Talk about the Good Ole Days

"Another staple back in the old days was fried bologna sandwiches."

Jumijo,

This and a fresh picked garden tomato and mayo is still my favorite....You made me hungry. I think you need to get back in to trying one of those.

Fried bologna sandwiches!  Yes, but in my house it was called "minced ham" and we had it fried with fried onions on plain white bread.  Oh man I'm starving for that now!

I'm getting off subject here and I'll stop, but I have to close with my wife has a fit when I want a spam and mustard sandwich with one of them garden picked tomatoes.

Bingo on the fried bologna with fried onions on white. My mother used to serve those and I "taught" my wife how to make them too. Don't have them very often, but still love 'em.

We moved from Jackson to Battle Creek, MI in the summer after my third grade.  We moved into a 5 room duplex next door to my grandparents but their house was on the corner and faced a different street.  This meant we could walk out our front door across the driveway and into my grandparents back door and vice versa.  Since there was only two bedrooms, I shared one with my two sisters with a curtain on a wire separating us.  The only bathroom was downstairs at the back of the house off the kitchen.  This should disuade any thoughts those were "good ol days" because we were well off.  My parents of course lived through the depression, so they knew harder times.

But I digress . . . I want to tell you about the railroad crossings downtown in Battle Creek at that time.  This would have been circa 1947.  The NYC (MC) railroad went through town two blocks north of the main drag (Michigan Ave.) and the Grand Trunk railroad went through town two blocks south of the main drag.  The two main roads, one block apart that crossed the tracks running north and south were on each side of the the NYC Depot.  At each of the crossings stood a wooden tower two story tower with a man in each one that operated the crossing gates manually.  When a train was coming he would ring a bell, the "clang clang" type like on top of a steamer, that hung outside under the roof overhang.  He then would rotate a big wheel, similar to the helm on a boat,  by hand, and that would lower the gates.  There must have been a series of pulleys and cables that lessened the work that were housed in the lower story of the tower and then out underground to the gates because I don't recall anything being visible that operated those gates except the man and that big wheel.

The Grand Trunk and the NYC tracks crossed each other east of town out by the Kellogg and Post Cereal plants.  The lines were both two tracks so they made quite a clackety clack racket when a freight would go through there.  The story goes that there would never be a bank robbery in Battle Creek because the banks were downtown on Michigan Avenue and all streets going in and out of town were blocked by railroad tracks i.e. no assurance of a clean getaway.

.....

Dennis

Dennis, I liked your story, great.

Had a classic [or is it postwar?] fried bologna sandwich yesterday--on hamburger bun with 3/8" thick slice and mustard. Dill pickle on the side and a Dr. Pepper. Will have another along about Christmas.

Dennis's hand wheel story above reminds me of how labor intensive everything was during the 1930s and for us, it lasted until after WWII. We had bought new fangled kerosene flue burners for the tobacco curing barn but when the War started no kerosene to be had for low priority cash crop stuff. So back to the axe and cutting flue wood along with the always chopping and splitting for household cooking and heating. And,we were still on block ice[and kerosene lamps/lanterns] until 1948 when power was finally extended down our farm road. In 1949 when I went into the Navy I had never screwed in a light bulb ---so they sent me to school and made me an Electrician.

Great thread, thanks for saving it Rich.

Jerry

I am with you on all your sandwich favorites, but in Baltimore I always opted for the crab cakes. Oldest son worked as a financial analyst for the Maryland Legislature and lived in Annapolis. 

My early ancestors settled in Anne Arundel County and in 1807 one migrated down the Great Wagon Road to N. C.  They became farmers, carpenters, steeplejacks and even a few bootleggers . Dad[Section Gang] and one Uncle[Passenger Conductor] worked for the A&Y Railway. 

Although I grew up raising tobacco I didn't smoke until I went in the Navy[50 cents a carton and free with your rations in combat zones. Dang, took me 20 years to quit].

