The Headlight
Southern California Scenic Railway Association, Inc.



The mission of the Southern California Scenic Railway Association is to provide and administer volunteers and to raise and manage funds to focus public awareness on Southern California rail history and promote railroad safety
Volume 17, Number 1Spring 2002


JOIN SCSRA AT FULLERTON RAILROAD DAYS, MAY 4-5

UPDATE: See the Slide Show of SCSRA at Fullerton Railroad Days
plus even more photos

All aboard for Fullerton Railroad Days!

Make sure you mark your calendar and come out the weekend of May 4 and/or 5 to the Fullerton Station, where you’ll see lots of interesting rail cars and locomotives all on display for this popular free yearly event. And this time, SCSRA will be there! Our partners the Fullerton Railway Plaza Association (FRPA) have generously provided us a booth at no cost to SCSRA, and we are just now planning on furnishing it with an amazing collection of things to see and buy.

Gordon Bachlund, our booth chairman, plans to display photos, signals, and many other railroad artifacts, both small and large. Some items will be in a protected case, while others will be available for kids and adults alike to handle and admire close up.

SCSRA T-shirts will be on sale, as well as Little Ranger pins and other items being finalized at press time.

But the real attraction, without a doubt, will be the trains that will come in and be parked at the station, open for visitors. This year cars from the Grand Canyon Railroad will be displayed. Amtrak promises to have a locomotive and two coast starlight cars: a pacific parlor car, with two levels and a “movie” theater, and a sleeper, which is a first-class coach car called “Kitty,” complete with playroom.

Metrolink will be making its first appearance at Railroad Days this year. It plans to bring in a locomotive and three car train set, which is absolutely brand new and will begin service on Monday, May 6, inaugurating the new San Bernardino to Los Angeles line, via Fullerton. The Metrolink train will go directly into service from Fullerton at 9:30 a.m. Monday morning.

If you are interested in volunteering for SCSRA’s Railroad Days booth, there’s still time to sign up! Contact Gordon Bachlund. Shifts for working are in 3-hour segments, plus we are planning overnight Saturday coverage, to protect the displays which will be too cumbersome to tear down.


ANNUAL DINNER ON JUNE 15 AT EDWARD’S STEAKHOUSE

Is this year going fast or what? It’s already mid-spring, and that means it’s time to start thinking of SCSRA’s Annual Dinner Meeting on June 15. This year we will get together at Edward’s Steakhouse, located at 9600 Flair Drive, El Monte. Cocktails are 5:30 p.m., Dinner at 6 p.m., and Program at 7 p.m.

Edward’s has a great banquet menu, and you don’t have to decide now what you will want to eat then — you just send in your money ($23/adult or $6.50/child) and say how many adult and/or child dinners you wish to reserve, by May 15. Then on June 15, you pick from the five-item menu whichever entree you want. The entree list is: grilled center cut of Alaskan Halibut, Edwards’s Supreme Steak, brochettes of chicken breast, “Lumber Jack” (well-done roast beef with mushroom gravy), or “Scarlet Lady” (roast beef on the rare side, au jus). Children’s entrees are red snapper fish, steak, cheeseburger, quesadilla, or chicken wings.

Each entree include choice of soup or salad, a baked potato, vegetables of the day, and choice of milk, tea, soft drink, pink lemonade, or coffee (drink refills free), and vanilla ice cream for dessert. Hungry yet??

Of course, the Annual Dinner is not only dinner, it’s our annual meeting. Please fill out the RSVP form inside your printed newsletter, not only to say Yea or Nay on whether you will attend the dinner, but also to nominate your choice for the Clarence Ridenour Award. This award will honor an associate who, in the last year, was of the highest value to the association, and will be chosen by SCSRA’s president from the pool of candidates sent in. So, we need your input! A lot has happened in the last year, and there have been some real shining stars in our midst. So send in who YOU think should receive the 2002 Clarence Ridenour Award.

