Railroaders' Nostalgia > Rock Island at Roll Ave

One evening, I was 2d trick B&OCT Chief on the phone with the eastbound yardmaster (Ashland Ave) at Barr. As we were talking about traffic, a Rock Island transfer hit the (talkback) speaker at Roll Avenue for a track. When the yardmaster opened the speaker, the background was a deafening gurgle gurgle bloop gurgle clunk. The head man said Rock with (cars) and the yardmaster gave him a track and a track back for the cage. The head man repeated and as he was talking the background sound changed to gurgle gurgle bloop gurgle clunk BOOM. Then there was silence. The head man, not missing a beat at the end of repeating said "Does that change anything?" Also without missing a beat, the yardmaster answered "Just the part about getting your caboose. I'll send the lead job to pull you in.

Rock and B&OCT was a winning combination.

TAW

Short but good.

Oh, TAW.... I am laughing myself silly with your hilarious descriptions!!! This is one of the funniest things I have ever read on Trainorders!

"Gurgle gurgle bloop gurgle clunk"???? LOLOL! ROFL!! LMAO! What on earth was going ON? What was leaking to make those "gurgle" sounds -- or are we all better off not knowing? LOLOL! Lordy, Lordy, Lordy -- what WERE they DOING to make those weird deafening "gurgle" and "bloop" noises? And how CAN any "gurgle" or "bloop? noises be deafening? LOLOL!! And -- "BOOM"?? Methinks they hit something just a wee bit too hard. Or were they practicing for Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" -- you know, the part with the cannon firing? LOLOL ROFL!!

I think what he is describing quite well is an early ALCo with a McIntosh and Seymour engine sitting there idling.
G

Or a U boat failing.

ExSPCondr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think what he is describing quite well is an
> early ALCo with a McIntosh and Seymour engine
> sitting there idling.

I had completely forgotten about the wonderful Alco "burble" -- which, I guess, could sound like a "gurgle", but -- "deafening", when it was only IDING??? LOLOL!

Nonetheless, these two posts by our inimitable TAW are the funniest things I have ever read on Trainorders! ROFL! LMAO!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/18 10:27 by Margaret_SP_fan.

Good story TAW. I was in on the near to end of the Rock. I got very used to EMD 567 prime movers in the F's as they were often the lead units on out freights.
They had cab signals that were required on the Illinois Division due to the passenger service still operating on that end of the railroad.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

I don't know guys, the GM&O used Alco S-2s and RS-1s to switch the north end of the Bloomington yard. When they made the run out to the IC interchange in Normal and went behind the back door of the gas station where I worked nights and weekends, you had a hard time talking to the customers on the drive out in front, especially if they were pulling hard out of the IC interchange track. I totally get where TAW is coming from. Love those old Alcos!

Curious, I occasionally got to go to work with my dad who worked out of the dry cleaners next door to your gas station. Unfortunately that was after the IC-GM&O merger and the transfers didn't happen much at that time. But I do have some vivid memories of a few trains coming off of the old IC line and heading for the Bloomington yard.

Thanks for dredging those memories up.