These recollections are a treaure! I am thoroughly enjoying every one (and glad Rich found a way to let the thread cont.) of them - such poignant glimpses back in time. Pictures form immediately in my mind as I read, like about balogna sandwiches; chicken noodle soup w/ peanut butter n' jelly sandwiches - I haven't thought about those rib-stickers in decades, but my mouth watered when I read of them here. Thanks everybody! This thread seems exactly suited to our hobby and to this time of year, doesn't it.

Frank M.

I'd better get us back to trains a bit.  As I mentioned before, my Dad worked for the Pere Marquette and then the C&O.  When I was quite small, probably 5 or 6 years old, when we still lived in Jackson, my Dad took me with him on one of his trips in Michigan up to Baldwin. (His job also took him south into Kentucky and Virginia). He was a railroad tie and lumber inspector. Now, don't imagine my Dad was walking along the tracks to do his inspecting.  His job took him to saw mills where they made ties for the railroad.  Where we went we were taken to the lumbermill owner's house to stay over night and the man's wife fixed our dinner and the next morning our breakfast. In the morning we drove in the man's car out to a railroad siding where a pile of ties was sitting by an open boxcar.  He had a crew of men who would pick up the tie on one end and slide it up what looked like a saw horse with legs only on one end that was on the ground and the other end was in through the door of the boxcar.  My Dad's job was to inspect each tie individually for proper length and quality before two men would lift it and slide it up the wood rail where two other men inside the boxcar would pick it up and stack them inside.  When they had the car loaded, I went inside with my Dad and watched him mark the end of each tie with his I.D., originally with red dabs of paint, but later the C&O gave him a hammer with a number on it that would dent the end of the tie with an initial.  The load in the boxcar appeared as high as my Dad's head i.e. six feet.  My Dad told me the tie's length could not exceed it's proper length by more than an inch or two or it would jamb in the creosote machine where that boxcar full of ties were headed.

.....

Dennis

I am so glad I was privileged to be born into the family I had, and live where we lived (Kansas City) during the times that I was a lad. (Born in '52.)  The railroading around the KC area was fantastic... something like 12 or 13 railroads then!  Union Station was still a thriving RAILROAD station. (At least Union Station has been saved, and wasn't destroyed, though!)

Growing up in the '50's was a great experience... right into the 60's.  I am so glad I had the chance to know the America that existed in my world then. 

Andre

Exactly.

Frank M.

One night, while waiting for the car knocker to finish inspecting our train, my Engineer, a former Pennsy guy, gave me an education about running ALCo units. Like me, he was truly enthusiastic about the railroad and I'll never forget his generosity in taking his time going through the different types he ran, being sure to include their respective "pluses and minuses." I wish I could repeat some of the things he said as they were truly comical but I don't think they're suitable for a family forum. Suffice it to say his favorite ALCo diesel was the RS-1. He said it was the best diesel the company ever built. I still recall our own power that night. It was the Conrail 1961, a GE B23-7 just out of the GE plant. We were very proud to be running it  

Bob 

Thanks again to all who have shared their memories of trains in their lives, I enjoyed all the stories!

So have I, and I'm sure many more are enjoying this!

John

Well, I've held off on contributing since I'm so young.  Huh-huh.  "Liar, liar..."

Born in '46, I was so fortunate to grow up in a literal rural paradise of citrus trees, walnut orchards and avocado trees in southern California.  Tucked a ways away from the city of Los Angeles yet bound to it by the agricultural and film industries, I cannot imagine a more idyllic setting for a childhood.

We lived about 150 yards from the Southern Pacific Coast Line and I was a TrainHead from a very, very early age.  My aunt and uncle gave me my first Lionel train set at age three (like many other first train sets among this group, I still have it).  By age of 7-8, I was permitted to pretty much go where I wanted to on my bike, along with my dog, and where I wanted to go generally was to watch trains.  My fav. memory is of the ESPEE STEAM Daylight passenger train in her glorious red and orange on its way to SanFran or to Los Angeles.  Then there was the Lark.  And the local passenger trains.  And the freight trains.  And the citrus/produce trains.  The Coast Route was a busy set of tracks in the '40s and '50s.

