The Atlantic & Southern Saturday Report

[Judge]

Saturday Report - October 23, 2021

The Board of Directors of the Atlantic & Southern Railroad met at 8:30 and discussed progress on the structures being built for placement in downtown Tahope.  Then we ran a freight train powered by an A-B lash-up of Seaboard E4s.  The train made its run around Summit and down the ovalix to the Midlands.  Meanwhile, another SAL freight powered by two Geeps delivered goods to industries within the Tahope city limits.  Trains really look good as they snake through the middle of the street heading towards the engine facility and roundhouse. 

Invited guests began arriving including Bob Butts, Greg DeMayo, and Curt Webb.  A general bull session consumed the remaining time, except for the attempt to get Greg's steam engine running.  Seems like there is always a problem with guest motive power.  Surely it is not the guests.

We foldied our tent and repaired to Del Dio's for lunch promptly at 11:00 a.m.

Sorry, there is no story this week.  Your reporter has a weekend guest arriving soon and, besides, he needs a break. 

The A&S CEO turns 75 tomorrow.  Cards and gifts are not requested, although money is allowed.

Happy Halloween!  Boo!

[PRR Modeler]

A great time was had by all.

[deemery]

...
The A&S CEO turns 75 tomorrow.  Cards and gifts are not requested, although money is allowed.
...

Everyone, send Tom your $.02 worth!!


dave

[S&S RR]

Great to hear you guys all got together.

[Judge]

Thank you, John.  It's always good to know you are watching and reading the Saturday  Report!

[Judge]

Saturday Report – October 30, 2021.
   The Board of Directors of the Atlantic & Southern Railroad met promptly at 8:30 a.m.  The Board viewed a number of unpublished Videos involving the evolution of the railroad and it was decided to load some of the best of them for publication in future Saturday Reports.
   The Pennsy has a special relationship with the A&S.  The Pennsy announced the newest addition to its passenger fleet, a diesel-powered train called the Tampa Bay Special, which runs weekly from Philadelphia to Tampa.  The inauguration run of the train took place right after the Board completed its meeting.  The Tahope Times picked up the action at Sanlando and followed the train around the Midlands and up to Summit and back.  The train then took a turn through downtown Tahope before being sided due to the lunch hour scheduled at Del Dio's Italian Restaurant. 

   The idea for this week's story came from the June, 1940 Railroad Magazine.  Naturally, the story was modified to fit local railroad conditions.

