Railroaders' Nostalgia > "and the fifth thing that I want you to know is, ahh... ahh..."

Cewherry's "What's good for the goose…" posting about the ATM wanting employees to be conversant with a non-existent rule  reminds me of another ATM that I ran across a few times who didn't know what he wanted you to know.

At one time, Mike Healy was the ATM in Medford responsible for the Siskiyou Line down to Black Butte back. At least, I think it was Mike - it might have been Bob, as I get the Healys mixed up because there were so many of them - one of his kin was a SP/Caltrain conductor that I worked with a lot over the years, and there were others...

Anyway, one night at Black Butte, when the engineer and I were preparing our light engines for the run over to Ashland (west trains typically cut out their helpers there, and they returned to Ashland light), when Lacy's Raiders showed up. We passed muster OK - we both knew the rule of the day, and I managed to answer some arcane air brake question, or another, for instance.

After Bill & Co.had winded themselves pontificating at us, they climbed off and we headed down the hill to Weed, where we encountered a red signal. As we stopped, here came Healy out of the night. After he climbed into the cab, about the first thing out of his mouth was, "What's the rule of the day?"

The engineer responded with, "Gee Mike (or Bob), Bill Lacey already asked us that up at Black Butte." Healy clearly did not know that Lacy was around, and the news evidently flummoxed him. I understand that he was not held in high regard by upper officialdom because he was perceived as being soft on the troops. There may have been other reasons, as well.

After feigning surprise that Lacy had shown up earlier than he expected, Healy tried to save face by turning to me. "You're new here, so whenever I test you from now on, I want you to know five things." In rapid fire, he rattled off four of them, then paused… and paused. For the life of him the poor guy could not remember the fifth thing that he wanted us to remember. Lacy's snub clearly had done brain damage.

Healy WAS soft on the troops. Interpreted, this means that, at least in my experiences with him, he was reasonable and was not out to trump up firing offenses. Another Siskiyou episode at about the same time speaks to this.

Another night I was firing on a west train out of Ashland, which had its usual 69 cars taxing the hell out of three head end and five swing helper units. We had received a message to stop at Steinman to pick up a car off the spur which had earlier been re-railed after rolling over the dirt pile that was the bumper.

As my engineer began to throttle back from 15 mph, or so, for the stop, the train suddenly bogged down, and rapidly halted. The swing helper had spread the rails and hit the dirt. Oy!

We called a mayday to the Ashland telegrapher to notify Healy, who had the duty that evening. Steinman is maybe 30 minutes by car from Medford, but it took Healy an hour-and-a-half or more to show. We had derailed on one of Healy's bowling nights, and the Medford telegrapher had to physically track him down at the alley.

When he got there, he proceeded to quiz the helper hoghead, and then us and the rest of the crew. It was clearly evident what happened, but Healy knew that up in Portland, Greblo or Melbo would likely want to blame the affair on improper train handling. So, he told us that he would explain to the higher-ons that he was there at Steinman testing us when the helper derailed right on front of him, and that everyone was performing their duties satisfactorily. Once we all had the story straight, he put us in the carryall back to Ashland. No piss test; I never heard much more about it.

The deal obviously was a quid quo pro in part, since Healy knew that we knew what he was doing when he supposedly was on duty. It was, however, mostly just Healy being a reasonable, decent sort who didn't wear company-prescribed jackboots.

After I left Dunsmuir I believe that Healy got himself into some sort of bad fix, probably self-induced. Sphogger or shastalake, do either of you remember?

EO

I do remember Mike Healy.  (was it Jim Healy on the commutes?).  Mike was indeed a decent guy.  I worked the Sisq's regular for the better part of a couple years, never met him.  He pretty well left us alone.  More or less old school SP.  Get the work done, keep his superiors off his back, he left us alone.  Otherwise typical railroading.  It's musical chairs when something goes wrong.  Pity the poor lowly officer who got stuck with the blame whether warranted or not.  Some things never change. 

sphogger

Yeah, Mike Healy was on the Commutes.

Funny story about him also. One day he threw some asshole high school kids off of the train. Nothing particularly remarkable about that, except that somehow a TV station picked up on it and turned the tables, making him out as the bad guy. After that, we called him Captain Bligh. It fit, because his personal manner was gruff - you wouldn't realize that he had a heart of gold, unless you noted the twinkle in his eyes. Always wore an old SP conductor's hat with a large assortment of RR pins on it.

Once upon a time, Mike and an engineer named Bill Farmer got ticked off at the pigeons roosting on top of an outside-mounted air conditioning on the wall between the T&E's respective change room doors in San Francisco. Why, I don't recall. They struck upon the idea of dislodging the nesting birds with fire crackers, which would cause the pigeons to fly off for as long as Mike and Bill stood there. Of course, a firecracker occasionally ricocheted back at the boys, but both they and the pigeons were determined. This went on for about a year before the pigeons prevailed. After that, Farmer consoled himself by kicking pigeons on the platforms down at the depot.

Mike retired maybe 15 years ago and moved to Bandon or Port Orford, OR - I don't remember which. I think that he returned to CA after a time. I don't know if he's still kicking.