Lastly, as usual we will have door prizes at the dinner. Already there are many, many prizes stockpiled for this event. No, they will not be coming out of the Fullerton Track Materials. (What, you don’t want your bundle of ties door prize?) The prizes now on hand include Fullerton Railroad Days memorabilia, railroad related books (such as one called High Tech Trains), vintage railroad patches, train stationary, train whistles, a railroad-themed cook’s apron (can’t say that isn’t different!), Limoges-style porcelain train boxes, and more! You’ll just have to come to the dinner to see what you might win. If you were at last year’s dinner, you’ll recall how one of every two attendees walked home with a door prize.

So fill out your Annual Dinner RSVP *today* and send it in, with your Ridenour nomination. See you there!

* * * MEMBERS AND GUESTS ONLY EVENT * * *

MOVIE NIGHT:
Diamond Jim

Saturday, May 18, 2002

Social, 6:30 p.m., Movie 7:00 p.m. at
Sue Kientz/Ron Baalke Residence

Gordon Bachlund and his Movie Crew will present the Preston Sturges film Diamond Jim. Starring Edward Arnold and Binnie Barnes, the film is about ‘Diamond’ Jim Brady’s life as a railroad entrepreneur. Also included will be a Our Gang short subject.
RSVP by May 15

Hope to see you there!


THE RED CABOOSE MOTEL

PART FOUR: Denlinger’s Favorite ‘Guest’ Stories

Reprinted with Permission by The Red Caboose Motel and Restaurant, Strasburg, PA

In the previous installment, we read how Donald M. Denlinger of Soudersburg, PA, prepared his Red Caboose Motel for opening day on Mother’s Day, 1970. Not only did the Red Caboose Motel prove to be a great success, but the experiences of some guests proved to be very unusual indeed! Read some of Mr. Denlinger’s favorite stories about his amazing motel:

Since the opening of the Red Caboose Motel, one of Denlinger’s greatest pleasures has been enjoying the unique attraction through the shared experiences of his guests.

Out of the Past

For one 78-year-old guest, a weekend at the Red Caboose Motel was a memorable birthday present from his grandchildren. While standing outside his caboose quarters, the elderly gentleman spied the Strasburg Steam Rail Road’s huge engine highballing past. Overwhelmed at the sight, the man ran to the fence and gave the familiar whistle signal (right hand raised and moved in a pumping motion). The engineer obligingly responded with several blasts of the locomotive’s whistle.

Tears filled the man’s eyes as he watched the engine pass by and then, returning to the motel, explained with sincere emotion that he had just retired after 50 years of railroading and his life “was brought back today.”

Cardinal Rule

Another old time railroader made the announcement during breakfast in the dining car that this was the first time he ever drank coffee on a train that stayed in his cup without spilling as the car rocked down the track.

Before leaving he made another statement concerning the cardinal rule in railroading that a toilet is never flushed until the train is moving. He wanted to know just how soon this train would start so he could flush his toilet. Everyone in the dining car laughed while he remained poker faced.

Strasburg Not Stroudsburg

One afternoon a couple with reservations failed to arrive. They called late in the evening stating they were in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, and they could not find the Red Caboose Motel. They were informed that Stroudsburg is about 100 miles north of Strasburg and given proper directions. The weary travelers arrived much later and checked into the Missouri Pacific Caboose.

Little Too Realistic

Less than an hour after one couple retired for the night, they appeared at the office demanding their money back. When questioned as to the reason, the man replied, “My wife can’t sleep. She says the caboose is moving, and I believe it too since I could hardly get to the bathroom without falling into the wall.” They were told that the caboose was firmly welded to the track and could not possibly move. Nevertheless, their money was refunded and the pair set out in search of other lodging for the night.

A Real Vacation

One of the most memorable guests was an African tribal chief, accompanied by a member of the diplomatic service in Washington, D.C., who was touring Lancaster County on a free enterprise and agricultural inspection.

