The Atlantic & Southern Saturday Report

[Jerry]

I don't remember that story Bill.

But it's a good one.

Jerry

[PRR Modeler]

Great story Bill, but I winced when Malone got hurt. OUCH!

[Judge]

Thanks for the comments.  I am still relearning how to post photographs on the forum.  I'm a cut and paste man and the process to post a photo is unnecessarily complicated. 

[ReadingBob]

It sounds like Short Stack is a bit of a pain in the butt. 

[ACL1504]

ATLANTIC & SOUTHERN SATURDAY REPORT 10-25-25

The Board of Directors met at 0830 hours.  The main topic was the substantial number of new palm trees recently planted in the Midlands near Sanlando.  These palms really give the area a Florida feel. 

After the Palm inspection, we ran 2016, the 2-10-2 that was featured in the video attached to this report last week.  Then we coupled 1516, a USRA Pacific to a string of mixed freight and opened her up to speed step 50.  "Chuffinity" is a great improvement over regular TCS WOW Sound.  I am going to contact TCS next week and try to get some information about how to better set the sound options.  We have been pretty successful playing with the new system but we need some advice on how to get the most out of it.  You would think that TCS would realize that senior railroaders prefer to learn by reading manuals instead of doing whatever 16 year-olds do.

Lunch at Del Dio's and we take a week off so Tom can drivee up I-95 to South Carolina to visit two of his sisters. 

This week's story is a rerun of one of my favorites.  If you've heard it before, hear it again.  I am continuing to introduce some of the people who make the Atlantic & Southern Railroad make it what it is.  Today we meet some of the people who maintain the railroad, most of whom are Irish imports who have escaped New Youk, Boston, or Chicago because of the winters there.  Some of them are boomers, while others have gotten Florida sand in their shoes and have decided to stick around.

Michael O'Toole was promoted to Chief Civil Engineer in 1950.  He was slowly getting into his new job.  O'Toole sent his buddy, a big Irishman named Malone, to be the boss of the track maintenance section in the Tahope District. 

The events that took place on Malone's first day on the job are related here as told by one of the Irish section workers, Brian O'Sullivan, in his own words. 

"Malone was a fine man.  Being Irish, he liked his whiskey, but he never did ask the section to buy him none.  That summer, he hired a fella named Short Stack to be the jack man on the track.  We were removing abandoned rails at the north end of the Midlands and it was one hot day - tempertures in the high 90s.  When noon came, we got our dinner pails, and as we ware all used to the hot sun, we sat right down on the track to eat our dinners.  Malone took his coat and laid it right down on the track to sit on to keep the rail from burning him, as the sun had made the track as hot as a cooking stove.  When he throwed his coat down it landed on a rail joint, which was open about an inch, maybe more.

That morning, Short Stack had broken the handle on his spike mall and he got to fixin' it while we ate lunch so he would have it when we started back to werk.  He got he new handle in place and needed to test it out so he gave a good wack to the end of the rail where Malone was sitting.  He never thought the blow would cause the joint to close, but that joint went together with a bang and caught the flesh of Malone's hind parts and took out a slug as big as fifty cents.  We had to pull him off that joint and he hollered bludy murder and every other thing he could holler. 

WE halled him off into Tahope to the A&S Doctor, Minnie Staysic, and he had a bad time with it.  He showed it to me after it healed up and you would never think it would make a scar as bad as it did. 

Short Stack visited Malone in the hospital and he made his peace with him.  Malone knew he didn't man to do it so he recommended he be promoted to brakeman so he wouldn't have to use hand tools at werk, except a club. 

Short Stack took a few days off in The Bottoms before he went to braking.  Malone was promoted to superintendent on the Jacksonville district.

[Rick]

Bill, thanks for another interesting story.

[ACL1504]

Bill.

There was a typo in the .img URL.

Tom

[elwoodblues]

Bill, thanks for another great story.

[Jim Donovan]

Great story!

Jim

[KentuckySouthern]

 

[Judge]

Atlantic & Southern Saturday Report - November 8, 2025

The Board of Directors met promptly at 0830 hours.  The agenda was light for a change and the subjects were mostly small talk about travels and local adventures.  No real discussion about the railroad.  That period of non-productivity was interrupted by the arrival of Curt Webb and his dad who watched the train moves until we adjourned for lunch at Del Dio's. 

We fired up the USRA Pacific, number 1516, and put her to work with a string of fifteen cars and a brass caboose.  1516 is a PFM model my dad bought for me in 1965.  He paid $55.00 for it, which was a lot of money in those days.

