The Atlantic & Southern Saturday Report

Started by Judge, January 05, 2019, 03:59:09 PM

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Judge

                                                                                                    The Rest of the Story
Here is a (poor) photo of the ACL's Moultrie dining car.  Note the kitchen access door is in the middle of the car.  Moultrie was one of four diners built by Pullman (plan 7592) for the ACL in 1950.  The other cars were named Tarboro, Plant City, and Atlanta.
 
                                                                   

This is a shot of the interior of the Moultrie.  Notice the four-top tables on the right and the two-tops on the left.  Southen passengers liked the two-tops because they avoided the sometimes uncomfortable habit dining stewards had of placing strangers at the table.

                                                                     

Peaches, by the way, immediately adapted to college life.  She pledged a sorority and learned to drink beer.  More of her adventures later.

ACL1504

Quote from: ACL1504 on September 06, 2020, 02:03:18 PM
UPDATE:

I've removed the video and made it private. I'll call Melanie @ BLI  Parts and Service on Tuesday and see what we can work out.

Tom  ;D


I spoke to Melanie at BLI this afternoon. She is sending the replacement frame for 00.00, I only paid for shipping.

Great customer service as advertised. I've deleted the YouTube video.

Tom
"If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed."
Thomas Jefferson

Tom Langford
telsr1@aol.com

GPdemayo

Gregory P. DeMayo
General Construction Superintendent Emeritus
St. Louis & Denver Railroad
Longwood, FL

PRR Modeler

Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
Freelanced PRR Bellevue Subdivision

Judge

#769
Saturday Report - September 12, 2020

Traffic lights were unintentionally in sinc this morning so your reporter arrived on location a few minutes early. 

The Board examined the new GN ten-wheeler and it is a beauty.  Belpaire firebox, high drivers, tall stack, and beautifully proportioned.  It is a PFM product but the original probably came from ALCO.  These engines were replaced in mainline service on most railroads around 1914 with heavier Pacifics.  The ACL bought a few Pacifics from GN, and the A&S acquired one many moons ago.  Both of these engines will retain their GN looks as if they were just delivered.  The Glacier paint scheme - green boiler with black trim and silver cylinder heads is quite an eye-catcher and the two engines will be welcome additions to the A&S roster.

We continued to "speed match" diesels this morning.  The C&O's George Washington was brought up from The Bottoms for a video run.  (See Tom's thread.)  The C&O F3's were surprisingly well-matched, but then it's hard to beat the mechanism in Athearn Genesis.  We also turned our attention to some of our SAL diesels. 

Speaking of ten-wheelers, we fired up ACL #35 for a run out of Tahope before lunch.  She developed a side rod issue, but the mechanic department solved the problem in short order.

Lunch at Del Dio's in the rain.  It rains in Central Florida nearly every day this time of year.  No hurricanes thus far. 

This week's story has its basis in several publications, including the February 1938, edition of Railroad Magazine and maybe a sitcom or two.  Naturally, your reporter embellished the story.  It would be a lot better story if this forum weren't G-rated.

