Railroaders' Nostalgia > Haywire Mac on the Harbor Belt Line

Here's a story told to me by the late Skip Goodman, a retired Pacific Electric motorman whom I met when he was an active member of Orange Empire Ry. Museum. Haywire Mac (real name Harry McClintock) was a folk singer and boomer railroader probably best known for his recording of "The Big Rock Candy Mountain", which gained renewed popularity when the Coen Brothers used it in their movie, "O Brother Where Art Thou". Back in the days before "Human Resources databases", boomers like Mac would travel around the country, finding work where the local railroad had a busy season or otherwise had an increase in business. In the wintertime, Mac would gravitate toward warmer climes, and during one visit to Southern California (60-some years ago), he hired on at the Harbor Belt Line, which serves to LA Harbor area. According to the story, he was staying at a hotel in downtown LA, and would commute to San Pedro on the PE Red Car. One night he was riding back to LA on Skip's interurban car, and noticed two or three rather unsavory characters going forward to the motorman's cab. This aroused Mac's suspicions, so he took a revolver from his grip and went to the cab, where one of the hoodlums had pulled a knife on Skip. Mac got their attention, and said "drop that knife!" Now, when one is looking at the business end of a "six-shooter", it looks as big as the main battery of a battleship, so the guy dropped the shiv quite hastily. Then he motioned to the door of the car with the barrel of the gun and said "Jump!" The bad guys looked at the scenery going by, then back at Mac, and, apparently deciding that contusions were better than perforations, bailed out. (Skip did slow the car down while this was going on).

I wonder how many more crimes they committed later?

I suppose in the modern era of cell phones and light rail trains with radios, this might have played out differently, but under the circumstances of 60+ years ago it may have been the best way to deal with the situation.

Nowadays, those punks would have been screaming for lawyers after the first bounce when they hit the ground.

Brian black
Retired SP/UP Conductor

My dad worked with "Haywire" on the P.E. back in the 40's and I posted a picture taken of dad and him with the crew they worked at San Pedro back when dad was a brakeman on the P.E. Dad kept in touch with him well into the 50's. The crew picture was taken beside the #1618.( I believe it was a Westinghouse "juice Jack"). It's in the T.O archives somewhere, but I couldn't find it because I can't remember the date of the post!

patd3985 Wrote:
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> My dad worked with "Haywire" on the P.E. back in
> the 40's and I posted a picture taken of dad and
> him with the crew they worked at San Pedro back
> when dad was a brakeman on the P.E. Dad kept in
> touch with him well into the 50's. The crew
> picture was taken beside the #1618.( I believe it
> was a Westinghouse "juice Jack"). It's in the T.O
> archives somewhere, but I couldn't find it because
> I can't remember the date of the post!

5/28/13 Titled "A bit of family history" ( Sorry, don't know how to post the link)

Luke

PE 1618 was indeed a Westinghouse motor. One might say it was a "boomer" having started out in the orchards of the San Jose area as Peninsular RR 4, but coming to PE in 1922. It was the last of the series; in the 1920s PE needed more freight motors and made inquiries to Westinghouse (Baldwin built the bare locomotives and Westinghouse added the electrical and air brake gear). When the estimates came back, the PE Mechanical Department said (in effect) "We can do it cheaper than that!" PE wound up with 13 "home brew" motors that look a lot like a Baldwin-Westinghouse but had the bodies, frames and trucks made by a local ironworks, and bought the electrical gear from General Electric. (the air brake systems were from Westinghouse). 1618 was scrapped back in 1955, but local product 1624 still runs at Orange Empire Ry. Museum.

AMTRUK Wrote:
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> patd3985 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > My dad worked with "Haywire" on the P.E. back
> in
> > the 40's and I posted a picture taken of dad
> and
> > him with the crew they worked at San Pedro back
> > when dad was a brakeman on the P.E. Dad kept in
> > touch with him well into the 50's. The crew
> > picture was taken beside the #1618.( I believe
> it
> > was a Westinghouse "juice Jack"). It's in the
> T.O
> > archives somewhere, but I couldn't find it
> because
> > I can't remember the date of the post!
>
> 5/28/13 Titled "A bit of family history" ( Sorry,
> don't know how to post the link)
>
> Luke

Here's the link- <http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,3087367,3087367#msg-3087367&gt;

mapboy