Since citrus/agriculture was the main (and other than film-making, the only ) industry, there were several huge packing houses that had spurs to them.  Year round, I loved watching the steam & later diesel move produce around for hauling to who knows where??? (Probably to you guys in the cold East ).  The engineers & conductors generally were pretty darned friendly--though I remember on a third-grade train trip to Los Angeles that the S.P. personnel were clearly very UNhappy with all the kids on board though our school was very small & there weren't that many kids.

Our local passenger station--one of the many "cookie-cutter" stations that S.P. built throughout its system--was nearly razed in the late '60s.  But saved (and moved), it stands as a ~105 year-old testament to the power of American railroads.  The small yards/switching areas near the station had a water tower (little wonder I loved the Lionel version) that stood five or so years after the demise of S.P. steam.  There may have been a small refueling station to replenish the oil for the steamers and later to provide diesel to the interlopers.

The '40s and '50s were a glorious time for American railroads (and the Southern Pacific in particular) and I'm glad I was around to enjoy it.  (And I'm glad that I can still remember it!  )

And no, we didn't have snow.  I didn't walk to school in the snow.  I didn't play in the snow.  I didn't see trains in the snow.  I didn't like the snow.  I still don't like the snow.  My failing, I guess, as a rational human being.     

Watching a crew rerail a derailed Covered Hopper Car in the old Camden yards near Federal Hill.

It's a stadium now. All of that... gone and buried.

One of the things I liked growing up in a small town like Battle Creek was I could watch the trains come into the station from either direction.  To the west of the station across McCamley street the tracks turned SW and crossed Michigan Avenue on an angle.  That curve was superelevated and it was so cool to see a big steamer puffing around that curve as it approached the station leaning to one side, bell ringing, and whistle blowing.  On the nearer tracks when a train was due from the other direction, I often would lay a penny on the rail nearest to me and watch the engine flatten it into a thin copper souvenir.

Later, I'll tell about my trip to Petoskey with my Dad.

.....

Dennis

While it hardly seems possible, 36 years have passed since the nation's celebration of the bicentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. I think that span of years puts stories of these events firmly into the good old days.  

Arguably the biggest and longest event for railfans in that year of 1976 was the nation spanning trip of the American Freedom Train. Three restored steam locomotives, remodeled passenger cars carrying historic exhibits and the thrill of the chase, all wrapped in red, white and Pepsi blue. For those too young to remember or who haven't seen pictures of the equipment, Pepsi was one of the corporate sponsors hence the decidedly lighter shade of blue than that used in the flag. The tale of my late night encounter with this train involves its visit to Chicago in the summer of that year.

I had already seen its somewhat unfortunate arrival in town several days earlier. Unfortunate in the sense that the plan to display the engine, Southern Pacific 4449, as well as the rest of the consist on Navy Pier quickly went awry. For before the engine got anywhere near the site on Lake Michigan it was found the light, and I imagine at that point, not well maintained track of the C&NW's industrial spur couldn't take the burden of the big Northern. I was on hand to witness this non-event with great disappointment. Well the display cars eventually made it out to the pier, where I toured the exhibits and took my slides while enjoying the cool breeze off the water. Later, I got a closer look at the engine when it and the train where on display in Aurora (a far western suburb).

Upon learning that the train's departure from the area would take it east down the CB&Q's 3 track raceway back into Chicago I was determined to get just one more look. The catch was this was to be a movement made in the wee hours of a weekday morning. Accompanied by a non-railfan friend we drove into the western suburbs not having any real idea as to the exact timing of the trains move. I believe we thought we'd just head west until we saw or heard something. Through the quiet night we drove the more or less paralleling streets. Cicero, Berwyn, Brookfield until deciding we couldn't risk a miss we settled down on the station platform in Western Springs to wait. The wait wasn't to be a long one, for soon in the distance I spotted 3 lights: 2 tiny class lights and a larger headlight. That can't be him no Mars light, I thought, no whistle just an air horn. Of course I'd somehow forgotten that the GS had an air horn and the engine was upon us and gone again in a rush. Now the chase was on, east on the nearest main drag, Ogden Ave. Back through the small towns, past Clyde Yard. Not a glimpse until we got all the way downtown. The train used the through track at Union Station and that's where we finally caught up, at the north approach tracks with the engine sitting just short of a street crossing lit by a streetlamp or two. So I got a few greenish tinted slides with my 400 ASA Ektachrome and we retreated to an all night diner nearer to home for a big breakfast. A little sleep, a bleary eyed bus ride and I was right back downtown at work a few hours later. My friend? Oh yeah, he called in sick that day.

