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#61
Tom - I didn't realize I published the Saturday Report on Friday.  That's what happens when every day is Saturday. 

Sorry, Greg, there are no cars up on blocks. However, you will notice there are old tires (pronounced tars) on the property.
#62
Curt - Tomorrow is off.  Tom is otherwise engaged. 
#63
Saturday Report August 28, 2021.
The Board of Director's meeting was cancelled today.  The meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. next Saturday.
There is some "news."  A couple of years ago, BLI came out with a model of the Baldwin "Centipede" locomotives.  Your reporter remembers the SAL version were like purple cows, he never saw one.  However, he did order one of the beasts and after a few months, he became discouraged about delivery.  A model railroad show was scheduled a few miles north in Volusia County so Tom Langford and your reporter journeyed there for a look-see.  Guess what?  They had Centipedes for sale in SAL colours.  Figgering that the order would never be filled, your reporter purchased one of the engines.  Wouldn't you know it, upon arrival back home, another one was waiting for delivery on the front porch.  Reminds me of the story about the cello player who received an accordion for Christmas from his sister.  She thought he would like it.  One day he drove his hatchback automobile to orchestra practice with the accordion in the rear compartment in full view through the rear window.  When he returned from orchestra practice, he was surprised to see his rear window smashed.  Fearing there had been a theft, he peered into the rear compartment.  And there was a second accordion next to his.  Some things you just can't give away.

Which reminds me, Tom tried to sell some Proto 1000 F units painted in Pennsy's freight scheme. The shells on these units are identical (as far as we can tell) to the Proto 2000 version.  However, both units were repowered with TCS WOW Sound decoders and they did not sell on eBay for the cost of the decoders.  What is the hobby coming to?  Or is the market saturated with Pennsy diesels?  I note that Walthers has just announced new FP7s for sale.  The road names are all of the usual subjects except for a Southern unit.  But the Southern unit is in the black, white, and gold scheme instead of green so that puts the units towards the end of their long career and out of our early 1950s time frame.  But why doesn't Walthers include ACL FP7s in the purple scheme?  ACL had a gaggle of these engines for use on local passenger runs and as stand-ins when the regular power was not available. 

Last week it was mentioned that Newt Fisher, who has managed to remain employed for more than two weeks, has a new girlfriend named Mary Lou Stroker.  Newt and Mary Lou moved into her trailer in The Bottoms and "set up house."  A photograph of Mary Lou's trailer is posted below.  The estate is not exactly tidy but it fits into the rest of the neighborhood.




Mary Lou and Maggie Hussy are employed as dancers at the all-new Hokum's House of Burlesque, which was built on the site of the old Trackside Tavern and is owned by several local dignitaries and leased to our old friend Bruce Bonebreaker.    Bruce is currently out of custody and is making a killing at his new joint.  It has been rumored that some of the drunks who had to be removed from the Trackside Tavern when it was demolished returned on opening day and regained their regular seats near the stage.



On opening day, Short Stack, Wormy, and Newt arrived just after noon and ordered their first beer of the day.  Mary Lou trotted out onto the stage and commenced to do what she was paid to do.  This took Wormy off balance, for Mary Lou is not unattractive and, at age 19, she still has most of her teeth.  As Mary Lou was a-wiggling and squirming to the latest Boogey-Woogie, Wormy decided to grab a handful.  That did not go well with Newt, who flattened Wormy with one punch to the nose, blood spattering both the floor and the ceiling.  This caused Bruce Bonecrusher to pull out his club and go after Newt.  Soon there were additional blood spatters.  Someone called the police and Officer Poovey arrested the lot of them.  A few days later, the defendant's lawyer, Marvin Bello, explained to Judge Thomas what happened.  The judge banged his gavel, spit into his spitoon, and announced, "Case dismissed.  Fair a fight as I've ever seed!" And Mary Lou and Newt returned to The Bottoms for a dinner of turtle soup and gartor tail. 
#64
Saturday Report – August 21, 2021. 

The Board of Directors of the Atlantic & Southern Railroad met promptly at 8:30 a.m.  The president popped a diet Pepsi and your reporter opened his morning Coke. 

