The Atlantic & Southern Saturday Report

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

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Dennis Bourey

Dennis Bourey
dpbourey@comcast.net

Lake's Region RR
(Happy Modeling)

Judge

#316
July 27, 2019 Saturday Report - Atlantic & Southern Railroad

The Board of Director's meeting began promptly at 0830 this morning.  Everyone was in a good mood knowing the air conditioner was working - and for a 26-year old unit it really puts out the negative BTU's. 

There was a celebration over the delivery of the refurbished ACL E7, complete with updated TCS WOW Sound decoder and a new "bass" speaker.  The speaker makes a noticeable difference in the sound.  We may install several of these in our larger locomotives.  The speaker won't fit in GEEP units or steamers with small tenders.

The new Central of Georgia SD9 was also delivered.  It is a great addition to the roster.

We started the morning's operations off by moving the C&O's George Washington from where it was spotted at Summit down to the Bottoms.

Then we ran the ACL Champion with the E7's.  The passenger cars in the consist are among the oldest in our inventory and we had problems with the train breaking in two on the Ovalix.  The A&S Director of Maintenance, Will Fixer, towed the car causing the trouble to the shop and, after a coupler adjustment, it was returned to service.

The new SD9 was put through its paces by pulling a pulpwood train from The Midlands to Summit and dropping the consist at Summit Yard.  There were orders awaiting the engine at Summit and it coupled onto a mixed freight, which it hauled down the Ovalix to The Midlands and through the Taahope Branch Line, returning by way of the reverse loop.

Greg DeMayo graced us with his presence about 10:30 and we all went to lunch at smokey Bones. 

After lunch, there was a general bull session and some more running the SD9.

This week's story takes place in 1862, during the War of Northern Aggression.  It clears up a number of fake news reports at the time, mostly from New York newspapers, concerning the facts of what has become known as "The Great Locomotive Chase."  I promise, this will be the last of these Civil War stories, at least for a while.

                                                                                             The Truth About the Great Locomotive Chase   

Many of the inhabitants of Tahope County have ancestors who fought on the side of the Confederacy during the Civil War. 

For instance, Willard Woodman's great-grandfather Sam "Goat" Woodman "tuck up arms" shortly after Florida succeeded from the Union and joined the C.S.A.'s 44th Railroad Transportation Company, whose motto was "You call, we haul, y'all." 

Goat, who had prior experience, was promoted to sergeant and became a fireman shortly after he enlisted.   The 44th was assigned to the Western & Atlantic RR for duty.  Goat and his engineer ran a little American (4-4-0) type engine named "General" every day from Atlanta to Chattanooga and back, delivering arms, ammunition, and infantry replacements on the way up and delivering the dead and wounded on the return trip. 

On April 12, 1862, the General was "wooded up" and "took on water" at a little place north of Atlanta called Big Shanty, Georgia (pronounced "Jaw-Ja").  Captain W.A.Fuller was the conductor of the mixed passenger train that day and Goat Woodman was the fireman.  Capt. Fuller and the engineer decided to get some "eats" while the General was being serviced and instructed Goat to remain with the engine while they were gone.

Goat looked about and saw no reason to remain in the cab of the General because it was hot in there when the engine wasn't moving, so he decided to wander a ways down the track and find a place to rest in the shade.

About the time he was good and comfortable, he heard a great deal of commotion near the engine. A group of armed men ordered the few passengers aboard off the train and climbed in the General's cab.  The locomotive started off into the direction of Chattanooga, leaving the crew behind. 

We all know the leader of these bandits was a Yankee major named Andrew.  He was later captured and hanged, not for the theft of the General, because it never left W&A property, but for espionage as a Union spy.  The Confederate legal system was a stickler for getting it right.

So, for quitting his post without authority and allowing the Andrews Raiders to capture the General, Sam Woodman was busted to the grade of private and reassigned to the Atlanta locomotive repair facility, where he finished out the war without firing a shot. It was because of the incident at Big Shanty that Sam Woodman acquired the name of Goat, which he carried with him to his grave in 1913.

Few people know the truth of the story of the Andrew's Raid and current renditions of the tale tend to make it out as something it wasn't.  But folks born and raised in Tahope know the truth and speak highly of Goat Woodman, who was one of the few Tahope residents who made a name for himself during the war.


                                                                                                                                                                                                           

PRR Modeler

Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
Freelanced PRR Bellevue Subdivision

jimmillho

I hope you never run out of stories Bill

Jim

ACL1504

Folks, there's a lot of history involving the Tahope descendents. Some of it believable and some not so much. However, I must say, as I cross my fingers, it's all true.

