Railroaders' Nostalgia > S.P. Passenger Crew Memories

Once in awhile my 70 year old memories get to working back to my days with the old heads on 75/99/98/90/91/76. Most of the people on this board are way too young to remember any of the fellas who were like my second family. The names Bremmer, Ables, McFadden, Al Thomas, Joe Taylor, Johns, Shattuck, Iversen, Diehl, Hood and so many others that tucked me under their wings when I was a kid riding with my grandfather on the super smooth passenger trains of the day. And their was nothing that could compare to a giant hambuger on The Lark coffee shop car (after it was combined). Those were truly some great memories. I never dreamed in a million years I would turn out to be the hoghead on Amtrak's versions on the coast and to Kingman and San Diego. What an incredible bunch of people I was able to learn from and apply in my later years.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/14 17:13 by whistlepig.

Just as a side note, I despise the name "Surfliner". I always loved the name "San Diegan". I remember when the "San Diegan Productivity" team came up with that surf thing. I hated it then and hate it now. The bohunks in charge at Amtrak here in the West have no respect for history and don't seem to have any desire to preserve it in any way.

Did you know a trainman who worked the Espee Coast Line named Bloomenkamp? He was quite a character. I used to relieve him at Santa Barbara on the southbound COAST STARLIGHT when we did the crew changes there. He used to wear goggles and hang his head out the side of the train for most of the journey. By the time he got to Santa Barbara his face had accumulated an incredible amount of dirt and grime. When he removed his goggles, he looked like an inverted raccoon.

Another time his uniform pants somehow ripped along the seam from basically his groin area all the way down almost to his ankle. He used duct tape to hold his pants together until the end of the trip. I'm not sure if he had a replacement pair of pants for the next morning's return trip north.

When Princess Cruise Lines ran that short-lived ex-MILW Super Dome on the back of the STARLIGHT as the "California Sun Express," the cars were unique in that they had a side entrance door that was like a gang plank on a ship. When not in use, it lifted up vertically into the side of the car, basically using the same concept as raising a drawbridge of a Medieval castle. One day Mr. B. was attempting to perform a roll-by of a passing freight train and he accidently triggered the mechanism that lowered the door all the way down into the "loading" position. It was out to foul when the passing freight train clobbered it at speed, and there wasn't much left of it afterwards.

Tell the story about your cab ride on the LARK and the engineer suggesting you go back and pay a surprise visit to your relative in the LARK CLUB. That's a good one. ;)

That WAS quite a trip. Grampa thought it was safe enough to put me in the cab one night on #75 (Lark) so he took me up at Oxnard with Fritz Iversen. Half way between Oxnard and Ventura, Fritz kind of growled "You know why the old man put you up here don't you?" I answered "because he knows I love riding the engines." He kind of snickered and said: "Right!" When we got to Ventura, he took me back to the last chair-coach vestibule where Joe Taylor was watching the headend business being loaded etc, We stepped up into the vestibule and looked in the aisle door window and there was grampa sitting near the kitchen with a couple of attractive women. He was getting his cut on their business that night. Seems The Lark in those days was kind of known as a rolling brothel to service the BofA and GM executives. Quite an introduction to puberty for this 13 year old back then. I never said anything to him and he never found out I knew. But I never looked at The Lark quite the same. We went back to the engine and they snuck me out on the fireman's side at Santa Barbara. That's where they changed engine crews in those days. And the Princess cars were added quite a few years later. Can't ever remember seeing them on S.P.'s trains.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/14 07:12 by whistlepig.

whistlepig Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That WAS quite a trip. Grampa thought it was safe
> enough to put me in the cab one night on #75
> (Lark) so he took me up at Oxnard with Fritz
> Iversen. Half way between Oxnard and Ventura,
> Fritz kind of growled "You know why the old man
> put you up here don't you?" I answered "because
> he knows I love riding the engines." He kind of
> snickered and said: "Right!" When we got to
> Ventura, he took me back to the last chair-coach
> vestibule where Joe Taylor was watching the
> headend business being loaded etc, We stepped up
> into the vestibule and looked in the aisle door
> window and there was grampa sitting near the
> kitchen with a couple of attractive women. He was
> getting his cut on their business that night.
> Seems The Lark in those days was kind of known as
> a rolling whorehouse to service the BofA and GM
> executives. Quite an introduction to puberty for
> this 13 year old back then. I never said anything
> to him and he never found out I knew. But I never
> looked at The Lark quite the same. We went back
> to the engine and they snuck me out on the
> fireman's side at Santa Barbara. That's where
> they changed engine crews in those days. And the
> Princess cars were added quite a few years later.
> Can't ever remember seeing them on S.P.'s trains.


On trains today are there prostitutes?