                                                                                                         THE STUDENT BRAKEMAN

   William Hatch, his friends called him "Willie," worked for Old Man Martin at his cattle ranch in Osceola County, South of Orlando.  He was one of many who herded the cattle to the loading point on the ACL and chased the reluctant cows up the loading ramps into the stock cars for their last trip to the slaughterhouse at Summit. 
   One day he vowed to find work on the railroad.  He watched while a brakeman signaled the engineer who was running 1559 with four empties attached back into the siding and come to a stop at the cattle pens.  When the cattle were loaded, the brakeman gave a signal and 1559 chugged off towards its destination.
   Willie thought to himself, "If I could land a brakeman's job, I could ditch this cowpoke job and gain some adventure." 
   He approached a railroad employee who was standing near a tool shack and inquired as to just how he should go about obtaining a job with the ACL.  The employee said, "The best way I know of is to ask for it." 
"Fair enough," said Willie, "but where?"
   "Ask the trainmaster at any division point," said the employee. 
   "But where is the nearest division point," said Willie.
   "Tahope."
   With that, Willie hopped the local and soon arrived at the Sanlando Station.  He hoofed it to the roundhouse and found Trainmaster "Tater" Cartwright.  Willie took a short, written exam designed to make sure new hires could read and write and was hired as a student brakeman.  He began his on-the-job training the next day.
   At first, Willie was confused with the lingo he heard and the new mechanical braking and coupling devices with which he had to become familiar.  He learned how to use a brakeman's club and how to replace a broken knuckle.  He became familiar with journal boxes and how to cut out a car that had a hot box.  He climbed up the side of boxcars and became sure of himself "on the tops." 
   Finally, the day came when he was assigned to a train heading from Tampa to Jacksonville.  He climbed into the crummy at Sanlando and perched in the cupola with the conductor for a routine trip.  The train was powered by number 835, a USRA light Mikado coupled to twenty cars of mixed freight. 
   The engineer, Russel "Ballast Scorcher" Taylor, and his colored fireman, Jim, climbed into the cab of 835 and in no time the conductor gave the high ball and Taylor whistled off.  The challenge of the trip was the climb up the Ovalix to Summit.  The grade was a steady 1% and the track passed over itself six times.  It was said that if the train was long enough the engine could provide its own helper service. 
   The consist was just about all 835 could handle and it disgorged heavy smoke and cinders as Jim fed the furnace and the engine maintained a steady 5 mph. 
   Unfortunately, about halfway to Summit the knuckle on a mid-train boxcar coupler failed and the consist broke in two.  The conductor was sitting in the cupola and he immediately signaled the engineer, who applied brakes and awaited further instructions. 
   Willie climbed down from the caboose and pulled a new knuckle from the box hanging under the floor of the crummy.  It hit the ballast with a thud.  Knuckles are heavy objects – too heavy for one man to handle.  Fortunately, the head shack walked back to the stricken boxcar, and, between the two of them, they manhandled the new knuckle up to the scene of the problem. 
   "Well, Willie," said the head shack, "replace the knuckle and tell the brains to signal for a highball." 
   Willie struggled to remove the broken knuckle and finally met with success.  Not so much with trying to replace the knuckle by himself.  After several minutes of struggling and straining, the head shack returned and lent a hand.  New brakies routinely are the recipients of good-natured hazing and Willie learned he was supposed to have help replacing the knuckle of a coupler. 
   The rest of the trip to Summit was uneventful, although Willie pondered what he would have done if the train had broken in two and the air brakes had failed on a 1% grade.       

[PRR Modeler]

Great story Bill.

[jrmueller]

Another good one Judge.

[deemery]

The rest of the trip to Summit was uneventful, although Willie pondered what he would have done if the train had broken in two and the air brakes had failed on a 1% grade.     

Huh...  He might be too smart to work on this railroad :-) :-)

dave

[GPdemayo]

Nice one Bill.....

[ReadingBob]

Another good one Bill.  I can't imagine what it's like to replace the knuckle on a coupler.  Those things must have some serious weight to them. 

[Judge]

Thank you, Curt, Jim, Dave, Greg, and Bob for your kind comments.  835 can pull a heavy load if it doesn't have to struggle up the Ovalix.  See the link below.

                                                                                           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLk50mPWfbU

[Jim Donovan]

Great story and great video, enjoyed both.

Jim D

[Judge]

Saturday Report – November 6, 2021

     The Board of Directors of the mighty Atlantic & Southern Railroad, including the CEO and the Ticket Agent, met a little before 8:30 a.m. this morning.  The agenda was scant but the BS was plentiful.  The A&S has received three locomotives back from the shops.  One of them, a brass Southern RR MS-4 Mikado, was in need of a new decoder and the other two, SAL Baldwin Centipedes, had undergone minor repairs.  The MS-4 runs smoothly and performed well.  The Centipedes performed adequately after CV2 was set were set to the same numbers in both locomotives.
     This week the readers of this report will be entertained with two related stories.