We have descendents of General Nathan B. Forrest living in and around Tahope. To the south and north of the lubritorium stands the great forest of Bedford Forest.

"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

S&S RR

Quote from: DennisBourey on July 23, 2019, 09:53:56 AM
Dido......I was 8 also ;)


I was 12 and attending a Boy Scott summer camp.  The only building at the camp with power was the mess hall. The staff brought in TV's and lined them up along the front porch of the building. Some of the biggest TV's I had ever seen. Probably 25 inch. :o ;) ;D  We all sat in front of the TV's for hours watching - we could look up at the moon over the lake and then back at the TV's. A great way to watch the landing.
John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

Bill


Another great story. Keep them coming.
John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

Judge

Your reporter failed to provide proof of purchase of the new Central of Georgia SD9.  Here is photographic evidence with the SD9 spotted on A&S track.


                                                       

jerryrbeach

Judge,

I never tire of your stories or the photos in this thread.  Keep 'em coming!
Jerry

Judge

#324
August 3, 2019
   
This is the monthly weekend when "the Babe" gets her hair done in Mount Dora and Tom visits the Pennsy at Bill and Chris Cutler's place.  So there is no report from the A&S today.
    However, the A&S did recently receive two Illinois Central E8A units and they are being converted to WOW sound and should be on line to pull the City of Miami next week.  How do I.C. diesels find their way to a Florida swamp you may ask?  The answer is the Miami to Chicago passenger train found its way onto ACL tracks due to a pooling arrangement with the I.C.  I was privileged to ride the "City" from Chicago to Florida in 1954.  My father was a banker and he attended a banker's convention in Chicago.  We went up to Chicago on the "Dixie Flagler" and came back on the "City."  My father pulled some strings and got us a cab ride on both trains.  We rode in NC&St.L F3 diesels from Chattanooga to Nashville and through Southern Illinois on the way back.  I got to blow the horn a couple of times.

    This week's story continues the adventures of Newt Fisher, whose parents, Tallula and Luke, live in one of the cracker shacks on Eaton's curve. (See p.eight)  Some time ago, Newt decided that life as a bum in the bottoms was not for him so he tried his hand as and engine watchman. Newt has certain limitations, including the fact that he got his intelligence genes from his mother, and his pathological fear of accomplishment. 

                                                                                                   Striking It Rich on a Student Trip

    Newt Fisher managed to learn the ropes on how to be a successful "engine watchman" (See p.eighteen) after only a few weeks of that duty and, since the job was never intended to be a permanent position, Newt was promoted to temporarily try his luck as a student fireman.
    Now, the A&S management knew Newt had certain limitations, so the yardmaster was directed to assign him to A&S #7, , an oil fired 2-6-6-2.  This avoided the distinct possibility that Newt would fail to grasp the complexities of hand firing a coal burner.
    Newt reported for duty the next day only to find the conductor, engineer, and the regular fireman conversing about the day's run, which was to haul a train of pulpwood from Piney Woods up to Summit and return with some empties.  Old #7 was the best choice to pick up pulpwood due to the light rail on the Piney Woods spur.
    George "Crack-a-diamond" Musselwhite was the assigned fireman for the run.  He had been firing steam locomotives for many years and had trained many a student fireman. 
    George "tuck Newt aside" and explained a fireman's duties to him.  The Bunker C fuel oil used on oil fired engines is as thick as sludge when it is not heated and that is why oil burners have a heater in the tender's fuel bunker.  Oil heated properly will liquify and flow through the atomizer more easily when it is injected into the firebox.  Newt was told to turn the heater on and occasionally put his hand on the back of the fuel bunker tank.  "When it feels hot, it's hot enough."  Newt turned the heater on high and promptly forgot all about it.
    The engineer assigned that day, "Fatso" Johnson, gave #7's three chime whistle two short blasts and eased out into the yard with only a caboose in tow.  George, confident that Newt could follow instructions and handle the fireman's job for the short trip to Piney Woods, stepped off the engine at the yard limit, intending to rejoin the crew on the trip to Summit.
    There is a problem when the oil in the fuel bunker gets too hot.  It starts to bubble.
    The temperature in the fuel bunker kept going up and up as #7 chugged its way to Piney Woods and it began to bubble.  It wasn't long before it started bubbling out of the tank onto the deck.  Then a geyser shot out of the dip stick hole and spewed hot oil all over the cab of the engine, much to the discomfort of its occupants.
    Newt, quickly realizing his mistake, shut off the heater, climbed on the tank, and shut the dip stick hole.
    The rest of the trip was unpleasant to say the least.  However, when #7 returned to the roundhouse, the maintenance crew cleaned up the mess using sand, kerosene, and a steam hose.  It took Newt and "Fatso" as long to scrub the oil off of their bodies as it did to clean the engine.
    The yardmaster realized anyone can make mistakes the first day on a job, and, since no permanent harm was done to employees or equipment, Newt received no discipline other than a stern warning.
    The does not mean Newt didn't hear about it from his peers.  "Fatso" Johnson told the roundhouse crew how the incident happened and the word rapidly spread that Newt was the only A&S employee in history who ever struck oil in Florida.

jimmillho

Great Story Bill.  Hope you have many more stored somewhere.