                                                                                                  THE MARRIAGE OF MAGGIE HUSSEY

    One day, the Southern's Crescent Limited came through Tahope and deposited a boomer brakeman named Billy Bob Blake at the Sanlando Depot.  Billy Bob had been out west working the Espee and he made his way back east via the Southern, taking his pay monthly from division to division. 
    Billy Bob walked over to Sweaty Betty's for a sandwich and then went to the roundhouse to apply for a job braking on the A&S.  Tater Cartwright interviewed Billy Bob  to see if he had any experience.  He asked Billy Bob how to wield a brake club on a hand brake.
    Billy Bob drew back and proudly stated, "The best way to get a brake club is to cut about two foot off the end of a pic handle.  With your left hand, you engage the club near the end of the spokes of the brake wheel and grasp the wheel with your right hand.  After the slack is taken up, you lunge with your full weight clockwise.  This will eventually put a couple of inches of callous under your right wrist, like the callous on mine."  "You're hired, said Tater," and Billy Bob put his name up on the extera board. 
    After Billy Bob checked into the Imperial Hotel, he made his way over to the Trackside Tavern for a cool one and to gander at the local entertainment.  He was ready for a night out, having just drawn his monthly wage of $200 when he "drug up" from the Southern. 
    Billy Bob perched himself on a barstool and ordered a draft PBR to quench his thirst and a pickled sausage to curb his appetite.  The jukebox was blaring with the latest wax and one of the strippers on stage, Maggie Hussey, caught his eye.  Maggie came over to talk about things and next you know Billy Bob was sitting at a table  and Maggie was doing a "table daintz" on top of it. 
    "She ain't bad," thought Billy Bob, "if'n you can get past the fish smell." 
  One thing led to another and Billy Bob and Maggie started a-talking about their personal lives.  Maggie allowed as how she was getting married tomorrow, but she couldn't find a preacher in Tahope who would perform the ceremony on account of her sinful reputation.
    Billy Bob said that "wouldn't be no problem, seeing's how he was a registered notary public and authorized to perform weddins."  They agreed on $20.00 for Billy Bob's service, along with other good and valuable consideration,  and set the nuptials to take place in the Trackside Tavern the next day at noon. 
  Now there's two things you neeed o know about this story.  Fust is that Billy Bob warn't no notary.  Second is that Maggie's fiance was that no good scoundrel Lou Paul (Wormy) Thrasher.  (See, The Tale of a Fallen Woman on page 28).
    Now, Wormy is basically a criminal, and since he didn't have the money to get married in the style Maggie would expect, he broke into  the A&S Freight Station at Piney Woods and raided the cash register of $150. 
    The theft was discovered the next morning and Wormy's fingerprints were all over the cash register.  Officer Poovey of the Tahope Police Department obtained an arrest warrant for Wormy and commenced to look for him.  It didn't take long for Poovey to decide to drift over to the Trackside Tavern to see if Wormy was there.  Sho' nuff, Poovey arrived just as Billy Bob pronounced Maggie and Wormy man and wife.  Poovey, who apologized for putting Maggie's new husband asunder, made the arrest and took Wormy to jail. 
    The next day Wormy appeared in court.  His attorney, Marvin Bello, who pocketed the stolen $150 as his fee, listened as the prosecutor presented the evidence to Judge Elwin P. Thomas, who asked if anyone wanted to speak in Wormy's behalf.  Maggie came forward and said, "Your honor, Wormy is a good man.  He just made a mistake.  He won't be no more trouble now that he's married." 
    Judge Thomas said, "Wormy, your record stinks, but it looks like you've never been to prison before.  You understand, don't you, I've got to send you off to Raiford this time?"  Wormy said, "i understand, Judge, just make it a short trip."  "Naw," said the judge, "I gotta give you enough time so's Maggie will find a better husband.  Three years, hard labor." 
    On the way out of the courtroom, Billy Bob approached the weeping Maggie and said, "Well, Maggie, it's a good thing I ain't a real notary."  With that, Maggie grabbed him by the ears and gave him a big wet one right in the mouth.  "I didn't wanna get married anyway.  Wormy just wanted my money."  And she departed for her boxcar in The Bottoms.


.   

PRR Modeler

Great story Bill. I hope you didn't jinx us with the hurricane comment.
Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
Freelanced PRR Bellevue Subdivision

Judge

                                                                                                           The Rest of the Story

    I should give credit to a real boomer named E. I. "Doc" Carry of Houston, Texas, who provided the expertise on how to twist a brake wheel in an article written for Railroad Magazine, February 1938.  His "true tale" involved his experience as a brakeman on the Espee in 1881. 

The part of where Judge Thomas explains the length of Wormy's sentence was to give Maggie time to find a better husband, has a basis in fact, although no judge nowadays would say that out loud.  I know I didn't.

GPdemayo

I'm a sucker for a happy ending.....good one Bill.  8)
Gregory P. DeMayo
General Construction Superintendent Emeritus
St. Louis & Denver Railroad
Longwood, FL

ReadingBob

Bob Butts
robertbutts1@att.net

There's a fine line between Hobby and Mental Illness.

