The Atlantic & Southern Saturday Report

[Judge]

Curt, Jim, and Jeff - Thanks for the kind comments.  I enjoy finding material for the stories.  My wife found years and years of Railroad Magazine on the internet and now I have almost endless sources of information I can adapt to the adventures of the Atlantic & Southern.  I hope I won't be out of commission too long after my surgery.

[GPdemayo]

Tahope is developing into quite an interesting place to visit.....atta boy Bill. 

[deemery]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Your Honor!  Maybe you can come up with some medical-related stories.


dave

[ReadingBob]

Bill - Your stories are the next best thing to being there.     Keep weaving those tales!

Hoping for a quick recovery from the surgery and relief for what ails you. 

[Judge]

Thank everyone for the good wishes on my medical condition.  I have spinal stenosis and the problem is confined to the L4/L5 area.  I consulted with Dr. Minie Staysic in Tahope, but I opted for one of the orthopedic surgeons who pioneered the new minimally invasive (I like that) surgical procedures.  I will keep my readers informed of my situation.  The surgery is scheduled for March 2.

[postalkarl]

Hey:

Look at all those nice steam engines.

Karl

[Judge]

Saturday, February 20, 2021 

Sorry, there will be no Saturday Report this week due to the continued inability of your reporter to attend board meetings of the Atlantic & Southern RR.

There is a short story for the faithful readers of my missives relating the whimsical happenings on the A&S.  This week's story is based upon a tale from a far-western railroad, related in the July, 1938 edition of Railroad Magazine and, according to the story, it occurred back around 1919.   Time has stopped in 1950/1951 on the A&S so the story has been changed to bring it current. 

                                                                                                     
                                                                                            THE TRAIN THAT WAS NOT A TRAIN

       Ralph Bridgeman, engineer on the SAL, was making up an extra freight one evening in the Sanlando yard.  His hind shack discovered a "bad order car" at the end of the cut directly behond the engine. 
   It was necessary to switch out the bad order car so the brakie signaled for Bridgeman to back into the siding to spot the car.  Someone in the engine cab mistook the signal to back up as a signal to go ahead, so Bridgeman highballed out of the yard and onto the main. 
   The train sped over the Cross Creek Bridge and around Eaton's Curve.  It passed over the Great Divide at nearly sixty miles per hour and rattled across the Suwanee River Bridge. 
     Bridgeman brought the engine to an unexpected stop at the Piney Woods Freight Depot, on a signal from the station agent, who waived a red flag as if there was a dire emergency.  The agent, who knew his rule book, maintained that the engine and thirteen freight cars did not constitute a "train" unless it had a caboose and markers on the rear end – which it hadn't. 
     To their chagrin, Bridgemen and the men in the cab discovered they had left Sanlando with only 13 cars of their train. 
      What the superintendent said about the incident was not recorded, but Bridgeman got an unpaid week's vacation out of it.  The rest of the crew got a cussin' they won't ferget.

[jrmueller]

Thanks for another great Saturday morning story Judge. From the sick bed no less.

[ACL1504]

I'll be happy when the Board of Directors, all two of us, can meet again. 

Tom 

[Judge]

Saturday, February 27, 2021.
      There is no Saturday Report today because (1) your reporter's lack of mobility pending spinal surgery on March 2 and (2) the CEO working hard to liquidate the late Jim MIller's model railroad rolling stock, motive power, etc. 
       I ran across an article on dining cars in the July, 1941 edition of Trains Magazine and it intrigued me.  There were still some heavyweight diners days just before   Pearl Harbor that still had coal-fired stoves and ovens.  I decided to share some of the information in the article with the readers of this weekly report.  The article is too long to discuss in one week so, if there is interest in 1940's diners, I will stretch the discussion into two weeks. 
      Back in the days before the U.S.'s entry into the war, the railroads still had class and the diners on the different roads served cuisine that even the likes of Lucius Beebe declared to be "superb." 
      MY wife, Cindy, and I took AMTRAK from Winter Park to Savannah for a weekend about three years ago and we had dinner in the diner.  There were only two patrons having dinner beside us and it did not take long to figure out why.  The food was substandard and was way overpriced.  I had the impression that everything on the menu was prepared in a microwave oven. 
      Nowadays, even that level of service has all but disappeared.  Passengers are now limited to such delicacies as frozen pizza in the Cafe/lounge car and are encouraged to bring their own food. 
      But let us go back to 1940, when patrons all wore dresses and suits and ties, as well as hats, and visit how it was and will never be again.