The main discussion involved the expansion of the scenery into and north of downtown Tahope.  The highway construction crew has been busy and the Summit level peninsula will be extended another 8 feet in the next two weeks.  Plans are being tentatively made for the placement of buildings along the main street.  Enthusiasm is high.

The A&S took delivery of a new ACL SW7 switcher and a reworked ALCO S12, both of which have TCS WOW Sound.  Surprisingly, the SW7 was able to pull a mixed freight of 17 cars and a caboose on level track.  It had no problem drifting down the Ovalix but was unable to back the train up the 1% grade.  Probably it would be more reliable with three or four fewer cars.  The S12 is much heavier and would probably pull that load up the Ovalix without difficulty.  We may try that during the next session. We also road-tested the new Baldwin C of G switcher and it pulled the mixed freight without a problem.  The A&S fleet of diesel switchers now includes two ACLs, an SAL, and a C of G.  More than a-plenty considering the A&S only has two freight yards.

There will be no Saturday Report next Saturday.

                                                                                                     The Passenger Sales Representative

Your reporter, who is the Ticket Agent for the A&S Railroad, has had a variety of assignments designed to broaden his railroad experience and to cross-train him in the event he is needed for temporary service elsewhere.

One day, in 1951, your reporter was removed from the depot and assigned to temporary service with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad to fill in for the Passenger Sales Representative in Tampa.  The Passenger Sales Representative  (PSR) has the job of selling the public on the merits of traveling on the ACL instead of flying those DC6 airliners. 

Clubs, fraternities, business organizations, and labor and trade groups are solicited by the PSR to enjoy travel to their conventions and reunions by rail.  The groups can consist of a few people or up to as many as will fill a 10 or 12 car train. 

Potential customers are delighted to learn that the ACL is rapidly converting passenger traffic to diesel-electric power.  The new lightweight coaches and Pullmans are being rushed into service pulled by E6 and E7 smooth running diesels.  No longer would passengers have to fight cinders from the open windows of unairconditioned cars.  Passengers who get on the train clean get off clean.  And they get a smooth ride.  A comment was heard by one passenger on a trip to Jacksonville one day.  He took his cigar from between his teeth and said, "This town we're coming into is Sanlando.  Close by is where the railroad begins its climb up the Ovalix to Summit.  They put on two steam engines and all night long one 'gees' and the other 'haws' and I can't sleep worth a damn."  "Well," I say, "the railroad's great romance with steam engines is about over, at least with passenger trains, and you won't have to worry about your slumber being disturbed any more." 

In some respects, the loss of steam is a shame.  Your reporter remembers his dad taking him to the Sligh Boulevard Station in Orlando on Saturdays at noon in 1950 to watch three passenger trains come through in quick succession, all powered by ACL's beautiful Pacifics.  The sight of those whirling rods and the smell of coal smoke and grease is of lasting memory.  Fortunately, your reporter had an uncle who manned the switch/telegraph tower at the yard throat in Lakeland.  One Saturday afternoon, while visiting and watching him pound out dots and dashes over the telegraph, he arranged for my dad and me to ride in the cab of a steam engine from the yard throat to the roundhouse, a distance of a couple of miles.  I climbed up the ladder to the cab and was surprised to find my hands filthy with coal dust.  The engineer let me blow the whistle and we started chugging to the roundhouse.  The noise was deafening.  I was alright with the ride until the fireman opened the firebox door to scoop in a shovel of coal.  I was frightened out of my wits at the sight of the hot fire and the fireman kept the firebox door shut for the rest of the trip. Those were the days.   
#65
The alleyway will no doubt be the scene of nefarious criminal activity - on account of its proximity to the bail bondsman's office, which is conveniently located next to the courthouse/jail.  Local criminals tend to frequent such places.  The alleyway will soon be included in one of the stories included in the Saturday Report.
#66
The ACL 1401 was recently selected to head the annual Gator Alumni Train to Jacksonville for the festivities at the Florida/Georgia game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcAgX8DcjME
#67
Saturday Report - August 14, 2021. 

