The Atlantic & Southern Saturday Report

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

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Judge

#495
Saturday Report January 18, 2020.  Central Florida Temperature - High 70's and clear.

This week's Saturday Report will not contain a weekly "story" because the Forum is under renovation and photographs cannot be guaranteed for posting.  Unfortunately, this week's story had several photographs.  So, this week's Report will only memorialize today's activities on the A&S Railroad.  Next week's report will be with story, hopefully, but without Report, because it is the Babe's Saturday for travel to Mount Dora to have her hair done.

The weekly meeting of the Board of Directors convened promptly at 0830 hours.  The Board was given an opportunity to view the completed Cresent Limited passenger train, composed of Walthers Mainline cars with lighting installed.  The train consists of two back-to-back Southern E8 A units decked out in green, white and gold, followed by the only brand new, freshly painted REA freight car ever seen on any railroad, a baggage/RPO car, a baggage/lounge car, four coaches, a dinner, two sleepers, and a sleeper/lounge observation car.  The train performed reasonably well on it maiden voyage, except the dinner car had a tendency to derail.  (It seems like therer is one problem car in every passenger train.)  Fortunately, the A&S car maintenance team got right on it and successfully corrected the problem with the defective truck.  All cars are lighted, but, wouldn't you know it, the dinner light doesn't work.  Due to installation difficulties with the car, it will have to be scrapped and replaced wtih one of its identical twins.  Too bad, after all that work (fun) fixing the derail problem.

The Cresent traveled around  Summit and drifted down the Ovalix to the Midlands and back with ease.  It is an impressive train.  However, all readers who are interested in purchasing these Mainline cars should beware!  The installation of the lighting system is more trouble than it is worth.  The instructions are poor and the parts do not always fit.  Besides, the kits will not work reliably unless some soldering is done to make a good electrical connection.  Our car maintenance department recommends spending the extra bucks and buying the regular Walthers cars.  Additionally, some of the cars need paint touch-up and one would expect a better product from Waltthers.

We spent much of the morning admiring the progress on the South end of the railroad.  Beehives have been delivered to the Apiary and it should be a going business soon.  The bees are expected to produce hundreds of pints of Orange Blossom Honey regularly, thereby increasing A&S revenue shipments "up Nawth" during the spring and summer.

                                                                                                         WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENT!

  Officer and Mrs. Eldridge Poovey recently announced the marriage of their daughter, Daffodil, to George (Crack-a-Diamond) Musselwhite.  Daffy is a recent graduate of Tahope County High School, where she excelled in shop and auto mechanics.  George is a fireman for the Seaboard Air Line Railroad.  The wedding took place at the City of Tahope Police Station under armed guard.  The bride wore her new Levi skirt, jacket and tennis shoes.  The groom, who was handcuffed, wore his "Sunday-go-to-meeting suit, with his fireman's hat and bandana.  The couple will honeymoon at Delwin's Fish Camp.  Their first child is expected in March of this year.   

GPdemayo

#496
Glad to see the Cresent going Bill.....amazing the alarming number of this type of wedding in Tahope.

The city does not seem to be losing their population to the big cities, which is a good thing if the city fathers want to keep it a thriving town.  ;D
Gregory P. DeMayo
General Construction Superintendent Emeritus
St. Louis & Denver Railroad
Longwood, FL

Judge

#497
SATURDAY REPORT WILL BE DELAYED UNTIL NOON JAN. 26.

Judge

#498
Saturday Report January 26, 2020.  Weather in Tahope County - Sunny and 50 degrees.  High expected - 66 degrees.

There is no formal Saturday Report today.  However, there is a story.

