2 of 4
BURIED STORIES ...
( PART 2 )
In my job, I take pride in the fact that
we have never had any problems with theft
from the store. (Apart, of course, from the
jaw-breaker jar being just a tad on the lighter
side after the swift departure of some of our
younger clientele.) So it sure puzzled me when,
during our last inventory, we were not able to
account for a five-gallon gasoline can.
It is not that there would be much demand
for such an item: there are not that many
automobiles around this backwoods town. Even
with the depressed local economics, folks around
these parts are basically simple and honest (with
the possible exception of two families that bought
out the old Broakdowlne & Descustid narrow
gauge line). The missing gas can has probably
been put to good use by one of our logging crews
whose foreman just forgot to file the proper
requisition invoice.
It might interest you to know that Sidney
Samestreet was promoted from night-watchman
to Night Manager. Not much of an increase in
responsibilities since we usually shut down not
long after sunset, but he did receive a sizeable
bonus from Salvatore Bicci. Yes, that is the
same Samestreet whose cigarette "accidentally"
found its way into the engine house that night.
Consolidations #38 and 63 came out on
the losing end of that deal. Their rusted hulks
were claimed a total loss by the insurance
company, but then that is exactly what they were
before they entered the engine house the day of
the disaster.
Barnswell Fathoms, the shop foreman, had
told me that they were not worth their weight in
peach pits when the company had bought them
used a few thousand years ago. And he was under
expressed orders to not waste an extra dime on
them, either. That is not to say that too much
more than a few dimes has ever been spent on
locomotive maintenance on this railroad.
A hot time in the old town that night ...
>>
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[ RR artwork - Clip Art Collection - RRHistorical.com ]
Copyright © 1993 MICK TERRY All rights reserved
( Published in Railroad Model Craftsman May, 1994 )
[ Reprinted here by permission of the author. ]
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Los Angeles, California, USA ( 34n03, 118w15 )