The Board of Directors met promptly at 8:30 a.m.  The main topic of discussion was ideas on what the passenger station might look like on the Summit level.  We reviewed the station on Cliff Power's Magnolia Route for ideas and, while we were at it, we took a look at Cliff's new layout, Cumberland & Ohio Valley.  Its amazing how much progress Cliff has made in two years.  Fortunately for us, Cliff has published numerous photographs which can be seen at the link below.

                                                                                                https://www.magnoliaroute.com/building-the-cov.html

Your reporter made an inspection tour of the substantial progress that has been made in the past two weeks.  Tom's thread contains the photos.  The next eight-foot section has been constructed at Summit level and, having noticed a certain amount of instability, the civil engineers have devised a solution in the form of additional bracing to solve the problem. 

Below the new extension, the City of Tahope is taking shape.  The courthouse/jail facility is under construction along with a merchant's row.  The bail bondsman has already opened shop in anticipation of new business.  It is all very exciting.  Your reporter's imagination is getting ahead of the game.  He is imagining passenger trains backing around the 50" curve onto one of the six pasenger stubbs, which are covered by passenger platforms (it rains a lot in Florida.)  But that is probably a year off.

The idea for this week's story came from a book entitled"Real Stories of the Rails" published by Trains Magazine.

                                                                                                              Newt Fisher's Ride on the Mount Dora Special

This week's story returns us to the adventures of Newt Fisher.  Newt, you will remember, is the son of Luke Fisher who lives in one of the shacks on Eaton's curve. (Sse Inhabitants of Eaton's Curve on page 8 ).  Luke makes his living catching blue crabs on the St. Johns River during crab season and supplements his income "sweeping up" the station at Sanlando when the crabs are unavailable.  Luke has encouraged his son to try to make something of himself and Newt has only partially succeeded in that endeavor. 

Recently, Newt was hired on as a laborer, working the Sanlando Yard near Tahope.  The diesel facility at Sanlando was designed to serve F units and switch engines.  Before any trains are dispatched from Sanlando, laborers like Newt clean the cabs and engine compartments of the engines.  These laborers grew accustomed to the hostlers moving the engines from the diesel service facility to the yard before the train is assembled by the road crew. 

One early morning, the daily local passenger train, the Mount Dora Special, which ran from Sanlando to Summit with numerous stops along the way, was being assembled and the motive power, two FP7s, were being serviced at the fuel tanks near the diesel facility.  Newt Fisher climbed up into the cab of the lead unit and began his chores, cleaning the crew toilet and sweeping out the engine room.  The hostlers were busy moving the engines towards the main yard and took no notice of Newt.   Since it was early in the morning and since Newt had been out late with his new girlfriend, Mary Lou Stroker, he decided to sit down by the boiler in the trailing unit and rest his weary bones for a minute or two.  Soon, Newt drifted off to sleep.

The road crew took over the operation of the engines and coupled onto the mixed consist that made up the daily Mount Dora Special.  Neither the engineer nor the fireman knew that Newt was snoring in the second unit.  The train pulled out of Sanlando on time and picked up speed as it passed Eaton's Curve.  By the time the train began its assent on the constant 1-degree grade on the Ovalix, Newt had awakened and realized the engines were running faster than they would while puttering around the Sanlando Yard.  He high-tailed it to the cab of the lead engine and surprised the engineer with his presence.  The Special made an unsschuled stop when the train reached Summit and Newt was steered to the stationmaster's office.  Newt caught a freight back to Sanlando before noon.

The next day the shop foreman stenciled "IF FOUND, RETURN TO SANLANDO YARD" on the back of Newt's overalls. Newt, ever the but of freight yard jokes, stated, "I was supposed to sweep up but I laid down." In response, the yardmaster said, "One day's suspension without pay."  And Newt returned to The Bottoms and the arms of Mary Lou Stroker, who had just taken her weekly bath in the St.Johns River. "Wow! said Newt, that fishy smell is an improvement."


                                                                                                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7rD6at8IXo


#68
Layout Tours / Re:
August 14, 2021, 03:17:29 PM
Tom -  Great time was had by all today.  See you next Saturday.
#69
John and Dave - Thank you for clearing up my questions about the mill.  I can imagine watching a steam-powered rock crusher must have been quite an experience. 