I wouldn't know but, from what I hear it's more like drug running today. I know when I worked the Desert Wind they were just starting to walk through the train with drug sniffing dogs on our arrivals at Las Vegas. But being on the engine, I never knew what was going on back there. I know on the San Diegans there were sure a few gals that looked the part.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/14 07:57 by whistlepig.

sliderslider Wrote:
------------------------------------------
> On trains today are there prostitutes?

I think if you were to consider everything that's happened on all of the world's passenger trains over the last ten years or so, there MIGHT have been a case or two of a woman practicing the world's oldest profession.

Some may even give it away for free.

Ah, yes... the never-to-be-forgotten "Lark Ladies" just the ticket for the weary overnight business traveler between LA and the Bay area! Somebody needs to do a book on that aspect of the "Friendly."

CA_Sou_MA_Agent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Did you know a trainman who worked the Espee Coast
> Line named Bloomenkamp? He was quite a character…

Quite a character indeed! A nice guy (and very well educated I understand) but railroading was not really his forte. I truly can't imagine him working pool or local freight! I worked with him for quite a while when SP crews still ran the Starlight & us San Francisco/San Jose based Coast engineers & conductors worked Oakland-San Luis Obispo. His head out the vestibule door with goggles routine made him look like the Man From Mars even by the time we got to SLO. God knows what the passengers thought when they encountered him back there in the sleepers.

One fun thing Bloomer did though was putting passenger and actress Sally Struthers (Archie Bunker's daughter in "All in the Family) on the radio to the engine on one southbound Starlight trip. She was high balling the draggers and hot box detectors & engaging us (at Bloomer's prompting I'm sure!) in chit-chat all the way from Salinas to SLO where we went back to meet her after we got relieved by a new engine crew. I thought that we might hear about that little unnecessary use of the radio escapade from SLO RFE Augie Jess or the SLO Trainmaster (Giles?) but we never heard a word. Back then railroading could still be fun!

Highball that dragger Byron…wherever you are!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/14 14:06 by johnw.

rabidcats Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ah, yes... the never-to-be-forgotten "Lark Ladies"
> just the ticket for the weary overnight business
> traveler between LA and the Bay area! Somebody
> needs to do a book on that aspect of the
> "Friendly."


one thing you wouldn't want to do if you were traveling from San Diego to San Francisco is approach a woman thinking she was a prostitute and then turn out to be wrong and have to sit there feeling like a scumbag.

I met and fired for Bloomies dad while working as a loaner on the Indio extra board in 1947. Later the dad traded to the Coast Division. He also was quite a character.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/14 16:44 by Exespee.

sliderslider Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> one thing you wouldn't want to do if you were
> traveling from San Diego to San Francisco is
> approach a woman thinking she was a prostitute and
> then turn out to be wrong and have to sit there
> feeling like a scumbag.


You just need to know the proper protocol.....

Date: 04/03/03 08:42
Whoopee on the rails..
Author: djansson

Legend has it that the SP "Lark" had a steady roster of lovely ladies who rode between San Jose and Glendale (so the business-dude wifeys wouldn\'t see them get on or off the train with their hubbies) that had more or less permission (or encouragement?) from the railroad. Anything to keep the business traveller happy, y\'know.

Part of this comes from the memoirs of SP lounge car attendants who really knew what was going on. The giveaway as a discreet bit of black lace showing when the lady was seated in the lounge. The car attendants knew the deal and when the gentleman bought the lady a drink (opening negotiations, so to speak) the attendant got a small kickback from the lady. The guy paid for booze but the lady got served a watered down drink or just a coca-cola over ice and the attendant pocketed the rest as a "tip".

If you take a LONG HARD look into the history of the major social movers and shakers in San Francisco society today, you\'ll find many a wealthy social diva who met her hubby "on a train". Really!

4451Puff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If you take a LONG HARD look into the history of
> the major social movers and shakers in San
> Francisco society today, you\'ll find many a
> wealthy social diva who met her hubby "on a
> train". Really!

I'll bet the high society "good girls" met their husbands-to-be in the parlor car of the DEL MONTE, a much shorter trip from Monterey to San Francisco where there were no Pullman bedroom accommodations to help "seal the deal." The "bad girls" rode the LARK. It's like that saying, "Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go EVERYWHERE!"

I wonder if the OWL, that ran from Los Angeles to Oakland via the San Joaquin Valley, also had this kind of business?

Here's a cute George Burns and Gracie Allen show that apparently takes place on the LARK. Note that the dining car waiter's uniform appears to be spot on for accuracy. In the close up where he's taking Gracies's order, you can see the S.P. "ball and wings" logo. The one technical flaw is the mention of the train stopping in Carmel. Yeah, right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er9UdxwKAF4

I too remember Bloomie. Nice guy. everything else said about him was spot on.

Good grief! His first name was Byron.

