No. 300.
Are there any readers of these postings that have the same warm and
"fuzzy" memories of the Sunday morning debacle called #300 as I??
300 was a creation of the devil. It went to work, as did all Dinky's
of the day, at Aurora Depot. One unit, two cars and an interminably LONG day!
5:15 AM on duty. The job was exactly the way one would want to spend
his Sunday leisure time. Arrive in the City at 6:20 AM and then DO NOTHING for
the next 11 hr. and 40 min. When Maxwell St. was "open for business" the
layover was palatable if not annoying. No Dinky's ran on Sunday to allow one
to return to Aurora and be back at 14th. St. in time for the westbound trip on
#325 that evening. The "bunkroom" closely resembled the definition of
uninhabitable with its rusty spring "bunks", mattresses that provided shelter
to all the Roosevelt Rd. rodents and a toilet that was about to fall through
the floor. One could, however, endure the ignominies of the experience when
one considered the "entertainment" afforded by running no. 325 that evening.
325, it seems, was the designated method of delivering the E units,
rotating off Northern passenger assignments, back to Aurora for suburban
service. The train was usually two DD'ers. and from three to five units. One
Sunday in particular was quite notable. We had five E's and the normal train.
I suggested that the Fireman go back through the units and put ALL of them on
the line and place ALL the little knife switches in the MAXIMUM FIELD position,
which he did. Leaving CUS and accelerating to make the "runnin' test" (air
brake requirement) was quite smoky since several of the units had been idling
for extended periods. Accelerating was something this train was real good at,
too.
Leavin' town like a space shuttle was never more exciting than at
Western Springs where I beat a Nash Rambler from a stoplight. A couple of
stations later, however, a Collector came up to the head end and delivered a
message from the Conductor. He requested that I wait a bit before "gettin'
after 'er" to allow the patrons to be seated. Seems like rate of acceleration
was a bit much for some of the folks and the likelihood of "knockin' 'em down"
was a clear and present danger.
The rest of the trip was uneventful but quick. Despite the "fringe
benefits" provided by no. 325 I still would never bid in a job where ya worked
so long and made so little.
Karl
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