                                                                                           SOKOL FURNITURE AND MATTRESS COMPANY
  The Sokol Furniture and Mattress Factory is located on the outskirts of the City of Tahope, just north of the Tahope River Bridge.  It was founded by Marty Sokol in 1887.  It survived the panic of 1893 largely because of its location next to the railroad tracks of the A&S Railroad.  Marty Sokol shipped furniture made from Florida pine and oak to Jacksonville and as far north as Savannah and Charleston.  Because his furniture was of superior quality, his products were brought to the attention of George M. Pulman, who, by that time, was one of the era's famous millionaires.  Pullman contracted with Sokol to furnish some of his private palace cars.  Pullman recommended Sokol to one of his buddies, Henry M. Flagler, who purchased furniture from Sokol to furnish many of his hotels, which were popping up all along Florida's east coast.  Sokol's reputation spread throughout the burgeoning Florida hotel industry and the company's customer base included the finest hotels in the state. 
  Marty Sokol's son, Manny, took over the business after WWI and survived the Great Depression due to the company's hotel customers. 
  By 1950, the City of Tahope was dominated by five industries, including the Atlantic & Southern Railroad, the Florida Citrus and cattle industry, the petroleum distribution center, the honey apiary, and Sokol's Furniture and Mattress Company.  Sokol's employed over 40 skilled craftsmen carpenters, finishers, weavers, and upholsterers on a year-round basis and took on some part-time help during the busy summer season.
  In January 1950, Manny Sokol was looking for a secretary/office assistant.  He advertised in the Tahope Daily Blatter and got a good response from several young women who had just graduated from Tahope High School, including a perky little former cheerleader named Peaches Weaver.  (You remember Peaches, don't you?  She celebrated her 18th birthday in the back seat of a 1950 Buick Roadmaster that belonged to her boyfriend's father.  See pp. 10-11).  Peaches had been an "A" student and could type and file so she was hired on the spot. 
  Marty decided to finance a marketing campaign to increase his market share form the sale of mattresses to the local citizens.  He hired a marketing consultant who recommended that he utilize some of the local talent to kick off the big sale.  He renovated part of the front of the factory building to include a glass window display and installed a fully furnished bedroom for observation of passing customers.  He placed an advertisement on the wall by the front entrance for a mattress tester.

                                                                                                                 WANTED!
                                                LANKY, LAZY LOUT WHO CAN SLEEP AT LEAST 12 HOURS STRAIGHT AS A MATTRESS TESTER.  SALARY, $2.00 A DAY. 
                                                                                             NO PRIOR EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE NECESSARY

  Days went by, which turned into weeks, and no applicants responded for the job. 
  Donnie (Shortstack) Turner had just gotten out of jail for molesting a blue crab trap when he stumbled by Sokol's on his way to nail a drag back to the Bottoms.  He happened upon the ad when he stopped at the factory for a handout.  Feeling fully qualified, he decided to put off celebrating his new found freedom and apply for the job, saying, "I cain't go home to the Bottoms, they needs me here."  Shortstack presented himself to the president's office and asked Peaches for a job application.  He told her he had just gotten out of jail and all they gave him there was "three hots and a cot" and this job would be a great improvement. 
  Well, Shortstack was given a shower and a shave and furnished with a brand new pair of pajamas.  Then he was shown to his bed and Peaches instructed him on his duties.  Shortstack, a great admirer of feminine pulchritude, asked her if she would like to help him test the mattress.  That was a mistake.  No sooner than when he got the words out of his mouth two rather large furniture movers, who worked as bouncers at Butts Bar-B-Que on Saturday nights,  showed him the door.  That ended Shortstack's mattress testing career.
  But, as Shortstack said to his fellow bums when he returned to the Bottoms, "At least I got a shower, a shave, and a new pair of pajamas.  Let's hope he got a bowl of Mulligan stew and a drink of "corn squeezins' to quench his thurst.


                                                                           

                                                                                     Skokol's has 40 lights installed in and around the building


                                                                           

                                                                                          The loading dock at Sokol's is a busy place.

                                                                               

                                                                  This is Peaches.  The photo appeared in the "The Swamp Cabbage," her high school yearbook.   



ReadingBob

Well, in Shortstacks defense ya can't blame a feller for try'in.  ;)
Bob Butts
robertbutts1@att.net

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

GPdemayo

Some fellas just can't catch a break..... or any feminine pulchritude.  ;)
Gregory P. DeMayo
General Construction Superintendent Emeritus
St. Louis & Denver Railroad
Longwood, FL

ACL1504

Looks like Peaches has a sexy attitude to go with her pulchritude!
"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

BandOGuy

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again".
Working on my second million. I gave up on the first.