Still have those slides. Somewhere.

Thanks for sharing your Freedom Train encounter with us. What with the AFT and all the specially painted equipment across the nation's rails, the entire Bicentennial railroading experience was just incredible.

Bob 

That is a cool story, thanks E. Willers.   CNJ-Bob is right too.  That was an incredible year of bicentennial events everywhere.  Where I live the owner of the toll bridge had the bridge repainted in red white and blue and a new sign put on it celebrating the bicentennial.  It seems everybody got into it.

.....

Dennis

My father worked at a cement plant and when the boxcars were empty they would remove the wood from the inside of the boxcar and bring it home, then I would have to pull the old nails out of the wood and then straighten the old nails on an anvil. Then I would stack the lumber on a pile awaiting the next building project.

Oh yea, Fried Bologna Sandwiches, I still make em today, Love em with ketchup.

 That's why I love calling my Uncle Harry in Virginia.

 He's not only 87 years old,he also worked on the r.r. for 42 years.

 He hired on the Virginian in 1945,and retired for the Norfolk Southern in 1987.

 I love hearing his stories of running on the "Big Ones" ,as he calls steam.

 I have always enjoyed hearing from the "mature" generation how the world was before I knew it

One of the train trips I took with my Dad was up to Petosky (it's on Lake Michigan).  I was quite young but I remember Dad and I walking uphill to the hotel from the train station.  This made lugging the suitcases (my Dad called them "grips") extra hard.

At some point he took me down to a long pier that sticks out into lake Michigan that has a lighthouse on it to show me how people fish for perch off of the pier.  He didn't do it this trip but told me how sometimes he brings a fishing pole with him and would catch some perch for his supper.  There was a restaurant in town where you could bring in your fresh catch.  They would clean and cook it for you for your supper.  He took me to that restaurant but we had hamburgers that night.

Of course, living in Michigan, I have been to Petoskey several times as an adult, but I can't reconstruct any of what I just told you except the pier and lighthouse are still there.

I thought my Dad was real important because in his wallet he had a whole bunch of railroad passes that allowed him to ride any railroad free.  Some of the conductors knew my Dad from frequent trips so he didn't even have to show his pass.  They would just say "where 'ya headed this time "CC".  My Dad's name was Clarence Cecil Bracey, but he just signed everything CC Bracey, so that got to be his nickname around his travels and business associates.

.....

Dennis

This is a great thread.  I've enjoyed reading what has been shared.

Thanks to all who posted their "blasts from the past." In addition to enjoying the stories, this thread caused me to recollect events that I hadn't thought of in years. 

I was born in 1944 (which seems to be common among responders here). I remember

well the Nickel Plate in Cleveland and surrounding areas. My father and uncle started

a chemical business in the industrial flats about 1948.  It was located near the intersection of Scranton road and Train Ave. ( really, it was named Train Ave.)

There was a double track truss  bridge that spanned the intersection.  On Saturdays,

I would spend time at that area watching the Berkshires and Mikados haul freight on

that main line through the flats. This was about 1956-58 and I am thinking it must

have been some of the last mainline steam running in the US.

Many years later I found a copy of the Nickel Plate Story (originally published about 1966). It contained the information that during World War II, that trestle bridge had

twice been sabotaged by foreign agents, the second time killing the engineer and fireman.

Another remembrance was that during high school I would ride the CTS Rapid transit

east from the W-25 Lorain station out to the Superior station and along the way

was a much rail action.  The CTS rapid shared tracks with the Shaker Rapid which

veered off to Shaker Heights etc. Also, there was an NKP diesel house and facility around

E 79th station. I remember seeing some NKP Bluebirds there.  Somewhat further

out the NKP and NYC ran parallel, so there were more trains to see. Also around

the town were the B & O, Erie Lackawanna, and the Pennsy.  A good time and

place to be a railfan!

