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My father hired out in 1914 on the Q. In those days you could be called for a work extra and be gone as long as 30 days. He worked a lot of ditcher trains and plow trains. Train crew lived in the waycar, while the engine crew had a bunk room at the roundhouse. My father would take his grip and a bed roll with him never knowing how long he would be on the road.. When the coal ran low, the brakeman would search out a car of coal and help themselves. He used to tell of a night when he heard a thump thump on the rear steps. When he checked, it was the other brakeman with a 150 pound chunk of coal. They used a hammer to break it up and refill the coal box. Remember coal was mostly mine run back then, not this "dust" they ship today. My father was usually the cook. He kept a pot of coffee on the stove and fixed many one pot meals. Usually a pot of some kind of stew or beans. Life on the extra board was tough back then. __._,_.___
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