Will there be bats in the mill's belfry?  We have lots of bats locally.  There is a "bat house" in the park down the street from our house.  We've had bats get into our house every now and then.  They fly around and land on curtain rods so they can observe what's going on from a safe height.  My wife doesn't like them when they fly around the room.  They are pretty smart creatures.  They will fly out if you leave a door or window open for a few minutes.  They are not good to eat and are not housebroken.  They like to eat flying insects and that is a good thing.
#70
John - Sayles Mill must be some sort of Yankee structure of which I am unfamiliar.  Also, I am not familiar with the kit.  What is the tower for?  What will be milled there?  Grits?
#71
Tom - Glad you were able to salvage those palm trees.  The progress at Summit is welcome.  It won't be long before passenger trains are backing into the Station. 
#72
Mark - Thanks for reading my whimsical missives.

Curt- I will see you Saturday.
#73
Tom - 1516's exhaust wasn't out of sync.  I neglected to mention that while she was in the shop having her cylinders made smaller, the ACL decided to add a third cylinder as part of the experiment.  i suspect the powers that be will decide the extra maintenance isn't worth it and the third cylinder will be removed next Saturday. 
#74
Saturday August 8, 2021.

There was no meeting of the Atlantic & Southern Board of Directors this morning because it is time for the babe's monthly trip to Mount Dora for her hair appointment.

However, there is a story this week and it is an interesting one. Your reporter's wife of nearly 46 years, Cindy, included in her Christmas gifts this year a copy of a Trains Magazine publication entitiled "Real Storries of the Rails."  The book includes a number of stories, some of which directly trace historical matters involving the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.  One of the stories invlove a Coast LIne Pacific locomotive numbered 1516.  That number happens to be the number of one of the engines that regularly runs through the whimsical swamp known as Tahope County, Florida.  I have condensed (selectively compressed) the story to fit within my Saturday Report limits, but I think you will get the idea of what it was like to be a green as green gets fireman in 1947.  Note:  The location of this tale has been changed to fit it into Central Florida.  Much better than on the old AB&C in Alabama.

And, as a special treat, a video of 1516 in action pulling through the station in Sanlando is included courtesy of Langford-Eaton Railway Productions.

                                                                                                                  Firing ACL 1516 on the Southland in 1947.