                                                                                                     MEALS IN ROUTE

   Back in the day before air-conditioning and 85' dining cars, passenger trains would stop en route to allow passengers to eat their meals.  The typical stop was a pause of a brief 20 minutes.  When the train came to a stop, a waiter in a white coat and black pants would bang away on a metal serving tray at the door of the  Dinner and passengers would rush into the dining room for a very quick meal.  Naturally, due to time constraints, the meal was limited to whatever the cook had prepared that day. 
   After eighteen minutes, the hogger would blow one long whistle and the fireman would start ringing the bell, warning passengers that the train would pull out directly. Those who were served last often were able to only grab a bite or two.
   All of that changed with the introduction of dining cars.  Railroads lose money by providing dining cars, lunch counter cars, and parlor-café cars, and club cars.  These cars are referred to as "non-revenue cars" because passengers do not pay for their use.  Other associated cars are also classified as non-revenue.  A dining car has a crew including a steward, six waiters, a chef, and two cooks. On some of the busiest trains, there may be a chef, three cooks, and eight waiters. 
   All of these crew members, along with the conductor, porters, and cleaning personnel, have to sleep somewhere so a dormitory car is usually placed behind the head-end cars for their use.
   The useful area of the typical dining car is 9 x 80ft.  The kitchen is about 16ft. long and 71/2 ft. wide.  There is a passageway around the kitchen for the use of the passengers.  The area where passengers sit is about 40 ft long and can seat 36. 
   In the kitchen there is a refrigerator that is larger than you would expect.  There is also a refrigerated locker for vegetables. There are immense water tanks overhead that provide plenty of water for the double sink.  Above the range, there are warming ovens where rolls and pies are kept warm before serving (rolls and pies are baked on board – the day of frozen or ready-made pies and pastry has not come.)  There is a freezer used to keep ice cream and other items.  There are also racks for pots and pans and lockers for tablecloths, napkins, and flatware.  The cooks have over 50 different cooking utensils.  There is space for 700 plates, cups, saucers, and miscellaneous dinnerware, 300 pieces of glassware, and 600 pieces of flatware.
   The waiters are each assigned extra duties according to seniority.  The pantryman and the assistant pantryman have the highest honors.  They actually arrange the servings on the plates.  One of the other waiters is responsible for the linen, another is responsible for the silver and glassware, and one of the waiters is responsible for the cleanliness of the dinner. There is usually no scullery help on the dinner so each waiter is responsible to bus his tables, wash his dishes, and place them in a rack to dry.  Occasionally, on the busiest trains, a "swingman" will be assigned to assist with kitchen duties, such as washing dishes and making sure glasses are filled.  The "swingman" is usually assigned between division points and does not remain on the train for the whole trip.
   When it comes to tips, the steward and the waiters have it down to a science.  The steward steers passengers so they sit at a table that is next up for the assigned waiter.
    The chef and the other cooks do not receive tips unless a passenger specifically asks for it, so they receive additional compensation in their salary to make up for it.
      To be continued.
    

     

[PaulS]

Bill,
Wonderful insight as always of a bygone time.  Please continue your information on the diner cars when you are able.
In the meantime, all the best with your surgery this week, and do hope for a speedy and full recovery.  The A&S needs you back in service soon !!!
All the best,
--Paul

[nycjeff]

Your Honor, I'm with Paul, please continue with your dining car stories when you are able. I hope your surgery goes well and you are back in good shape in a short time.    Jeff

[Judge]

Paul and Jeff - Thank you for the encouragement.  I will continue the dining car story when I am able after I recover from surgery.  You will be surprised at the amount of food passengers consumed in 1940.

[ReadingBob]

Looking forward to the continuation of the story.  One of the favorite cars to peer into at the PRR Museum in Strasburg is the one with the kitchen.  I also used to peruse the dining car menus that are for sale on ePay.  Alas, the opportunity to enjoy a real meal on a train has long since passed.   

[postalkarl]

I agree with Bob looking forward to the continuation also.

Karl