With the help of an interpreter it was learned that the chief had 29 wives and many children and grandchildren. He was asked why he didn’t bring his wives, then Denlinger said, the No Vacancy sign could be hung out on his arrival making the motel his exclusive haven. There was a long pause during which Denlinger doubted that his American humor was understood. When the Chief replied, it was with a wily grin, “Why do you think I’m taking a vacation?”

No Problem, It’s Red

Two veteran railroader guests, departing for a visit to one of the local pubs asked teasingly how they would be able to find their own cabooses upon their return. A fellow veteran of the rails replied in earnest, “It’s easy, you’re in the red one.”

They Got Our Goat

A telephone executive from Washington, D.C., was our guest in a couples unit which had one door. He got up early to get his usual jogging in. Rather than slam the door and waken his wife, he left the door open one inch.

Unbeknownst to him, was the Red Caboose pet “Masscot,” a playful kid goat who only needs a door open one inch. It was warm on the vacant side of the bed, where our jogger had been sleeping, thus the kid goat nestled down for a nap.

When the jogger returned and opened the door, he couldn’t believe what he saw. He ran to his car to get his camera. While standing at the door advancing his film, his wife whose back was to the goat asked what time it was.

Naturally the goat didn’t answer. As she rolled over to nudge her husband, the goat jumped up and he snapped the picture, as she screamed.

Her account of that traumatic moment was —”I always told him he looked like an old goat in the morning, but that was too realistic.”

Next Issue: The Story of the Red Caboose Motel continues with stories of MORE CABOOSES. Yes, as the fame of the Red Caboose Motel spreads, people needing to get rid of cabooses call up Denlinger and offer them for free, IF he can move them to his motel. Until next issue, see The Red Caboose website


PRAIRIE ECHOES: Memories of M.177 via the Internet

Collected by Mary Jo Hurdle, Historical Research Associate

Arvin Olin visited SCSRA’s website and wrote us about his recollections of M.177:

You indicated you were looking for individual accounts of those who were familiar with M.177. So here are some brief recollections from my youth which I believe occurred from the mid 1940s until the early 1950s.

We lived in Kansas City, Missouri, and would take the big Santa Fe train (various names such as the Ranger, the Chief or Southwest Chief, Scout, etc.) from the Union Station in KC early in the morning to Emporia where we changed to the Little Ranger for the rest of our trip through the beautiful Flint Hills to El Dorado, Kansas, to visit my grandparents. From there the train continued on to Winfield. As a youngster of 7-10 years of age it was a thrill to see the big train pull into the Emporia station and see the Little Ranger, painted an olive color in those days, a couple of tracks over waiting to take the arriving passengers on the rest of their trip.

The portion of the trip on the Little Ranger was always the most exciting part, especially when the conductor took me up through the smoker, bag and mail sections to stand with the engineer in the engine compartment for a few minutes and blow the whistle. We would stop at small towns to discharge passengers and drop and pick up mail bags and packages. On one occasion "drop" was the operative word as a case of eggs being off loaded was literally dropped from the baggage room doorway.

On another occasion a rather nasty storm came upon us as we traveled through the Flint Hills, miles from the nearest town, and the engineer pulled into a deep cut to wait out the worst part of the storm. I remember the train shook from the powerful winds and the rains came down with such force that there were dozens of streams of water running across the floor.

When arriving in El Dorado the Little Ranger would stop, the brakeman would throw the switch, and it would back into town blowing its whistle which could be heard all over this town of 12,000-15,000 people. Even after arriving in El Dorado, I would go down to the Santa Fe passenger station near the downtown area to watch the Little Ranger arrive and depart. In those days there were lots of passengers on both trains. In the mid to late 40s the Ranger or Chief were very long trains with many passengers, many of which were soldiers who had priority on the seating. I remember on at least one occasion riding on our suitcase in the aisle for the entire distance from KC to Emporia.

As we began this mode of travel in the 1940s the big trains were steam driven but by the later years they had converted to diesel powered units. I remember my grandmother telling me that the Little Ranger was being discontinued but I don't remember when. The passenger depot is of course long gone without a trace. I recently learned about your project during a Memorial Day trip to El Dorado. I stopped in the restored Missouri Pacific depot and during a discussion of rail service in the town I found out about your website.

