The Atlantic & Southern Saturday Report

[PRR Modeler]

Great story. It's good to hear that the A&S management is slowly getting back to normal.

[GPdemayo]

.....the A&S management is slowly getting back to normal.

Is that in the realm of possibilities.....

[S&S RR]

.....the A&S management is slowly getting back to normal.

Is that in the realm of possibilities.....

Greg


Normal is a relative term which is stretched to its limits by model railroading folks. Great to hear you guys got back together.  It gives the rest of us hope.   

[S&S RR]

Great story Judge.

[GPdemayo]

.....the A&S management is slowly getting back to normal.

Is that in the realm of possibilities.....

Greg

Normal is a relative term which is stretched to its limits by model railroading folks. Great to hear you guys got back together.  It gives the rest of us hope. 

That's real good news to hear John.....I was beginning to worry, just a bit. 

[Judge]

Here is one of my many true stories from the bench: 
    I had a criminal case that involved a defendant who was the "bouncer" for a night club located east of downtownSanford near the city limits named the "Club 2 Spot." The 2 Spot was patronized by black patrons exclusively and we used to get a felony or two every week out of the place. It was a rough place but I don't think there was blood on the ceiling.
    The defendant was responsible to take the cash earnings from the club to the bank after closing time every evening and, of course, he carried his "piece" with him for protection considering all the money he was carrying.  Unfortunately, he was a convicted felon and was not allowed to have possession of a firearm.  One thing led to another and he was stopped and searched by the police one night after he made the deposit.  He was charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon.  He pled guilty to the charge and he and I had quite a discussion about his situation at sentencing.  I explained to him that although his conviction was over 10 years old, he was not allowed to ever possess a firearm and he needed to find a friend to accompany him to the bank to make his deposits.  This guy was a nice guy with a friendly smile and I could tell he was not a dangerous criminal.  I decided to put him on probation for a short period of time and let it go at that. 
    Just before he left the courtroom, I said, "Oh, by the way, I've driven by the 2 Spot on several occasions and I notice there are little wooden buildings behind the club. What are those for?  The defendant got a big smile on his face and said, "Oh, Judge, thems Happy Huts. We rents them by the minute."  My immediate vision was of filthy old mattresses spread out on the floor with who knows what kind of fluids on them.  Of course, i could have been wrong and the "huts" could have been clean and tidy. 
    The City of Sanford tried to close the 2 Spot down for years, but the owner was careful not to lose his liquor license.  Finally, one day as I was driving out that way, I noticed the 2 Spot was closed.  I mentioned this to one of my fellow judges and found out he had just signed the final judgment d foreclosure on the property. 
    Today, there is a brand new middle school located in place of the 2 Spot - a much better use.
    And Delwin's Fish Camp in Tahope County has built "Happy Huts" for the convenience of short-time guests from Barlow's Bar-B-Q and for weekend guests who fish in the Suwanee River Lagoon.  They are available for occupancy by railroaders who are members of the SBG.  Just ask Delwin for the special rate.

[Keep It Rusty]

Enjoyed this post, Judge. And I like that you took kindly to that man — it was a sound call, in my third party opinion.

I think I may have to model some "Happy Huts" in a future diorama. Wonderfully dirty!

[Jim Donovan]

Both stories were great, thanks for sharing.

Jim D

[Erieman]

Bill aka the Judge,


Love your recent story. Was impressed on your judgement and fairness, but most of all loved the "picture" you created by the element of creativity of the "Happy Huts". I can see many modelers creating their own version of them. I for one have a perfect area for such a venue and will keep you advised as to the design and build progress of said "Happy Huts". Hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and look forward to a safe new year.


All he best,


Erieman / Frank

[Blazeman]

Good jurisprudence on your part, Your Honor.  Shows how your colleagues hands are tied by mandatory sentencing requirements.

Larry

[Judge]

Saturday Report - January 2, 2021

    The Board of Directors met promptly at 8:30 a.m.  Future builds were discussed and we viewed the progress on the Tahope River project.  The citrus packing plant and the citrus processing plant will be relocated from their temporary home at Summit to their original locations just north of the Tahope River.  This will give us a better siding location at Summit for Butt's Meatpacking Facility.  Stockcars will be spotted there in the near future. 
    We fired up the C&O K3 Mike and ran it down the Ovalix to the Midlands.  The consist included 23 freight cars and a brass caboose.  The Mike handled it easily on the downgrade.  Later we tested the Mike's pulling power on the upgrade and determined that 14 freight cars and a caboose would be the typical load without a helper.  When the Mike arrived back at Summit, we switched power to an A-B-A lashup of Penny E7 freight units.  The train returned to the Midlands and picked up the cars that had been dropped earlier and added a few.  The diesels pulled the entire consist up the Ovalix to Summit without difficulty.
  Lunch was at Del Dio's and we called it a day.
    Today's story is the sad ending of the romance between Shortstack and Boxcar Bonnie.  All good things must come to an end, you know and so it goes with romance
                                                                                   
