Railroaders' Nostalgia > They're shooting at us again!

Elk River Railroad 1998. ELKR was a unit train coal hauler northward between Avoca, WV on the old Buffalo Creek & Gauley and the CSX interchange at Gilmer Station, WV. The method of operation out of Gassaway was to break the 90 car train into 3 sections for the 17 mile trip over two hills with 2.5% grade up and down.

The company mechanic wanted to learn to run trains. I was on the first cut over the hill and back. On the return trip we stopped and set three torpedoes on the rail just outside the first tunnel on the north side. The two crews involved had arranged to scare the mechanic on his student run.

The second crew came on duty and took their first trip across the hill. Just outside the tunnel, the torpedoes fired. The training engineer who was on the conductor side, yelled: “Get down the Rorby’s are shooting at us again!!” The trainee evacuated the seat and hit the deck.They stayed down until well past the Rorby’s house and reoccupied their seats. The trainee asked how often does that happen? The trainer asked, “How often what happens?” Like how often do they shoot at us!! Trainer said, they never shoot at us. The trainee finally got it was a joke.

When I did mine runs in Kentucky there was a short tunnel we would go through heading out on the Rockhouse sub....just outside of this tunnel on the right was a small house out of which a rather plump woman would saunter out in the all together to give us a show....a male figure would come soon behind with a blanket or other large fabric to to cover the woman up and drag her back in......I was told....they were brother and sister......

Ignoring the zaftig young woman😮 I do miss torpedoes not only for there potential for entertainment but as a safety and operating tool. Nobody has ever really told me but do any RRs still use them? My employer quit using them at least 15(?) years ago.

Posted from iPhone

Drknow Wrote:
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> Ignoring the zaftig young woman😮 I do miss
> torpedoes not only for there potential for
> entertainment but as a safety and operating tool.
> Nobody has ever really told me but do any RRs
> still use them? My employer quit using them at
> least 15(?) years ago.
>
> Posted from iPhone

Yes we quit using them about as long ago.....I'm not sure why but it might be there a no use cases provided in the rules anymore.....we have other ways of protecting moves. 

   One of the big reasons the use of torpedoes was discontinued was that sometimes, they were hard to hear in a modern "comfort" cab  When I was a UTU Local Chsairman, another Local Chairman beat an investigation on these grounds.
   We used to have fun with trainees going through Tunnel 5 on the Tehachapi line telling them about the Tunnel Bats.  Wed have them put their jackets over their heads.

Brian Black
Castle Rock, CO