Good luck with your restoration. The next time we are in southern California I hope to be able to stop and see the real things.

Thanks for writing us, Arvin! Those are wonderful memories.


TRAVEL TOWN UPDATE

By Sue Kientz, SCSRA President

Train Shed Begins — The construction of the Train Shed begins on Monday, April 22, with the erection of the construction site by the contractors. Once the construction site fence goes up, no associates will be allowed in the area once known as the restoration yard, during the weekdays, since that’s when the construction workers will be there. There is the possibility that on some Saturdays construction will go on, in which case anyone who needs to get to the Shop Building or to M.177 will need an escort. Contact Sue Kientz if you need details or help getting access.

A BNSF locomotive passes the SCSRA Track Materials compound in Fullerton. You don’t see sights like this at Travel Town! Photo by Sue Kientz Track Materials Move Complete — As Dan and Jeff report, the track move was completed at last this past quarter. Linda has asked us to move other items to prepare for the laydown of the construction site, such as our 6X6 truck, trackliner, and various other things, and those items are now either removed or waiting in the volunteer spaces of the Museum parking lot, for transportation elsewhere. Thanks of extreme magnitude must be expressed to Dan Price, Jeff Barrow, and Doug Stephens, who have tirelessly worked to finish up the track material move, and then move the other items we were mandated to remove. Jeff Pippenger, George Engelage, Joe Barilari, and Bob Bennett have also been invaluable help in getting transportation either arranged or provided, as well as storage. Finally, thanks to Gordon Bachlund, for all sorts of help and support to get SCSRA through this difficult transition. You guys are really the best!

Dale Brown Loan Paid — Associate Dale Brown, who generously loaned SCSRA the bulk of the M.177 Engine payoff, was finally reimbursed in full, thanks to the anonymous donation SCSRA received at the end of calendar year 2001. Thanks, Dale, for helping out when we truly needed you. And again, thanks to our anonymous donor!

New Membership Dues Include FRPA — Starting at Railroad Days, SCSRA will debut its new brochure, which will feature not only its activities in Fullerton and emphasize our partnering relationship with FRPA, but will have new associate dues. New members or those renewing after a lapse of more than two months will join at $40/year. Higher levels have been adjusted accordingly. A new benefit offered is the addition of the quarterly FRPA newsletter as one of the regular perks. Current SCSRA associates who keep their dues up-to-date will be allowed to continue renewing at the $25/year rate. However, they will not receive the FRPA newsletter.

SCSRA and FRPA are exploring just how our two organizations should relate to one another. This is a first step, to somewhat “combine” newsletter offerings in one regular membership package. Once Railroad Days is behind us, there will be more discussions between our two groups and we’ll let you know how that progresses.


MECHANICAL REPORT

By Gordon Bachlund, Mechanical Superintendent

Cabeese — As you know, the SP 4049 bay window caboose and the AT&SF 999110 cupola caboose were donated to the Association in 1989 by George Engelage. Owing to the City’s mandate that there be no demonstration railway operations in 2002, we decided that it would be best to remove these cabooses from Travel Town so that we can have them professionally repainted.

Meanwhile, to accommodate the start of Train Shed construction, the City moved the cabooses to Track 6 East where they may be inaccessible for retrieval for some time. We will keep you posted.


DON’T MISS OUR GREAT MOVIE NIGHTS!

If you love trains, then SCSRA’s monthly get-togethers are for you! See the SCSRA/FRPA Calendar of Events for what’s coming up. Now, for what you may have missed:

In January, SCSRA associates were either too busy or too beat to attend any social events, what with the track move to finish up. That’s why SCSRA started its calendar with February, and what a kick-off it was. Gordon Bachlund provided a silent movie classic: Buster Keaton in The General, about a young lad who ends up saving the day as he chases down a locomotive stolen by the enemy, using another locomotive. Set in Civil War times, there were some fantastic stunts, some of which were captured on small MPG movie files available on SCSRA’s website at http://www.scsra.org/movies/.

