to the Burlington Roundhouse and Yard Office. And once to a
> local beauty shop on Main Street when his escape plan unfolded.
>
> Two local railroad families had pet monkeys. Chi-Chi belonged to one of
> them. Dick Morrison was a last minute contributor to the Waycars book -
> some great Quincy, Omaha & Kansas City waycars, one w/ park bench bolted
> to the roof. Which was not an uncommon practice into the '20s. Dick took
> Chi-Chi's picture in 1946. And like most photo subjects, Chi-Chi closed
> his eyes when the shutter clicked.
>
> Dick's Father, George, was Dad's engineer in 1946 after Dad came back
> from the service. Dad had a railroad exemption as a fireman but could
> not stand being left out of the fight. So he enlisted in the Army in
> late '44 and found himself with Patton going to Belgium where he lost
> his lower right leg to a mine in February '45. When he returned to
> Burlington the railroad didn't want to put him back to work because he
> was a "cripple and cripples can't climb around a steam engine." So he
> showed the master mechanic that he could, and better than most with 2
> legs. So he went back to work firing for George Morrison on the Quincy
> Branch. Hand firing, I might add.
>
> I had recently seen a great photo on Ebay of the Rio Grande steam engine
> Hesperis with a dog sitting in the cab window. And I have a photo of a
> dog riding a CB&Q sand pit bucket with 2 workers in Nebraska.
>
> But I knew no one had seen a "real" monkey in a steam engine, so Chi-Chi
> was elected to the prestigious position of Mile Post 206 Company Mascot.
> In fact, Chi-Chi is probably the only monkey to be photographed in a
> CB&Q steam engine. Chi-Chi brings new meanings to "train crew" and
> "roster shot."
>
> The other railroad monkey here in Burlington belonged to an engineer,
> Dick Fletcher. Being the proud owners of a "exotic pet" raccoon, Dad and
> I went to see Dick's monkey. I though it would be a "petting zoo"
> experience. It was, for about the same amount of time it takes to light
> charcoal with rocket fuel. The monkey bit my Dad, started screeching and
> screaming, made 8 laps around his cage in 1.45 seconds, threw crap
> through the cage and scared the bejeezus out of all of us. All Dick
> could say was, "he's not use to many people, maybe you oughta come back
> another day." We never went back. We'd seen enough monkeys.
>
> The comments about engineers is a tribute to my mentor in the jet
> airplane business that always said "anybody can fly a Learjet if you
> feed him enough bananas." A rationale that could be applied to most life
> endeavors.
>
> But, whether pilots or engineers, that doesn't always apply. I have
> found strong evidence that there is no direct correlation to the amount
> of bananas ingested and the skill level of either a pilot or an
> engineer. I HAVE seen a correlation though, that some pilots and
> railroaders do appear to act like monkeys regardless of the bananas
> consumed or trees climbed.
>
> I am glad to see someone inquire about Chi-Chi. Railroads were just more
> than just trains. Chi-Chi, although long gone, will be forever a
> "Burlington Monkey." And we have included a Chi-Chi momento for all of
> you that ordered the Limited Edition Waycars Book or contributed to it.
> And look for Chi-Chi in the future. He's likely to appear anywhere.
>
> There are more animal stories to come! Next, we have a rooster that went
> to Quincy in the Waycars book.
>
> Randy
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
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