We switched to diesel power and ran the L&N E6s with a passenger train.  Then we couped up an E8 lash-up with cars reserved for our signature passenger train, the ACL Champion. 

 It is time to introduce Judge Elvin P. Thomas, the local circuit judge in Tahope County.  Judge Thomas was born in Polk County, Florida  in 1888.  He graduated from the University of Florida's College of Law in 1913 and was elected to the circuit court without opposition in 1928.  At age 62, he is just getting into his prime and has secured the reputation of being fair to all who come before him.  He has a spittoon at his feet by his bench and he uses it regularly.
 
Being an elected official, he tends to hang out with the City of Tahope's mayor, city council members, and the police chief.  They call business off by 5:00 p.m. on Fridays and meet for a poker game in the Pullman diner/observation car spotted in the spur just north of the city.  Gambling is prohibited in Florida so the poker players play with poker chips and settle up privately after the game.  A retired Pullman porter, Albert Washington, provides bartender, cook, and bottle washer duties during the game.

This week's story involves our vagabond friends Newt Fisher and his first cousin, Donnie "Short Stack," Turner, both of whom used to live with their parents in the cracker shacks at Eaton's Curve.  Since their eviction from those premises, they have taken up residence in the Bottoms, where they live the carefree life of hobos and occasionally get into difficulties.  The piece today relates the rainy summer evening when they decided to steal a steam locomotive.

The Locomotive Theft Adventure

It gets real dark after the sun goes down during the summer in Central Florida and it is especially dark in the freight yard at Sanlando.  Add 98-degree temperature, 98% humidity, clouds and a drizzling rain, and not even the night watchman would venture out into the freight yard.

One summer night, Newt and Short Stack were up to mischief.  They crept into the yard at Sanlando and checked out the rolling stock to see if there was anything of value that was loose.  They had a modicum of success when they found a ventilated box car with the door open containing fresh fruit.  After eating their fill, they wandered down the track towards the Pure Oil storage facility.  It was there they discovered a steam switch engine coupled to two tank cars panting inside the fenced enclosure.  It was ACL's 1150, an 0-6-0 - and the gate to the fuel tank enclosure was open.

They uncoupled the tank cars and climbed into the cab. Short Stack, who had some limited experience as a hostler, shoveled coal into the firebox to bring the steam pressure up.  In a few minutes the pressure was up enough to move the engine so they decided to go for a ride.  Short Stack put the reverse lever in the back corner and cracked the throttle for a little steam.  The engine responded and slowly backed out into the yard.  They became more adventurous and added a little steam as they headed for the main line.  Newt threw the switch at the end of the yard and soon the two amateur railroaders were heading towards Eaton's curve.  It was there they decided to blow the whistle to show off to their parents (who live in the cracker shacks located there) and that brought them to the attention of Officer Poovey of the Tahope Police Department, who gave chase in his police cruiser.  Our adventurers abandoned the switcher in the vicinity of Barlow's Bar-B-Que and were subsequently arrested without further incident.  They were charged with Grand Theft.

Newt and Short Stack pooled their meagre savings and hired Tahope's only lawyer, Marvin Bello, to represent them.  Bello worked cheap and he never lost a case.

When Bello appeared before Judge Elvin P. Thomas on the day of trial, Bello moved to dismiss the charges.  The judge agreed.  "No larceny," declared His Honor, "the locomotive never left A&S property."  No charges were brought for the fruit that was stolen due to lack of evidence because defendants had "et the evidence."

A reporter from the Tahope Daily Blatter interviewed Newt as he left the courtroom. When asked about his participation in the loco caper, Newt remarked, "I was tempted to succeed at doing something memorable this week, but I got arrested before anything happened."

So, our heroes returned to The Bottoms, where they had a fried catfish dinner from catfish they had noodled and blue crabs Newt's dad gave them.  A few of the "wimmins" who live in The Bottoms, including two sisters named Razzle and Dazzle, helped them eat the vittles and washed the dishes in the river.
Life is good when you are at large without bond.

P.S.  Sorry about the editing.  I swear i will get used to this confusing format.  At least I got the photo pasted in place.  BTW, 0-6-0 1150 is a NWSL loco.  We have a couple of them.  Excellent engines of USRA design.  Most ACL locos were USRA engines or close copies.  Hooray for Mr. McAdoo! 

[/font]

[friscomike]

Howdy Judge,

Thank you for the humorous adventure.  It is always enlightening to read about what happens in the courtroom.    

Have fun,
mike

[Zephyrus52246]

Another great story, Your Honor.  

Jeff

[Vietnam Seabee]

Yer a hoot, bill
terry

[BandOGuy]

My Saturday is almost complete now.
Almost, as it's shower night.