The music you’ll hear in the film clips comes from associate and SCSRA secretary Greg Smith’s wonderful live piano accompaniment. Not only did he do a great job of playing appropriate music, but he had themes for the hero and heroine, and some actual sound effects, as he sounded the cannon when it was shot at a fleeing locomotive. Truly an inspired performance! We must get Gordon Bachlund to dig down in his vast vault of train-themed films to get another silent classic, and have Greg Smith accompany it in a future monthly event.

How can we top this, you may ask? Alan Weeks' LA Rail History Slide Show was a worthy contender to the challenge. Many years ago, Alan took wonderful color slide photos of the red and yellow cars when they still ran the rails. These photos were outstanding in color and clarity, and you can also see them at the “SCSRA Movies” website address above. But that’s not what made this event so special. It was Alan’s narration of each slide, and the spontaneous questions and comments from the group attending, that made this more than just Alan’s presentation of his memories and his photos, but a group experience as everyone pitched in to comment on the presentation.

The show went on from red and yellow cars, to blue line construction, to grand canyon railroad pictures, San Diego line... the crowd was so receptive to seeing more and more, luckily Alan brought his entire collection along because he got to share every bit of it.

The show was such a success, Alan was persuaded to reprise it at the April FRPA Dinner Meeting in Fullerton. This time he was limited to the red and yellow cars, and the blue line construction slides. But you could see the twinkle in everyone’s eyes, seeing these beautiful old cars of the past. Alan worked for MTA and had even managed to ride the Blue Line test cars and shoot pictures of the high-tech control panel inside of the engine cab. This encore presentation was thoroughly enjoyed by all present. Thanks, Alan, for a real treat.

Alan begins his slide show at the FRPA dinner. Photo by Elliot Alper

All that said, you should mark your calendars now for the next event, Diamond Jim, on May 18. This movie, a black and white film from 1935, is a very rare, lavishly produced film of legendary millionaire 'Diamond' Jim Brady (Edward Arnold) who loved both good food and famed actress Lillian Russell (Binnie Barnes). The story, by Preston Sturges, chronicles James Buchanan Brady's life as a railroad equipment entrepreneur who, among other slick sales techniques, demonstrates the crashworthiness of his all-steel passenger car design by staging an impressive collision between a steel car in which he is riding and a typical wooden coach of the era. Needless to say, the steel car telescopes completely into the wooden car, and Brady emerges triumphant.

Directed by the legendary A. Edward Sutherland, who also directed some of W.C. Fields' funniest films, it was filmed on the historic narrow-gauge Pacific Coast Railway during its waning days. Hope to see you there!


LUNCH AT FULLERTON: FRPA Updates on Railroad Days

SCSRA associates got the latest news on FRPA’s upcoming Railroad Days event, as well as a history of previous events, at the SCSRA Fullerton Lunch on Saturday, April 20.

Dick Hopping, FRPA’s president, met a group of associates at the Old Fullerton Station, now The Spaghetti Factory, for drinks and good pasta. Dick showed us a diagram detailing the layout of the event, where our booth will be, and many other details that will help us plan for the big weekend. Afterward, we adjourned to the track compound, where we picked up some signal parts for an interactive display for our booth. Thanks to Elliot Alper for shooting some pictures during and after the meal.

As stated in this issue’s cover story, the upcoming fourth Fullerton Railroad Days looks like it will be a banner event, and you should both visit it and help staff SCSRA’s booth — contact Gordon Bachlund to sign up for a shift or two.


DOODLEBUG NOTES

by Gordon Bachlund, Chief Mechanical Officer

Due to mandates from the City for the removal of personal tools and property of associates from the Museum premises, Doug Stephens led a massive effort to clean out the Shop Building and boxcar, and transfer into the M.177 the SCSRA tools needed for continuing work. In addition, he packaged Mechanical Department supplies not germane to the M.177 so that they could be relocated to Fullerton. With the help of Sue Kientz, George Engelage, Dan Price, Jeff Barrow, Jeff Pippenger and the writer, these supplies have been successfully relocated.

