Pete.....
I still use "I was down on the deck puttin' in
a fire" once in a while :>) Of course,
nobody knows what it means LOL
When the BN gave Bob Richardson the mechanical
records out of the C&S roundhouse in
Denver, they must not have remembered that the
Engine crews used to work for the Master
Mechanic, and not the Operating Dept.,
because, in addition to some interesting
correspondance with the Edwards Car Company
about gas-mechanical conversions of narrow
gauge cars for the South Park line, it was
full of personnel records of long gone C&S
men. There are several more or less amusing
stories in there, if anybody's interested.
The first time I actually saw that excuse in
writing was in one of those Investigations.
The C&S used to run "fisherman's specials"
up the Platte Canyon on weekends. They'd take
a trainload of folks up to a siding and set
'em out until early Monday morning, then bring
'em back down into Denver in time for work.
This time, the extra got on the regular
train's "time" before they got into town. As a
result, the two trains came together near the
Clear Creek trestle. At the "party", when the
extra's Fireman was asked what he knew of the
collision, he said: "I was down on the deck
attending to my fire. When the engineer put
the train into Emergency, I looked out my
front cab window and saw the other train
coming. I jumped out the gangway into Clear
Creek, which was dry at the time, and broke
both my ankles."
So there :>)
Mike
--- In
CBQ@yahoogroups.com,
Jpslhedgpeth@... wrote:
>
>
> Mike et al..."Down in the nose" replaced
"Puttin in a fire" when diesels replaced
steam..I was never involved in any kind of
"incident" where a fireman was involved when
he was not..."back in the engine room"...or
"down in the nose"...Read the old ICC Accident
Investigations and you'll see how that
"excuse" came from "eternity past" into the
diesel age.
>
> I love "account"...also...that was one of
the terms the "new" management tried to get us
to get rid of...."See no failure to comply"
was indeed a classic and nearly always
followed a diatribe promising dire
consequences from the Supt. or General
Manager.
>
> All of these things continue to build
support for my oft repeatedd adage..."The only
thing that changes from railroad to railroad
is the railroad name and the people name...The
stories and "incident reports"...remain the
same from railroad to railroad over the years.
>
> Pete
>