PRR Modeler

Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
Freelanced PRR Bellevue Subdivision

Judge

                                                                                                     
Saturday Morning Report - February 1, 2020.  Temperature in mid-60's and rainy.
    The Board of Directors met promptly at 0830 hours and discussed the need for diesel switchers.  It was decided to keep two ALCO S-2 switchers (ACL and SAL) for use in the two yards and perhaps keep two EMD switchers as well. 
     The newly acquired Southen passenger train was moved to the Bottoms and the L&N passenger train, which is powered by two E6A units, climbed the 1 percent grade up the Ovalix to the Midlands for a run through Sanlando and Piney Woods.  Then it climbed to Summit and made a run until nearly 11:00 a.m. 
    Gregg Demayo arrived about 10:15 and he accompanied us to Smokey Bones for lunch. 
    After lunch, we changed motive power on the L&N streamliner by coupling an L&N L-1 4-8-2 onto the consist.  The steamer pulled the eight-car mixed smooth side and heavyweight cars without difficulty on level track, although we are sure that helper service will be needed ascending the Ovalix.
    A good time was had by all and the management is particularly proud of the progress made on the south end of the railroad.

   Today's story continues our survey of different railroad occupations.  The words "boomer" and "brakey" sort of go together.

                                                                                                         Vanishing Types

                                                                                                              The Boomer

    The Boomer was an itinerant railroader who traveled light, skipping at short notice from one railroad to another, sometimes just ahead of the law.  A boomer would sign on as a "brakey" on railroads like the A&S after a cursory interview, usually by the yardmaster.  Back in the link and pin days, those applicants with missing fingers were selected because they had "experience."  The new hires would be issued a "Pie Book" which contained a number of "pie cards" that were supposed to hold him over until payday for meals at Sweaty Betty's Diner.  The cost of the "Pie Book" was deducted from the boomer's first paycheck.
    The golden age of the boomers ended after WWI when hiring practices became more formal and by the mid-'20s railroaders would grouse about having to have a college education to heave coal.  Careful screening is the current hiring practice on the A&S, although being related to a current employee seems to give an advantage, much like the hiring practices in the Florida prison system.  Of course, nearly everyone in Tahope County is related in some way or other by blood, marriage, or intermarriage.  In fact, Tahope residents don't cotton to strangers and they find it is hard to fit into Tahope's "sassiety."
    Roger Russel, who was out on parole from Louisiana, wandered into Tahope from Jacksonville one day looking for work.  He tried his hand at one thing or another but he just couldn't fit in.  Finally, he walked into the A&S roundhouse and applied for a position with the A&S Railroad. 
    The Assistant Roundhouse Forman, Tater Cartwright, who had been born and raised in Tahope, hired him on as a car toad on the company RIP track.  Car toads make on the spot repairs to freight cars and perform maintenance on them. 
    Naturally, in 1950, it was customary to subject new hires to a certain amount of good-natured hazing as a form of welcome.  One of Russel's duties was to tote his boss' tool box about so Russel was ordered to bring the box to the car being repaired, only to find the box had been nailed to the wooden platform.  The boss shouted in feigned impatience, expressing his amazement at the delay.  Another incident occurred when six car toads were required to move a heavy wooded sill from one end of the RIP track platform to the other.  The men lifted the sill to their shoulders and, with Russel in the middle, the others suddenly stooped down, putting all of the weight on Russel and causing him to collapse.  Then there was the fireman who "accidentally" drenched Russel with the hose used to clean the coal dust off of the apron deck in front of the locomotive tender. 
    Russel endured the teasing with good humor.  He had learned a few things in the "joint" and he always went the extra mile to please his superiors.  He even volunteered to be a dope puller, the lowest job a car toad could be assigned.  The advantage of being a dope puller was the work was in the yard away from the RIP track platform. 
    A dope puller was assigned to inspect the hubs of freight cars awaiting transfer in the Sanlando freight yard.  It was the dope puller's job t extract "dope," (the greasy waste in the journal box of each wheel) and replace it with clean waste and grease, thus preventing "hot boxes" from friction on the revolving axel inside the journal box.  The dope puller accomplished this task by removing the dope from each journal box with a hook and placing it in a wheelbarrow.  Then he would replace the old dope with new dope.  Needless to say, the wheelbarrow was soon filled with a black greasy substance that gave new meaning to "hot and filthy."  The fact that one of Russel's co-workers gave him a friendly push backwards into the wheelbarrow filled with tar-like dope was the last straw. 
    Russel, who emerged from the wheelbarrow looking like he had been tarred without the feathers, decided to draw his road stake and strike out for the FEC.