I saw a good Faye Dunaway movie where a high-class pro goes on a job, falls in love with a guy who doesn't realize her occupation and proposes to her. They return to SF to meet the fam of the guy, who is a real catch--heir to a big rich elite fortune etc.

At dinner his uncle takes him aside and says "you idiot. your fiancee is a whore."

"How do you know?"

Uncle: "I've had her myself!"


This is why I'm glad I never traveled the trains with family. You just don't want to have to deal with that kind of awkwardness.

johnw Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> CA_Sou_MA_Agent Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Did you know a trainman who worked the Espee
> Coast
> > Line named Bloomenkamp? He was quite a
> character…
>
> Quite a character indeed! A nice guy (and very
> well educated I understand) but railroading was
> not really his forte. I truly can't imagine him
> working pool or local freight! I worked with him
> for quite a while when SP crews still ran the
> Starlight & us San Francisco/San Jose based Coast
> engineers & conductors worked Oakland-San Luis
> Obispo. His head out the vestibule door with
> goggles routine made him look like the Man From
> Mars even by the time we got to SLO. God knows
> what the passengers thought when they encountered
> him back there in the sleepers.
>
> One fun thing Bloomer did though was putting
> passenger and actress Sally Struthers (Archie
> Bunker's daughter in "All in the Family) on the
> radio to the engine on one southbound Starlight
> trip. She was high balling the draggers and hot
> box detectors & engaging us (at Bloomer's
> prompting I'm sure!) in chit-chat all the way from
> Salinas to SLO where we went back to meet her
> after we got relieved by a new engine crew. I
> thought that we might hear about that little
> unnecessary use of the radio escapade from SLO RFE
> Augie Jess or the SLO Trainmaster (Giles?) but we
> never heard a word. Back then railroading could
> still be fun!
>
> Highball that dragger Byron…wherever you are!

I ran into Byron about a year ago- seemed to be doing fine. Looked great!
I've no idea how the goggles thing got started , but I remember he always rode the rear watching those old hotbox detectors with the lights the SP had- maybe it had something to do with that? He was (is, I'm sorry!) an amusing guy.

BTW: I worked w him on & off for about 8yrs and we never called him anything other than Byron.
"Bloomer"??!

Posted from iPhone



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/23/14 17:24 by BoilingMan.

BoilingMan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I ran into Byron about a year ago- seemed to be
> doing fine. Looked great!
> I've no idea how the goggles thing got started ,
> but I remember he always rode the rear watching
> those old hotbox detectors with the lights the SP
> had- maybe it had something to do with that? He
> was (is, I'm sorry!) an amusing guy.
>
> BTW: I worked w him on & off for about 8yrs and we
> never called him anything other than Byron.
> "Bloomer"??!
>
> Posted from iPhone

Thanks for that update! Good to know Byron is doing well! He was and I suspect still is a very likable guy. "Bloomer" is what the old head SP engineer I regularly worked with (and probably myself too!) called Byron, well at least when we were on the head end and Byron was doing his thing on the rear end. I doubt Byron would have been too offended by that little nickname though since it's really just a variation on his last name. As you know almost everybody on the railroad gets stuck with a nickname during their career…even if some of them never find out about it! There was no offense really meant in Byron's case.

Oh no, I didn't find it disrespectful- just never heard it before. Kinda funny actually, and no, I don't think he'd mind.
I worked with guys like Manny, Bill Sullivan, and Bob Pimm. All we ever did was say Byron with a grin- no last name needed!

Posted from iPhone

4451Puff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> sliderslider Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > one thing you wouldn't want to do if you were
> > traveling from San Diego to San Francisco is
> > approach a woman thinking she was a prostitute
> and
> > then turn out to be wrong and have to sit there
> > feeling like a scumbag.
>
>
> You just need to know the proper protocol.....
>
>
>
> Date: 04/03/03 08:42
> Whoopee on the rails..
> Author: djansson
>
> Legend has it that the SP "Lark" had a steady
> roster of lovely ladies who rode between San Jose
> and Glendale (so the business-dude wifeys
> wouldn\'t see them get on or off the train with
> their hubbies) that had more or less permission
> (or encouragement?) from the railroad. Anything to
> keep the business traveller happy, y\'know.
>
> Part of this comes from the memoirs of SP lounge
> car attendants who really knew what was going on.
> The giveaway as a discreet bit of black lace
> showing when the lady was seated in the lounge.
> The car attendants knew the deal and when the
> gentleman bought the lady a drink (opening
> negotiations, so to speak) the attendant got a
> small kickback from the lady. The guy paid for
> booze but the lady got served a watered down drink
> or just a coca-cola over ice and the attendant
> pocketed the rest as a "tip".
>
> If you take a LONG HARD look into the history of
> the major social movers and shakers in San
> Francisco society today, you\'ll find many a
> wealthy social diva who met her hubby "on a
> train". Really!

Fascinating!!!