                                                                                              Shortstack Finds a Girlfriend – Part V

   When we last left Shortstack at the Trackside Tavern, he has just given Bonnie's brother, Billy Ray, a fond farewell. 
   Shortly after Billy Ray returned to Tennessee, Shortstack placed a bid on the Champion, and, to his surprise, he found himself assigned to the West Coast section on December 30, 1950.  He rode deadhead to Tampa the night before and arrived at Tampa Union Station the next morning.  The West Coast Section of the Champ consisted of eight brand new streamlined Bud passenger cars, including coaches, sleepers, and a lounge/snack car. 
        Shortstack checked the angle cocks on each of the cars and inspected the four-wheel trucks carefully, looking for defects.  Then he walked through the train, making sure everything was clean and ready for departure.  He stopped in the snack bar and treated himself to a cup of coffee and one of ACL's famous sweet rolls. 
        The Champ pulled out of Tampa right on time at noon and headed for Jacksonville, where it would be combined with the East Coast Section arriving from Miami at 5:20 p.m.
        Shortstack spent the night in Jacksonville and caught the Southbound Champ the next day at 10:30 a.m.  He arrived back at the Sanlando station at about 1:15.pm.  From there, he headed home for a much-needed rest.  Bonnie would be coming home in between her shifts at the Trackside Tavern later that afternoon, and he eagerly awaited her arrival. 
        Shortstack was up again around 5:00 p.m, but Bonnie had not come home.  Shortstack thought that was strange, but he knew she had a double shift on New Year's Eve, so he got dressed in his best blue jeans, a thousand-mile shirt, and his newest steel-toed boots and proceeded to the Trackside Tavern. 
The owner of the Tavern, Bruce Bonebreaker, had hired Gus Czerwornky to assist as the bouncer that evening on account of it was New Year's Eve.  Gus recognized Shortstack and grabbed him by the shoulders.  He said, "Shortstack, are you sure you want to go in there on New Year's Eve?  Things might get pretty dicey"  Shortstack said, "I never walk into a place I cain't walk out of," and he proceeded inside.
        The Tavern was already crowded when Shortstack came in, but Bonnie was nowhere to be seen.  Shortack asked Clovis Butcher, the bartender if he had seen Bonnie.  Clovis said, "She ain't been in for a day or two, but there's Newt Fisher, he may of seed her." 
Shortstack approached Newt and said, "Cousin, where the hell's Bonnie?"  Newt replied, "Sorry to be the one to tell ya, Shortstack, but she dun
r-u-n-n-o-f-t with "Wormy" McSlyme.  They're heading north to avoid the warrants out for Wormy."
        "Well," said Shortstack, "Don't that beat all.  I guess it's a good thang I didn't pay this month's rent.  I'm moving back to The Bottoms  Never did cotton to a woman who chawed terbacky anyway."


   

[ACL1504]

I never thought Boxcar Bonnie was good enough for the good ole boy Shortstack.

[PRR Modeler]

Poor Shortstack.

[Judge]

Saturday Report 1-9-21

There is no formal Saturday Report today because the board of directors' meeting was not scheduled due to the Babe's hair appointment.

However, there is a story.  The idea for this little gem came from theJanuary, 1938 edition of Railroad Magazine (Newstand price $.15).  Soome of the ads in the front of the magazine include, "Lionel Trains," a "Big Free Book on Crime Cases," "Be a Railway Traffic Inspector" with a "home study course," and "Steady Work, Good Pay - Reliable man wanted to call on farmers.  No experience required.  Pleasant work, home every night, $12.00 a day."  How can you beat them apples?

                                                                                                               Mike in the Mud

One chilly winter morning before dawn in 1938, veteran engineer "Fatso" Johnson was assigned to the morning Sanlando Local, which was to deliver and pick-up cars from various locations in the Tahope area.  Mike number 835 was assigned as the power that day and a student brakeman, Steve Carpenter, was assigned as head shack.  The man in charge of the run was conductor Donald Tinker, who had only been with the railroad a few months. "Fatso" was the only member of the crew who had any real whiskers.
   Just prior to pulling out of Sanlando Yard, "Fatso" said to his fireman, "Ain't that our luck?  We got a student brakie who don't know where to wipe and a rookie conductor who don't look any older than my teenaged daughter.  They will probably promote him to trainmaster after he completes this short run around the Tahope industries." 
   The train order for he run stated, "Do not use Sokol's house track."  This caused a dilemma because a boxcar was scheduled to be set out there. 
   "Fatso" approached the switch at Sokol's and saw no sign that any repairs had been made or any other indication that the warning on the train order could he ignored. 
   Carpenter approached the switch to the house track and noted it was not spiked. Tinker, the rookie conductor, told Carpenter to open the switch.  Carpenter said to Tinker, "Are you aware of the train order forbidding use of Sokol's house track?"  "Don't worry about it," said Tinker, "if there was still a problem, the switch would be spiked.  Signal the engineer to push that boxcar into the house track."  With that, Carpenter signaled "Fatso" to back into the house track.  "Fatso" answered the signal with one short blast from 835's whistle – STOP!  Carpenter signaled again, and "Fatso" answered with one short blast from the whistle.
   Angry, Tinker walked up to the cab and said, "Fatso, why won't you back into the house track?"  "Fatso" answered, "Because the train order says not to use it and I'm not chancing a derail of this big hog." 
   With that, Tinker shouted, "I'm the conductor of this train and I'm telling you to push that boxcar into the house track."
   Somewhat peeved, "Fatso" kicked the reverse into the corner and snatched a few yards of throttle, sending the engine into the house track at about 10 mph. 
   Suddenly, the world caved in as the boxcar left the track and 835's pony truck and frontt driver followed it into the mud.  Tinker and "Fatso" climbed off the hog to view the situation and discovered the track maintenance gang had removed the rails from the spur about 40 yards from the mainline. 
   Try as they might, they could not get 835 to back up onto the end of the rail stubb.  The big hook had to be called and the engine was finally rerailed. 
   That evening, the crew received a stern comeuppance from the superintendent.  Tinker received time off without pay and "Fatso" only received a written warning.  Upon leaving the Super's office, "Fatso" remarked, "All I needed today was a cussing out by the Superintendent because I followed the orders of a green conductor.  Where do they get these college pukes?  They've read books but they don't know nothing about railroading. Nowadays you've gotta have a college education to shovel coal."   

[ReadingBob]

Love that last line!