With the imminent start of Train Shed construction, access to the M.177 may be restricted. Only time will tell what level of effort we can maintain during the coming months.


CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE

by Gordon Bachlund, SCSRA Board Chairman

The terms of Directors Gordon Bachlund and Tom Graham expired in January. Tom indicated that he did not want to run for another term.

At the January Board Meeting Gordon was elected to another term. After due deliberation, the Board decided to let Tom’s seat remain vacant for the time being, it being reasoned that it might be easier to pursue strategic partnering with the FRPA if we have a smaller number of Directors.


OUR GANG

by Dan Price and Jeff Barrow, Maintenance of Way Co-Superintendents

The slow march to the inevitable continued this quarter as we continued to meet new demands to move more items stored at Travel Town. Last quarter we finished the move of all track materials, a gargantuan task to say the least. Shortly after that, however, we were ordered to move out the Track Liner, 6X6 Army Truck, and all non-M.177 material as well.

In response the Track Liner is currently stored at the LA DWP Valley Generating Station under the care of Bob Bennett. On the bright side, we got the Track Liner to start, and took a few test rides in it after we got it relocated. Site manager Tom Soumas showed up and had some fun riding it back and forth a few times himself.

The 6X6 Truck and a storage shed have been moved to George Engelage’s Coast Rail yard, and other material that will go there and elsewhere, is now awaiting that transportation in the volunteer spaces of Travel Town’s parking lot.

The Our Gang crew this quarter was comprised of Dan Price, Jeff Barrow, Gordon Bachlund, Doug Stephens, Bob Bennett, Jeff Pippenger, George Engelage, Mike Vitale, Jerry Price, Don Schuster, Sue Kientz, and Dug Ward.


“THE BOOK OF RULES”

As Told on the Internet

Back during the war, when anyone could get a job braking, the D&H hired a new kid from Troy. The Supt gave him his copy of the Book of Rules and told him, "Now take this and study it. Keep it with you at all times on the railroad, because any situation that might come up is covered in the Book of Rules." So the kid takes his book, says, "Thank you, Sir, I sure will!" and goes home to study the book.

That night he gets a call for No. 7, the less-than-premier sleeper train from Troy to Montreal. He gets on the train at Troy, and the conductor tells him to go back and make sure the lanterns are all lit and ready to go on the rear platform. The train pulls out while he's walking back through the sleepers, and up around West Waterford he's walking through one car when he sees a woman's bare posterior exposed through the curtains of an upper berth. "Hmmmmm — How do I handle this?” he says. “Oh yeah, the Book of Rules!" So he gets out the Good Book, then runs to the rear of the train, grabs a red lantern and hangs it on the berth.

Next comes a traveling salesman, who sees parted curtains and the red light, and gets the entirely wrong idea. Needless to say, there was blood on the moon when the word got back to the Old Man the following day, and the kid had a message waiting on his return to report to the Supt's Office RIGHT NOW! He walks in, and the Old Man inquires politely, "Son, what in the world were you thinking of when you hung that red lamp on that poor woman's berth on Monday night?"

“Well, Sir, you told me that anything that came up on the railroad was covered by a rule in the Book of Rules."

"Yes, I did, but where in hell did you find a rule to cover that one?"

"Right here. It says, 'The rear end of a sleeper, exposed by night, must be protected by a red light.'"

Next day the kid was a Trainmaster.


ASSOCIATE NEWS

Joe Barilari married longtime girlfriend Pam on February 2. The couple honeymooned in Las Vegas. Congratulations and best wishes!

Tim Riley’s father passed away on March 8. Services were held on March 16 at the Hilltop Community Church of Christ in El Segundo, CA. SCSRA extends its deepest sympathy to Tim, his mother Sharon, and the Riley family.

Jim Vicars may take awhile answering his e-mail, due to a broken arm he suffered recently. You can send your get-well wishes to Jim, but you’ll understand if you don’t hear from him right away.