PRR Modeler

Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
Freelanced PRR Bellevue Subdivision

S&S RR

Bill


Another fine report and story.  Thank you, again, for sharing this with us.
John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

GPdemayo

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

Judge

#508
Atlantic & Southern Saturday Report - February 8, 2020.  Weather in Central Florida Sunny, not a cloud in the sky, temperature Mid-70's.

The Board of Directors met at 0830.  The only item on the agenda was the disposition of a Seaboard Air Line Baldwin V1000 switcher.  It was decided to install WOW Sound in it and add it to the roster.  The installation will be a challenge because the body shell is not roomy.  WOW Sound now has a couple of Baldwin prime mover sounds on its decoders and one is the V1000 engine.

Today's story takes us back to the Trackside Tavern.

                                                                                                 Doins at the Trackside Tavern

    The Trackside Tavern's new owner decided to expand the hours of operation and the diversions available to the beer joint's customers.  The back room was converted into a casino with tables for poker, craps, and blackjack.  The gambling was strictly illegal, but the profits were worth the risk.  And the City Council members were regularly in attendance.  The casino operation was managed by a sinister-looking gentleman of Chinese extraction named Charlie Wu.  Charlie had a 21-year-old daughter named Yum Yum Wu, and she ran the blackjack table.  The house rule was if you could beat Yum Yum at blackjack you would win $100.  No one ever beat her.  The customers dubbed the casino operation as "The House of Not-a-Chance." 
    Charlie also supervised the girls who provided entertainment in the bar.  The girls were supposed to provide the house with one-third of their tips for their employment as independent contractors.
    One evening towards closing time, the jukebox lured the crowd away from the backroom to give their attention to the evening's entertainment on stage.  The girls danced and wiggled and collected a considerable remuneration for their efforts.  The favorite dancer was, of course, Magnolia (Maggie) Hussy, who had recently been released from custofdy on matters not pertinent here.
    Charlie accused Maggie of skimming her tips and demanded to see the stash she kept in her garter.  It was obvious that Maggie was not reporting her earnings so Charlie fired her on the spot.
    Maggie decided she would take her act elsewhere and packed her things for a trip on the Champion to Jacksonville, where sinning was more profitable. 
    The next evening, A&S switchmen, Burns and Garbury, happened by the depot on their way to work the midnight shift in Sanlando Yard.  They saw Maggie sitting on a baggage cart waiting for the train.  Upon inquiry, they learned Maggie was out of work so they organized a group of regulars to go discuss the matter with the Tavern's management. 
    Charlie explained that Maggie was a thief and he couldn't abide by her dishonesty.  "Besides," said Charlie, "inexpensive women like Maggie are a dime a dozen." 
    Maggie, as you might imagine, had quite a following with the crowd that gathered to express their concern over the turn of events.  They held a conference and decided to offer a solution.  Burns and Gadbury asked Charlie if he would give Maggie her job back if she paid $50 each night upfront and kept all the rest of her earnings.  That seemed fair to Charlie and Maggie was rehired. 
    Later that night, she returned to her boxcar in The Bottoms for a little turtle soup and a glass of white corn liquor before counting out the $250 she made after paying Charlie $50. 

                                                                                                                     

                                                   

                                                                                                       Charlie Wu

                                                   

                                                                   Charlie's daughter, Yum Yum Wu

GPdemayo

Now that's some shrewd deal the boys got for Maggie.....another good one Bill.  8)
Gregory P. DeMayo
General Construction Superintendent Emeritus
St. Louis & Denver Railroad
Longwood, FL

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