   The regular fireman called in sick and Franklin Smith's name came up on the extra board for the Southland's run.  Smith, who had just signed on as a fireman, was a green as green gets.  He knew he was entrusted with great responsibility firing on a crack varnish like the Southland.  So, on that foggy night in December, he climbed up into the cab of ACL 1516 and prepared for what would turn out to be a memorable ride. 
   The 205.5-mile trip began in Jacksonville Florida, and terminated in the division point at Lakeland. From there a different crew and a different engine would pull the Southland into St. Petersburg and points south to Ft. Myers.   
   The engineer, Russel Taylor, called to Franklin above the sound of 1516's boiler noise and said he was worried about the engine.  There had been trouble with the blower on the last run.  1516 was a little different from the other USRA 1500's in that during her last shopping her cylinders had been made smaller in an experiment to save fuel.  Engineers found that unless the reverse lever was well forward, a touch of the blower was needed to to maintain 210 lbs. pressure even when the engine was working.   Taylor told Franklin he would "run her light" and instructed hm to keep the blower on enough to maintain pressure. 
   Taylor got the highball and gave the chime whistle a couple of short blasts as the engine began to move down the main towards Palatka. 
   The fire looked nice and level with no clinkers so Franklin gave it a few scoops as Russel increased speed.  About that time, a thick fog closed in.  The headlight provided no visibility as 1516 cleared past the outskirts of the city at 60 mph.  Franklin cut in the stoker and hoped he could see the order board and catch the hoop at Palatka.
   Russel motioned to Franklin that he was about to shut her off for the slow order over the St. Johns River drawbridge.  When the noise of the exhaust died down, Franklin asked Russel how he knew where he was considering they could not see ten feet in front of the engine.  Russel replied "I watch the ground just below the cab and I've been over this route so many times that I know by the way the engine acts just where I am."  Russel explained that there were 38 dips between Jacksonville and Palatka, and he knew every one of them.  Franklin became apprehensive upon hearing what he was going to experience going through dips in the track while trying to fire a bucking steam locomotive. 
   The schedule called for the first meet to be at St. Augustine. ACL freight 210 was supposed to be in the hole awaiting the Southland to pass through.  But when their train arrived at St. Augustine, Franklin could not see 210 because of the fog. 
   When they arrived at St. Augustine, they were doing over 60 mph and ran over some torpedos.  Number 210 was in the hole as expected, but ten or more freight cars were fouling the mainline up ahead.  Russel hit the air and the train gradually slowed.  Russel hoped 210 would clear behind them and allow them not to stop, but that didn't happen.  The engine finally came to a stop a few feet from 210's hind shack, who was waiving his flag with all his might.  Franklin worried that the rapid deceleration may have disturbed some of the passengers, who were by that time enjoying ACL's famous French toast breakfast in the diner.
   The Southland proceeded on to Palatka and things began to happen with 1516.  The pressure began to drop: 205 – then 200 – then 190.  Clinkers were building up in the firebox.  Franklin shook the grates to no avail.  Russel said, "Leave the fire alone or we will be in trouble."  "We're losing steam," Franklin retorted.  "What are we gonna do?" " Let her ride into Deland.  With 150 pounds we are alright and you can clean up the fire when we make the passenger stop.  Shut off the stoker and use the scoop.  Spread the coal around and keep that damn blower on as hard as she'll go."
   The train raced towards Dothan with Franklin staggering all over the cab, occasionally missing the fire door completely and spreading coal all over the place.  Russel made a comment about greenhorn firemen as they finally approached Deland with 180 pounds of pressure. 
   Russel decided to lend a hand with the fire when he realized the pressure had dropped down to 150 pounds.  Franklin had inadvertently left the injector on and cold water was flowing into the boiler.  Russel shut off the feedwater pump and gave Franklin – the questionable fireman – a baleful eye.  By now, there were hot clinkers all over the deck and when Franklin shook the grates again half the fire dropped onto the tracks.  It took both of them to level the fire. 
   By then, the pressure registered 160 pounds and Russel said, "I don't give a damn if you only have 10 pounds, we have to get this train moving."  1516 reluctantly edged off and Franklin worked the fire.  The pressure was climbing and it looked like they were going to make it.
   As the train approached Sanford, the blower pipe broke and steam pressure began to fall again.  Russel said he would try to fix it at the next stop seventeen miles ahead when they stopped for water.  By the time they spotted under the water spout the pressure was down to 180 pounds. 
   Russel crawled out on the boards and attempted to repair the blower.  After ten long minutes, the conductor approached the engine and said, "Just what are you two monkeys doing to my train?  Let's get the hell out of here. We're thirty minutes late already.'  So 1516 shuffled off with Russel and Franklin hoping they could muster up enough steam to make the last 54 miles. 
   When they finally pulled into the Lakeland station, the division superintendent met them and he was not happy.  They were 45 minutes late and had delayed every train on the line.  Fraklin figured the fault would land on his shoulders and he calculated that unemployment compensation would only amount to $53.00 a week. 
   The next morning Franklin was called into the Superintendent's office and he was prepared for the worst.  However, the Superintendent said, "Russel told me you did a good job under the circumstances.  However, I'm going to assign you to the yard goat until you get more experience."   
   Franklin gladly fired the 0-4-0 yard goat for the next six months.  It could only move a few cars at a time but it ran on a teaspoon of coal and the daily run was to tend to the industries in downtown Lakeland and Bartow.  Franklin was finally allowed to go back to firing on the mainline and his memory of that night on the Southwind faded over time.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ2l2gXLQ-8         
 
#75
Saturday Report - July 31, 2021 - Atlantic & Southern Railroad

The Board of Directors met promptly at 8:30 a.m.  The A&S took delivery of the new Walthers Mainline ACL SW7 switcher.  The price is right for this little jewel.  It looks great and easily pulled a freight train consisting of 10 cars and a brass caboose up the one percent grade on the ovalix from the Midlands to Summit.  The downside is the inferior Locsond decoder.  This sound system would be perfect for those who are satisfied with train sets, but it fails to impress the officials of the A&S.  The unit will be sent to the Shops in Tampa for conversion to TCS WOW Sound.  While on the subject of new deliveries, the A&S recently acquired an S-12 Baldwin switcher manufactured by Bowser.  The unit looks great and the WOW Sound decoder picks up the clatter of the Baldwin prime mover perfectly.  The unit is decorated for the C of G and it will pull more cars up the ovalix than the SW7.

