Railroaders' Nostalgia > But sir the engine is gone!

BUT SIR, THE ENGINE IS GONE!

This narrative describes my first trip as a paying passenger on a caboose! I was 10 years old in 1961 living in Garden City, Kansas, and my
father who had noted my interest in trains bought a round trip ticket for my brother ( who was around 17) and I from Garden
City, to Scott city, Kansas and back....about 30 miles one way as a birthday present for me.

I lived just 3 blocks north of the ATSF tracks in Garden City, and only about 6 blocks from the depot. I would go down to the
depot where a sterotypical station agent complete with green visored cap, neatly trimmed white mustache and bald head would sit with headphones on amid the clatter of his
typewriter and the chatter of the telegraph sound boxes. I remember reading later in a newspaper article when he retired that he had worn out three platens on the typewriter. Garden City was on mountain time with the ATSF, which was a
confusing issue for me as the town was on central time as I studied the train schedules on the wall.

The day of our trip, my dad dropped my brother and I off at the caboose right beside the freight house which was on main st
street in my home town. We walked in the hack and the conductor, a large guy in bib overalls, greeted us. My first view
in the caboose was a large glass water jug sitting on the floor, our water supply for us and the crew.

It was February, so everyone was dressed warmly. On our trip north, we stopped at places with names like Gano, Tennis,
Friend, to work grain elevators. I was paying close attention
to all this, and the crew was surprised I knew some RR jargon like hoghead, pinhead and so on. On our trip, the conductor
learned he could get my goat on the subject of girls which I had no use for at the time. There was to be no letup, and my
brother admonished me for letting him get under my skin.

I remember my surprise when I had to use the facilites and found it to be a stovepipe that went right down to the ballast.

When we arrived at Scott City and being on the bottom step of the caboose ready to get off at 96 highway in town
to go to lunch. But, just as we got the the road, the train started to speed up to turn the train on a wye I believe and the brakeman told us to hurry and get off.

I jumped from the bottom step and landed on the ground flat footed with both feet. My brother, tried to be more graceful and
fell face first on the pavement clutching his thermos, but was not hurt.
After lunch, I walked to the locomotive, an old end cab of some kind, and was allowed inside where the engineer gave me a quick rundown of the controls.
The trip home was uneventful, being dark by then when we got back to Garden City, and it was then the title of this article
came into being.

We put our train away, and then were coupled right next to the engine, we headed into the tie up track which was a deadend track
with wheel stops ending right at main street. Again, being agog at all the goings on, I was paying attention to what
was happening looking out the door at the engine. While I was at one end of the caboose where the engine was attached, someone on the engine pulled the pin
and let us roll free down the track. I walked to the other end of the hack and saw we were headed to the wheel stops, and
knew we would not stop before we got the the end of the track. There was a trainman seated at the table, I went up to him
and said we were rolling down the track. He looked up and said yes we were about to tie up, that was when I said "But sir, the engine is gone!"
He then looked at me and pointed to where the engine had been coupled and asked "You mean there's nobody out there?" "No",
I replied. Action now filled his frame and he hurried to the end of the hack facing main street and began spinning the hand
brake wheel. A cotton tail rabbit ran down the tracks ahead of us as the wheel stops got closer.

He was in time, the handbrake grabbed and we stopped back of the stops, next to the freight house platform.
My brother and I gathered our things and got off the caboose for the walk home a little rattled at the drama at the end of our tip.

My first journey on a caboose nearly ended in the middle of main street on a caboose less trucks!

JHL



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/18 05:18 by atsfer.

atsfer Wrote: > ...  My first journey on a caboose nearly ended in the middle of main street ...

Now that's funny! And I'd bet the farm that the whole crew was having a bit of fun at your expense. With an adventure like that, no wonder you went on to a career in train service... :^)

Lance

And this is the end result of NOT getting her stopped in time. This is not how you roll a caboose down through Mojave Yard. THATLLLL DOOOOOO!

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SP4360 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And this is the end result of NOT getting her
> stopped in time. This is not how you roll a
> caboose down through Mojave Yard. THATLLLL
> DOOOOOO!

I like to know how that hsppened!

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