Yes, they WERE called "grips". Wonder why suitcases with wheels were'nt made sooner?

"Snail mail"?  Hardly.

In 1957 and 1958 there was no email and long distance phone calls were considered expensive, so people wrote letters.  My girlfriend (now my wife of 52 years) lived south of Detroit in Grosse Ile, and as I have posted before I lived in Battle Creek which is about 120 miles west of Detroit.

I would write her a letter in the evening, walk down to the train station and drop it in the mail box on the station platform.  I could mail it as late as 10:00 P.M. and she would receve it the next day in her regular mail delivery which was in the afternoon between 1:00 and 2:00 P.M.  That's pretty good postal service I would say.  The time and date stamp on the letter let you know it had been done enroute on a train.

.....

Dennis

Spring 1948. The first Freedom Train was in Bakersfield CA.  I was in the 7th or 8th grade about 100 miles away. One kid from each homeroom was appointed to visit the train as the class "journalist" . The teacher picked me as she knew I liked trains.

A couple of hours over the mountains, past the "Loop" and down the hill to Bakersfield.  Wow! What a neat train. The engineer, I think, invited me and a couple of other kids to visit the cab. Lots of information about the engine and how it worked. I dutifully wrote in my note book. Took a picture of the controls and the outside with my "piece of junk" camera my dad gave me.

Asked and got a good lecture about 6 wheeled trucks (those on the train) vs the four wheeled trucks on near by modern cars,  Carrying capacity and better ride. I wrote in my note book.

Added some information off a sign about the future cities and looked around a bit.

And we went home to write our reports for presentation the next day. A great presentation prepared according to my dad's "report rules", tell em what you're going to say, say it, and tell em what you just said.

The teacher asked about the displays in the cars. I said "I looked in and just saw some old papers"

The world's shortest journalistic career.

Most fans in the New York City Metropolitan Area are familiar with the Putnam Division of the New York Central, running from 155th Street in the Bronx to Putnam Junction at Brewster and a connection to the Harlem Division with a branch to Getty Square in Yonkers leaving the main at JS in Van Cortlandt Park. Over time, trains stopped running in stages until the only business which remained along what Conrail called the "Putnam Industrial Track" by the mid 80s was Stella D'oro in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx.

On a delightful Friday evening during the Summer of 1984, my bride-to-be and I decided to take a walk before going to get some dinner. Her family's apartment was on West 238th Street next to the IRT Station just a few blocks south of Van Cortlandt Park so we thought a walk in the park would be nice. When we got into the park, we headed toward the railroad which, although trains weren't running this far north by this point, was still completely intact - track, ballast and all. My Fiance was fascinated by my passion for railroading. She enjoyed listening to me discuss the subject and accompanying me on train outings. I suggested we hike along the right of way through the park and she was all for it. As we walked along, I filled her in on the line's history. I couldn't believe it; here I was walking along the railroad talking about trains holding hands with a gorgeous woman who was genuinely interested in what I was telling her. As much as I enjoy the company of my railfan circle of friends, that was a tough act to follow!  My wife was very proud of my enthusiasm for the industry and spoke glowingly of it to others whenever the opportunity presented itself. She was very impressed with the qualities of my fellow enthusiasts and looked forward to spending time with me at train events whether it was a meet or a railfan trip. She thought train people as a group were really nice folks. Thanks for the memories babe.

Thank you to the original poster for starting this thread.

Bob

My memories go back many years. I grew up across the street from the SP ROW. I remember the cabforwards pulling mile-long sugar beet drags. My fondest memory was watching the Daylights. The plus side was being able to ride the Daylights when not in school. It was one of the perks of my dad being a SP Conductor. My grandfather worked as a Conductor for the "Q" until his death. I'm from a railroad family and have been active in prewar tinplate since 1947. My layout is a hand-me-down from my grandfather. I was more than happy to inherit it upon his death in 1957. Yes, it's almost eighty-five years old. The only changes I've made was updating the wiring through the years. I truely enjoy running my grandpa's trains on my grandpa's layout. I wouldn't have it any other way.