Jim

GPdemayo

Great story Bill.....I used to take the City of Miami to visit my Mom's relatives in Missouri each summer when I was a kid and then at the beginning and end of the school year when I was at Mizzou for college.....loved it.  :)
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

MAP

Another enjoyable story Bill.  Always fun reading them!
Mark

Judge

#329
August 10, 2019
Big day today.  The A&S took delivery of the newly repowered Illinois Central E8A's.  We waited over two years for delivery.  They are a thing of beauty and run like a watch.  They will power the City of Miami.  The diesels are in the A-B-A configuration, with the middle B unit pleasing, but unpowered.  (It is certainly no "dummy.")  The plan is to replace the provided speakers with the new TCS WOW Sound enhanced bass speakers. We have already installed one of those speakers in an ACL E7A and it really improves the realism of the sound.  The IC passenger cars are all lighted and loaded with passengers.  Mostly streamlined cars but a few heavyweights thrown in so our passengers can have the option of a 14-section "Battleship."  The prototype City of Miami ran from Chicago to Miami.  It retained the IC diesels until it arrived in Jacksonville.  The FEC provided the power from Jax to Miami.  We will ultimately have a version of the Jax terminal at Summit and will change IC E8's for FEC E7's.  But that will probably be sometime next year.  There is still work to do on the Tahope branch and Tom is very busy building structures to be placed on the south side of the Tahope River.  In keeping with the policy of ignoring environmental concerns, the Tahope City Council has approved construction of a pest control facility on the south bank of the Tahope Rive with runoff directly into the river. 

The SBG (Saturday Buddy Group) met at 10:00. We ran the new City of Miami around the Midlands and up to Summit.  Lunch at Smokey Bones, as usual.

Here is a photo of the lead IC E8A, taken during her maiden voyage through the Midlands.

                                                                       

This week's story follows the adventures of Newt Fisher, who, as you might remember, is cousin to Shortstack and recently decided to leave The Bottoms for gainful employment.  He worked as an engine watchman with mixed success, but managed to get promoted to student fireman.  His first day on the job was a little rocky (Pager ten) but he stuck with it and today he is a man of experience firing an oil burning steamer.

                                                                                                   Oops!  We're Taking on Water

There is an old saying, "the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."  The originator of that saying never spent a winter in sunny Central Florida.  It gets bone chilling cold for a few days each winter.  The thermometer drops down to a few degrees below freezing, but the humidity remains at 80%.  When the wind blows from the north it is like standing in ice water.

One chilly February morning in 1950, the temperature dropped below freezing  when Number 7 pulled out onto the mainline.  She needed water for the run to Piney Woods, so the engineer, "Fatso" Johnson, spotted her under the water tank spout at Sanlando.

                                                                         
 

Newt climbed up on the tender and opened the man hole that covered the water tank on the tender.  He reached the spout with a tank hook and pulled it down to where he could reach it.  The spout had a little step on it which needed the weight of a man in order to hold it into the tank.  The fireman had to stand on that step or the spout would jump out of the tank and drench the unwary tallow pot.

Newt put his foot on the step, pulled the chain that allowed the water to flow, and began to fill the tank.  But the deck was icy and his foot slipped, causing the spout to rise and ice cold water hit him square in the chest, nearly knocking him off the tender.  By the time he got the contraption under control, he was drenched and chilled to the bone.

"Fatso" saw Newt's predicament and motion him back into the cab.  "Strip naked, Newt," he said, "we have enough water to get to make it to Summit and your clothes can dry on the back head on the way.  So, Newt stripped and fired Number 7 naked all the way to Piney Woods and up the Ovalix to Summit.  By the time they arrived at Summit Newt's clothes were dry and he rode back to the roundhouse in more modest condition. 

"Fatso" Johnson couldn't resist telling the tale to the roundhouse crew and Newt became known as "Nudist Newt," the only fireman to fire an engine completely au naturel.

And that's the truth!


                                                                 

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