Steam & Excursion > AFT Confidential 26- Little Rock AR

26 North Little Rock AR Apr 13-15, 1976

The run from St Louis to Little Rock was down the Missouri Pacific with their two Bicentennial GP's (mostly in tow, I'd guess, what with Doyle's new MU control).
The display site was in a residential area at a park that was mostly given over to Little League diamonds. Very laid-back kind of place that was remarkable in how unremarkable it was. I'd don't recall going into town at all.

For some reason the City of Little Rock presented Mad Dog (Head of AFT Security) with a caged pig. A curious local custom? I don't know- it isn't mentioned in any AAA visitor publication.  I don't know what happened to the pig (I don't recall a luau)
SR Bush
Dutch Flat

Sorry- near as I can tell, I didn't take any photos in Little Rock.

University of Arkansas Razorbacks!

There was something about the exit car door opening and then being slammed shut, much to the chagrin of Mad Dog during the ceremony. Good thing the train was behind the crowd as a lot of beer cans from the night before rained out of the car. No personnel were ever pinned for the event.


BoilingMan Wrote:
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> 26 North Little Rock AR Apr 13-15, 1976
>
> The run from St Louis to Little Rock was down the
> Missouri Pacific with their two Bicentennial GP's
> (mostly in tow, I'd guess, what with Doyle's new
> MU control).
> The display site was in a residential area at a
> park that was mostly given over to Little League
> diamonds. Very laid-back kind of place that was
> remarkable in how unremarkable it was. I'd don't
> recall going into town at all.
>
> For some reason the City of Little Rock presented
> Mad Dog (Head of AFT Security) with a caged pig. A
> curious local custom? I don't know- it isn't
> mentioned in any AAA visitor publication.  I
> don't know what happened to the pig (I don't
> recall a luau)
> SR Bush
> Dutch Flat
>
> Sorry- near as I can tell, I didn't take any
> photos in Little Rock.

Well I can't add anything from the display site it, or anything pig related for that matter, but I can throw in a few other activites that presented themselves while at North Little Rock.

Here starts four posts of AFT crewman Craig's pictures from NLR...

1-2. The MP was nice enough to turn the drivers on the 4449 while it was in town. Most of it fit in the building at least...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/21 22:20 by ble692.

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3-5. Turning the drivers...

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6,7. Still turning the drivers...

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8,9. The MP did provide a little action outside as well. MP RS3m/"GP12" 1096 trundled by with class lights even lit up. I guess they were setup to run long hood first.
10. Laurie McCormack and Samantha supervised operations...

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Oh, that’s nice he got a photo of Samantha. (I got a couple too). Doyle & Laurie are following those posts and will get a kick out of seeing Sam.

I only vaguely recall that the ‘49 got the wheels turned in the Little Rock shops, actually I remember hearing that MP could do the job, but had forgotten that it happened.
SR

> For some reason the City of Little Rock presented
> Mad Dog (Head of AFT Security) with a caged pig. A
> curious local custom?

Arkansas Razorback mascot more than likely!   They usually carry around 'Tusk' in a big cage and take him to pep rallys and events for people to look at.     Intersting set of pics you have also...thanks for posting!  (from an Arkansas native)

Very impressive photos of the 4449 on the wheel truing apparatus at North Little Rock. Not many photos of such work with any steam locomotive, either in historical service in the past, or special movements / excursion service in more recent years. Very interesting to be sure. I'll bet the guys in the shop got a kick out of doing that work (not just another SD40 here, Joe), and probably told stories about it for some time to come.

Based upon my experiences in planning and operating steam excursions (Southern, NS, Chessie, Frisco 1522), I've pretty consistently found that working professional railroaders often enjoy steam to at least a small degree (and quite often considerably more), and can take a real interest in it. Stories of working close to it or directly with it tend to be remembered and cherished a lot more than some would expect. They're careful, of course, about showing their interest too openly, and they make sure that their regular duties get performed properly. But unless something does actually go wrong that causes operational headaches (which nobody wants), getting a few glimpses of it or actually working around it gets remembered positively quite often.

To hear some people tell it, it's regarded universally as nothing but a pain in the neck, and everybody hates the idea of their normal routine being disrupted in the slightest. As an outsider and non-railroader, that's not been my experience at all in many cases.

Thanks for the neat photos of the wheel work on the 4449. Great stuff.

MC



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/21 17:29 by ironmtn.