OPERATIONS REPORT

By James G. Hoffmann, Operations Superintendent

There was no activity during this quarter.

I recently found missing documents for the months of May and June of 2001, specifically, on our passenger count. Our all-time corrected totals stand as follows:

AdultsChildrenPassengersDonations
56,04054,796110,836$47,801.82

Operating Days: 187

I would again like to thank each and every one of our dedicated associates who “kept the faith” and helped bring the era of SCSRA’s operations at Travel Town to a safe and successful close. During the past 12 years you helped carry more than 110,000 passengers with a perfect safety record! How many other demonstration railroads (let along “real” railroads) can make that claim?


HISTORY OF THE CABOOSE, Pt. 1

Charles Forsher, SCSRA Humorist

A long time ago, at the turn of the last century, as trains got longer and longer, railway engineers discovered that they had a small problem.

All those freight cars pulled. When on a steep downward grade, all decided, “We’re not stopping... we’re not stopping...!” Throwing the driving wheels into reverse just didn’t work anymore.

So the railroads hired brave men, the Astronauts of the last century, appropriately called “Brake Men,” whose dangerous job it was to climb up and across the length of those rocking and rolling freight trains at the places along the railway lines where there was a steep downgrade, to set the hand brakes of those freight cars, to slowww the train dowwwnnnnnnn. Later, when their train reached a safer place, the hand brakes were loosened again, and the Brakemen would all retreat to a caboose for a big cup of cauuu-feee!!!!

Long freight trains required large crews, so up to 16 men lived in a caboose for weeks at a time.

There were bunk beds, a stove, toilet, and if the Brakemen wanted to smell nice, they prayed for rain. If rain fell, the Brakemen would take turns putting on their birthday suits, then lather up, and go outside on the rear facing platform of their caboose, and hang on for dear life. A shower at 60 miles an hour must have been ZESTfully clean!

The cupola up through the roof of a caboose had two jobs. There were the jobs of the captain of the caboose, the Conductor, who would watch for Hot Boxes, which is when the oily rags used in packing the flanged wheel assembly would catch on fire. And when the Brakemen were performing their most dangerous task — winter operations required the men to force the brake wheels with large, baseball-bat–like sticks — the Conductor had to watch for any Brakemen who were thrown from the train!

Meanwhile, back at the roundhouse, the Westinghouse Company had been hired by the railroads to create a multiple braking system. In a development similar to our growing computer technology, the first air brakes could slow down the locomotive and the trailing coal tender, but nothing else. It was like those Pong Games in Pizza Parlors. Computer driven, but one couldn’t perform any word processing with it.

So all of the railroads had a caboose at the end of their freight trains. Some of these roads were quite short, and couldn’t afford a standard caboose, so they’d tack a shack onto a flatcar. Just enough for two or three men, these pocket caboose models can still be spotted here and there when on the Amtrak.

The first Brakemen must have been rugged Swedish lumber jacks, because the name given to their home away from home, caboose, means “cabin” in Swedish.

More of Charles’s Caboose History next issue


2002 SCSRA/FRPA Calendar of Events


THE HEADLIGHT
is published quarterly at Los Angeles, California, and is the official publication of
THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SCENIC RAILWAY ASSOCIATION, INC.
P.O. Box 39727, Griffith Station, Los Angeles, CA 90039-0727
(323) 667-1423 and via the World Wide Web at http://www.scsra.org/

A California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation, Incorporated January 4, 1984
IRS Tax Exemption No. 95-3947766

Editor: Sue Kientz

Any article or feature published in The Headlight may be reprinted in whole or in part provided that proper credit is given the source.


BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CORPORATE OFFICERS

APPOINTED OFFICERS

APPOINTED SUPERINTENDENTS AND MANAGERS

Associates with inquiries regarding project work schedules
may contact any of the above by leaving a message at (323) 667-1423.


Questions and comments to Sue Kientz, SCSRA Publications Manager