ACL1504

Quote from: Judge on September 13, 2020, 09:38:25 AM
                                                                                                           

The part of where Judge Thomas explains the length of Wormy's sentence was to give Maggie time to find a better husband, has a basis in fact, although no judge nowadays would say that out loud. I know I didn't.


Yea, and I never told a suspect if he told the truth, he wouldn't be arrested. Just saying of course.

Tom
"If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed."
Thomas Jefferson

Tom Langford
telsr1@aol.com

Judge

Bob, Greg, and Tom - Thanks for the positive feedback. 

Judge

#776
Saturday Report September 19, 2020

    The Board of Directors of the Atlantic & Southern RR met promptly at 0830.  The president showed off his recently acquired PFM Longbell Lumber Co. 2-6-2, which will complement Old #7, the 2-6-6-2, formerly Sierra RR # 38.  The new loco will be the smallest on the A&S roster, but its diminutive size is needed for the light rail running through the Piney Woods pulpwood operation.  Number 7 has been turning over track in that area, making hard work for the gandy dancers. 
    The A&S liquidation committee is still trying to liquidate items from two defunct railroads, but time limitations are creeping up on the project due to changes in the way E-Bay operates.  It is getting into the tax-collecting business, raising prices, and becoming less seller-friendly.
    After a serious discussion on the E-Bay situation, it was resolved that liquidation efforts will become more informal after mid-October.
     The operating department continued to "speed match" diesel lashups.  SAL E7's, and CB&Q F2's were speed matched.  Surprisingly few adjustments were needed.
     Lunch at Del Dio's was routine.  We were the only "sit down" customers other than a husband and wife team that attends regularly on Saturday.  We arrive at 11:00 a.m. and leave before noon, so we beat the lunch crowd and maintain our distance socially.   
    After lunch, we ran the Southern MS4 on its daily local mixed freight haul and called it a day.

     This week, your Reporter is going to digress and present the railroad news from 70 years ago, as reported in the October, 1950, Trains Magazine.

                                                                                                   Seventy Years Ago Seems Like Yesterday
    The railroad industry and Wall Street were caught off base in August by the announcement that two locomotive builders, Lima-Hamilton and Baldwin Locomotive will merge.  Except for the board members who arranged the deal, everyone from stockholders to design engineers in the two companies was taken by complete surprise.
    The merger, if stockholders approve, will work like this:  Baldwin will take over the assets of Lima-Hamilton and issue a share of Baldwin common stock for each of the 1,940,208 outstanding shares of LIma-Hamilton stock.  Lima-Hamilton's George H. Rentschuler will become chairman of the new corporation.  Baldwin's president, Marvin W. Smith, will become the new president. 
     The consolidation of Lima-Hamilton and Baldwin will place the company above Fairbanks Morse in the lineup of diesel builders according to production but still behind Aloco-GE and league-leading EMD.  In 1949 the builders put these diesel horsepower figures in the railroad's paddocks:  Lima-Hamilton, 43,000; FM, 83,000; BLW 204,000; Alco-GE 369060; and EMD 1,589,800.
    Speculation abounds as to what the Balwin-Lima-Hamilton directors will do with two shops and two personnel departments.  The answer probably is known only to Westinghouse Electric. which owns 22% of Baldwin's stock (a solid controlling interest.)

    Well, with perfect hindsight, we all know how that worked out.
    BTW, over 40 years of Trains Magazine are (or recently were) available on CD through the internet. 

PRR Modeler

History always come full circle it seems like.
Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
Freelanced PRR Bellevue Subdivision

postalkarl

Hey Judge:

great looking diner photos.

Karl

Judge

Thanks Curt and Karl for your kind comments.  The Moultrie was a regular diner on the Champion when I was a boy.  I used to ride from Orlando to Tampa sometimes to visit my godparents and the Champ left Orlando just in time for a late lunch.  I wish I could remember the name of the conductor.  He had that run for many, many years, and was always kind to me.  I guess I was about 9 or 10 when I started training by myself.  No one would allow a kid that age to travel alone nowadays.  But back then we didn't lock the door to our house and my parents left the key in the car's ignition. 

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