One of my few
regrets is that I never got to work
with a steam engine. IIRC the last
steam on the Lincoln-Hastings line
was 1955 which was a year before I
hired out...Summer 56, my first
summer they kept a steam engine at
Ravenna for protection..IIRC it was
the 5080. At that time waycars
were still changed at Ravenna. The
switch engine worked nights
1:00am-9:00am. The rule was that if
a road train was "called in" for
within a half hour of the switch
engine going off duty it had to be
held over to make the
change..Otherwise the crews make
their own waycar change.
On several of my mainline trips
Lincoln-Ravenna at Ravenna the switch
crew would be working with the steam
engine to make a waycar change.
There was were two locals which
tied up at Ravenna 6 nights a week.
The Burwell Local and the
Lincoln-Ravenna local. These locals
used a Geep for power, hence there was
always a diesel for the switch engine
to use, but if those locals got out in
the morning and the switch crew was
held over they would use the steam
engne.
I got forced to the Ravenna
switcher late summer of 56...It was an
awful job..Not much work but all
nights and me staying in an old non ac
hotel getting no sleep and the job
paid little or no OT...
I thought surely one night of the
three weeks I was there I'd get a
chance with the Black Beauty as one of
the switchmen called it...Well, it
never happened. So as far as the CB*Q
is concerned I'm steamless...However
in my early life on theRock Port
Langdon and Northern I spent lots of
time on the 440 and 2 Spot. I wasn't
big enoough to lift the shovel, so I
picked up the coal and threw it in the
firebox by hand..And then of course I
had to wipe my hands on my face...My
dad was the engineer the last 3 years
of operation and he could work around
coal and dirt all day and never get
any on himself...Such was not the case
for me.
Pete
-----Original
Message-----
From: Noel Crawford
<georgecrawfordsr@comcast.net>
To: CBQ
<CBQ@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Mon, Jan 28, 2013 8:28 pm
Subject: Re: [CBQ] Story POsts
Pete:
Non of my people worked
for the Q or any other RR.
However, I have kid
memories of the folks who
did. My brother in law's
stepfather, Rick Walthers
worked as an engineer
starting as a fireman on
steam engines. I remember
the day we were painting
the interior of the Brown
McDonald store in York.
Rick was working with us
when he got called for the
extra board. He took of
for Lincoln like a dog
with a tin can on it's
tail. It is a wonder he
made it in time for his
call driving 50 miles down
old highway 34 years
before the interstate.
When his train came
through York, my dad and I
were out on the embankment
overlooking the line. Rick
was firing a Mike 04a. He
was in the gangway
grinning like a kid. The
engineer gave us a long
tug on the whistle cord
which put a bigger grin on
my face. Rick loved steam
but hated diesels. Towards
the end he really disliked
his job. He died in the
80's of lung cancer. One
of the best stories I have
of him is when in the 70's
he put an extra empty box
car in his train which was
the local. He knew they
were going up to Benedict
on the old KC&O. He
then got the crew to help
him take the big heavy
roll top desk out of the
Benedict Depot and haul it
back to Lincoln. It was
the original desk from the
KC&O. He restored it
to pristine condition.He
had gotten permission from
someone to do this. Anyhow
I would have killed for
that desk, but his widow
gave it to Rick's daughter
for her husband who worked
for the UP. They still
have it. By the way I am 3
score and 12. LOL
Noel
On 1/28/2013 8:40 PM, HOL
WAGNER wrote:
Pete:
I'm a year older than
Louis, so you've got a
decade on me, too.
And what a decade:
The differences
between the 1950s and
the 1960s were
monumental in
railroading, with the
change from steam to
diesel and the decline
of passenger service.
I'm lucky to have
ridden a number of Q
passenger trains in
the late '50s and
early '60s, while
service standards were
still quite high, and
my all-tme favorite
dining car experience
was eating dinner in
the old heavyweight
diner-lounge car (car
325 for those who
care) on No. 26 out of
Kansas City for
Omaha. While I don't
recall what I had
(except that there
were peas, and the Q
always served the best
peas I've ever eaten),
it was just the
ambience of the whole
setting, with superb
service by the dining
car crew and the
fabulous ride of the
old heavyweight car
which had the rear
half of the original
dining room converted
into a lounge,
complete with rear end
windows, creating
something of a
solarium. Never left
that car all the way
to Omaha!
Hol
To:
cbq@yahoogroups.com
From:
Jpslhedgpeth@aol.com
Date: Mon, 28 Jan
2013 20:12:40 -0500
Subject: [CBQ] Story
POsts
Charlie...I
hope you
really mean it
when you say
that this
"good stuff"
ie stories is
going to get
preserved...I've
often wondered
over the years
if someone was
actually doing
it.
I've done
some writing
on my own
regarding my
"Adventures"
as a Terminal
Trainmaster on
the RI, and am
gathering
material...actually
I've already
gathered
it..just a
matter of
getting it on
here and other
places...for a
Burlington
Story...I've
got the title,
which I'll not
reveal here,
but this
recent stuff
started by
Louis Z. has
"tripped my
trigger" and
now
approaching
the Biblical
"three score
and 10 plus 10
if your
strong"...I'm
closer to the
"home
terminal" than
most of you so
the time of
procrastination
is almost
past... Time
to do it is
now.
I've
appreciated so
much John and
now Louis
emphsizing the
important of
the
Stories....I've
always thought
that the
people side of
the railroads
was "where it
was" for me...
Louis
your "word
picture" of
the TCZ
arriving at
LaCross was
great....My
granddaughter
is a golfer
and she played
that course
last
summer..She
came home and
said.."Grampa...that
golf course
was right by a
railroad
track...the
whole picture
came
immediately
into focus.
The smell
of the diner
is someting
one never
forgets...When
my dad and I
would be
waiting at
Langdon for 21
and 26 back in
the
50's...they
usually met
somplace
around Langdon
so we would
catch them
both...26
carried a
diner-parlor
car on the
rear end...As
the train
would leave
and the diner
would go by
the platform
the aroma of
dinner
preparations
would waft
from the open
kitchen door
and the
grinning black
chef would
toss out a
bone to the
"depot
dog"...Actually
he was the
Langdon
postmaster's
dog and his
name was
Spot. We
would usually
make the
Langdon trip
before having
supper at home
and those
diner smells
created a
"lustful
desire" for a
"dinner in the
diner"...well
my mother
always had a
good one for
us when we got
home.
Pete