Farmer eventually managed to get a medical retirement after he was fired for passing a red absolute at Sierra Point. He and his extensive artillery collection moved to Arizona. The last time that I saw him, he rode with me back from San Francisco after cleaning out his locker of misc. gun paraphernalia, including a pile of automatic weapons magazines. He passed away in 2014, which must have been a relief to his Arizona neighbors. Despite being polar opposites and the fact that he was a sharpshooting SOB back when we were on the extra board (we all figured that he was somehow exempt from Hours of Service), he and I were pretty good friends. I still miss his "peachy keen" comments and his non-PC humor. Johnw, I know that you do too.

My, I've wandered a bit...

EO

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/16 10:13 by hogheaded.

Actually Ed, it was Jim Healy who was the commute conductor.

CPCoyote Wrote:
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> Actually Ed, it was Jim Healy who was the commute
> conductor.

I'm losing it, er, Mike....
EO

I never made the connection Jim and Mike were brothers. I saw Jim in Eugene sometime in the early 90's and he said he was thinking about transferring up here but he never did - maybe he was just up to see his brother as Mike worked out of Eugene also.

hogheaded Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Farmer eventually managed to get a medical
> retirement after he was fired for passing a red
> absolute at Sierra Point. He and his extensive
> artillery collection moved to Arizona. The last
> time that I saw him, he rode with me back from San
> Francisco after cleaning out his locker of misc.
> gun paraphernalia, including a pile of automatic
> weapons magazines. He passed away in 2014, which
> must have been a relief to his Arizona neighbors.
> Despite being polar opposites and the fact that he
> was a sharpshooting SOB back when we were on the
> extra board (we all figured that he was somehow
> exempt from Hours of Service), he and I were
> pretty good friends. I still miss his "peachy
> keen" comments and his non-PC humor. Johnw, I know
> that you do too.
>

First I've heard of Brother Farmer's passing Ed! Any details on the cause of his demise? I can't help suspecting that all those cigarettes combined with a diet of double cheeseburgers and 32 oz Cokes may have at least been a contributing factor. He was a one of a kind, a loose cannon for sure but basically a good guy who was always fun to be around. R.I.P. Bill Farmer. 

Photo is of Bill Farmer in the Caltrain Engineers Change Room in San Francisco in early 2002, right before I pulled the pin



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/16 16:39 by johnw.

---

Thanks for the post John.  That's a nice shot of Bill.  I don't know the cause of his death, but I agree his "devil may care" lifestyle might have contributed.

I think it was Jim Healy (the commute conductor) that worked out of Klamath Falls for a time.  That is going way back into the 70's.  I remember him talking about working the Modoc.  Hard to keep track of some of those guys back in the days of recession driven cutoff boards and system seniority.  Sphogger

johnw Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> First I've heard of Brother Farmer's passing Ed!
> Any details on the cause of his demise? I can't
> help suspecting that all those cigarettes combined
> with a diet of double cheeseburgers and 32 oz
> Cokes may have at least been a contributing
> factor. He was a one of a kind, a loose cannon for
> sure but basically a good guy who was always fun
> to be around. R.I.P. Bill Farmer. 
>
> Photo is of Bill Farmer in the Caltrain Engineers
> Change Room in San Francisco in early 2002, right
> before I pulled the pin

You know that I've got to say it re Bill's photo: "PEACHY KEEN!"  A perfect rendition of the Farm Animal. If there is an afterlife, it must contain a small designated smoking area where he and the Bonge are sitting around swapping lies.

Jim Barry told me about Farmboy a week ago at the monthly RR breakfast, but didn't know the details, although his wife and kids apparently are fine - the younger one is graduating from high school this year (!)

sphogger Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think it was Jim Healy (the commute conductor)
> that worked out of Klamath Falls for a time.
>  That is going way back into the 70's.  I
> remember him talking about working the Modoc.
Railbaron Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I never made the connection Jim and Mike were
> brothers. I saw Jim in Eugene sometime in the
> early 90's and he said he was thinking about
> transferring up here but he never did - maybe he
> was just up to see his brother as Mike worked out
> of Eugene also.

OK, I have my memory sorted out, I think. Jim and Mike were cousins. Jim loaned out on the Shasta Division early in his career, and along with the Modoc, worked on the OC&E when SP was running it. I'll have to search my mind for the stories that he told me when he found out that I also had worked up there. I'm not sure when Jim hired out, but it must have been the late 1950's/early 60's. He doesn't show on a 1957 Coast senie roster, anyway. I say all of this with 51 % certainty.

EO



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/16 04:00 by hogheaded.

Gee Ed,
I thought you were going to talk about Imba...
G

ExSPCondr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Gee Ed,
> I thought you were going to talk about Imba...
> G

??? If you are referring to Jim's private life, I ain't talking.

EO

Ed,
​I was talking about a different Oakland ATM.  He was there long enough in the early-mid 90s for the nickname to have followed him from LA where another hoghead gave it to him.  (Actually he earned it.)
​Hint: Put it in front of his last name.

ExSPCondr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ed,
> ​I was talking about a different Oakland ATM. 
> He was there long enough in the early-mid 90s for
> the nickname to have followed him from LA where
> another hoghead gave it to him.  (Actually he
> earned it.)
> ​Hint: Put it in front of his last name.

Gotcha

EO