                                                                                                     A TALE OF TWO CENTIPEDES

   Several years ago, your reporter read of Baldwin Centipedes being offered in HO scale by Broadway Limited Imports.  The locos were offered in the SAL paint scheme.  The Seaboard Airline Railroad had fourteen of these monsters.  They were Baldwin's first attempt to compete with EMD.  They had a wheel arrangement designated as 2-D+D-2, which explains the Centipede moniker.  Originally intended for passenger service, they posed too many maintenance problems to be reliable.  They were constructed individually, like steam locomotives, so the wiring and electronics were different on each engine, causing confusion in the repair shop.  The two Baldwin prime movers developed 1500 hp each, making these 3000 hp locos the most powerful of their day.  The crews said they "slung oil everywhere."  The SAL's Centipedes were bumped from passenger to freight service and finally assigned as helpers.  All in all, a noble, but disappointing, experiment into dieselization. 
   Two of the SAL Centipedes were assigned to the A&S Tahope District and were assigned to freight service from Jacksonville to Tampa.  The original intent was to have only one of the locos and an order was placed for it with Baldwin.  Unfortunately, there was such a delay in delivery, the A&S management assumed the order was lost or could not be filled.  Not to worry, A&S management attended a train show not far north of Tahope and found Baldwins for sale at a reduced price.  A purchase was made and the engine was transported temporarily to your reporter's home.  The next day, the doorbell rang and your reporter found another Centipede on his front porch.  Two is not always better than one. 
   The A&S took delivery of these engines and gave them a test run.  The sound was unacceptable and the engines were placed in storage.  Many months later, TCS introduced Baldwin prime movers to its WOW Sound inventory and, finally, the new decoders were installed. 
   This morning was the inaugural run.  The engines were coupled up "elephant style," like they usually ran on the SAL, and they were ready for a test run.  The engines simply could not run through turn-outs without derailing.  It was discovered that CV2 was set differently for each engine and, once the adjustment was made, the engines ran better.  We found that slow-speed operation through turnouts helped prevent further problems.
   These engines are interesting but suffer from design flaws like the prototype.  Your reporter believes both the front and rear trailing trucks are too lightweight and are part of the all-to-frequent derailment problems.  In addition, the articulation needed to navigate curves might have worked well on the prototype, but the sharp curves on a model railroad make the model look like a toy.  Your reporter gives these diesels an overall grade of "C."

                                                                                                         OPERATIONS ON 11-6-21

       After the Director's meeting was adjourned, the day's operations began.   
       The SAL mixed freight, X44, powered by two SAL GP7's walked up the 1% grade of the Ovalix from the Midlands to Summit without breaking a sweat, and, after being cut off, the Geeps shunted into a siding.  The Centipedes backed into the train and we were off for the maiden revenue run.  The single-note Baldwin horn is certainly different from the melodious EMD horns, but it is pleasant in its own way.  Of course, TCS has provided many different horns for those who want variety. 
   The train made its way down the Ovalix without difficulty and it was interesting to hear the prime movers ramp down on the downgrade.  Once back to the Midlands, X44 toured the district and received waves from local citizens who watched the unusual locomotives from a distance to avoid being soiled with spatters of oil from the engines.
   The Centipedes headed north towards Jacksonville and the A&S photographer caught a video as they crossed the Suwanee River Bridge. 
   The trip back from Jacksonville to Sanlando Yard was powered by one of the Southern RR's MS-4 Mikado locomotives.  The photographer managed to record its passing over the Suwanee River bridge late in the afternoon.  Turns out, he was spending the weekend fishing and enjoying the company of a companion in one of the fish camp's "Happy Huts."     

                                                                                                               THREE VIDEOS

This early video provides an amateurish view of the Centipedes as they head north out of Sanlando.  The main feature is the likeness of your reporter at the controls. Note the poor quality of sound.   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4phUKjs0Ee0


This second video was taken by the A&S photographer as X44 was heading north to Jacksonville.  Note the authentic single-note Baldwin horn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DykfrFDaBBs

This third video was captured by the photographer when he was awakened by the whistle of the Southern RR MS-4 as it approached the Suwanee River bridge late in the afternoon.  Note the quality of the sound produced by the TCS decoder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rfp3Mu2l6Sk

P. S.  Last week's report was viewed 1470 times.  Either a lot of people viewed it or two guys had nothing else to do all week but reread it.

[PRR Modeler]

Interesting how the A&S acquired 2 Centipedes. Nice videos.