Since we were running Central of Georgia engines, we switched to a C of G SD9 and moved our freight train through downtown Tahope.  As the train returned towards the mainline, the crew stopped at sweaty Betty's Diner for lunch.  Bob Butts arrived about that time and we took or lunch break at Del Dio's restaurant. 

This week's story involves the delivery of diesel locomotives to railroads in the days when steam was still king.  The article for which your reporter is indebted for the information contained in the story was published in Trains Magazine, November 1980, by a retired EMD diesel instructor.  That job must have been quite an adventure, at least when deliveries were to railroaders who had never been around a diesel before.

                                                                                                                  DELIVERING EMD'S LOCOMOTIVES

The Atlantic Coast Line took delivery of passenger diesels (E6s) 1940.  They reigned as the power for name trains along with E7s and many of them remained in service right up until AMTRAK took over passenger operations.

The E6s performed well enough but there were problems with reliability until some of the bugs were worked out.  In those days, railroaders used to say they would couple up three E6s to a passenger train and hope that two of them would make it to the end of the run.  Another problem was caused when the locomotive traveled through a rainstorm, which happens regularly in Florida.  The louvers regulating air intake into the engine room were supposed to be automatic but they had the habit of sticking in the open position.  Entering the engine room in the rain while the train was making 70 mph was like standing in a hurricane.  This problem was solved as the engines came in for repairs and maintenance.

E7s began to arrive in 1945.  The E7s had the bulldog nose which allowed nose-to-nose MU connections and their engine room was redesigned to allow dynamic brakes.  Not all of the bugs were worked out of the E7s upon delivery.  Passenger locomotives in those days had to have a steam boiler which drove the heating and air conditioning in the passenger cars.  The generators would work for maybe half an hour before giving trouble.  The system was complicated and difficult to understand.  Boiler failure resulted in the resurrection of ACL's Pacific locomotives during the first six months of E7 operation.

In the early days of diesel delivery, crews used to steam engines had to undergo considerable retraining.  Fortunately, EMD had a plan.  Instructors arrived with the diesel orders and they stayed until the engine crews became proficient in the operation of the new locomotives.  Many of these EMD employees were former railroaders who had been trained on the ins and outs of the diesel's engine and electric system.
 
In the beginning of diesel delivery, the new locomotives arrived deadheaded behind other locomotives, sometimes steam engines.  A baggage car accompanied the diesels, full of parts and equipment that EMD provided to the new owners.  Sometimes, a sleeper was provided for the comfort of the onboard instructional staff and the maintenance instructors.

The first day of instruction involved the orientation of the new locomotives.  Engineers who were used to driving steam engines were taught basic things such as "This is the headlight switch.  This is the throttle – it has eight notches.  When you push the throttle away from you, the engine goes faster.  This is the brake system."  Railroad crews liked some aspects of diesel operation – they could wear street clothes to work instead of greasy overalls and diesels did not burn coal so worrying about cinders became a thing of the past.

One of the problems steam engineers had to overcome was the fact that when the throttle on a diesel was closed so the train could drift into a station, there was considerably less friction working to reduce speed than on a steam locomotive, with its huge drivers, side rods, and other moving parts.  Many a new diesel driver overshot a station by failing to apply brakes sooner than his usual practice.

The job of being an EMD instructor was interesting and, at least at the beginning of dieselization, challenging.  Conversion from steam to diesel-electric had its challenges for many railroaders and some of them groused about the minimal level of skill it took to run an E unit as compared to a steamer.  One of the complaints made by EMD instructors was that deliveries to southern railroads always seemed to be in the summer and deliveries to northern railroads always seemed to be in the winter. However, the job allowed instructors to travel around the country and many of them worked for EMD until retirement.


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