May 20th, I asked......
Subject of the thread was re-icing reefers.....
Posing the request differently: the Coast Daylight, the Lark, the Coast Merchandise East (the Big Zipper) and other trains and engines passed through a place of many places?
New York, Kansas City, Chicago, Portland, Boston and Tokyo.
Those trains and others were not a quarter of a mile from these places. Twilight Zone music pls?
Perishable? Perishables?
Us, or those SP trains?
Wow, if I had any idea what you were asking, I bet it would be interesting....
my middle name ain't obfuscation, but should....
WJSTIX, here's a try to give you an apology and an "idea about what...."
A previous thread was "Reicing," (Reefer,-igerater) cars; being an agent at a station that originated perishable commodities in reefers consigned to Nova Scotia, Miami, Bangor and others....like those.
My response to the inquiry about re-icing brought a truckers response which mentioned that trucks leaving Salinas were iced at places where reefers were iced in the good ol' early 60's, peaking at 300 and close to 400 cars a day.
The "Reicing, Waldo" attempted to connect that "Where are we..." game to those places' names and ask their significance to the trucker's info about icing perishables. That was the my idea while framing the question. and refer to the "Reicing, Waldo", post; have a good time.
Waldo is in Arkanas. It's also in Chapter 2 of my next book:
The line crossed over Big Creek at milepost 370.54. There was a .9% grade climbing up Waldo Hill for southbound trains. Waldo, Arkansas was reached at milepost 373.26. Waldo had a 74 car passing siding and 67 car capacity for the gin spur and Fertz track. A day telegraph was maintained at Waldo call sign "BF". Waldo had a mail crane. The southbound grade out of Waldo reached .7% descending to the Beech Creek crossing at milepost 375.21.
Cya around the bend . . .
The question was inspired by the trucker saying that her load was top-iced in Salinas where icer-reefers were iced in mid-20th century.
What connected those names to her comment?
and, the locomotive:
SSW 9389.......one of the best looking Bi-Centennials.....massive with shape to represent the strength and fiber of our nation.....Great Fourth of July to all....and I did run her to Roseville from E. Oakland on a sunny afternoon....lead unit, shiny finish.......new word : it proud-ified us (the crew) and U.S.
way out there, one more ride....pioneers.
SSW9389 Waldo is in Arkanas.
Waldo is in Arkanas.
I wondered what SP would be doing re-icing cars in Waldo, Minnesota on the DM&IR.
wjstix SSW9389 Waldo is in Arkanas. I wondered what SP would be doing re-icing cars in Waldo, Minnesota on the DM&IR.
or Waldo, FL on the SAL - now if it is a highway speed trap - Waldo, FL is the place!
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Sorry for the poorly phrased and misleading question.
Waldo was not the objective, but the answer had to do with top-icing in Salinas (John Steinbeck's) a trailer load of broccoli where railroad refrigerated cars were iced 50 years ago and those places' names were connected to that, and that the fabled Coast Div named trains in the past passed there-by.
ANS.A geographically north to south single-track about 5 miles long generator of perishable trains had switching leads along each side. A yard, 'cross from the depot about 6 tracks wide assembled the trains which fit at the Roseville Ice Dock, 93 reefers 40 feet long when 5 or more went over "The Mountain" each season to....points east...Overland Route.....
Lucrative jobs defined as Roustabouts switched and dragged loads to the yard and mtys for loading back to their assigned districts off the afore-mentioned leads
The districts,off the leads, had a couple interior tracks and a couple of loading tracks....in & out...mtys then loads....stash 'em....respot the loading dock with mtys...Repeat....maybe again...Then take the loads to the yard....bring back the mtys for tomorrow or tonight,( rarely)
The Districts for the Roustabouts, from geographic north to south were a job, an engine, a crew, a location, an area of operation, obligations to get it done....mostly done.
The connection is that they were the names of the north to south (switching) districts where a 21st century trucker could be top-iced in Salinas.
New York and Kansas City were served by the Yard job, adjacent to the yard. At 5 o'clock the Classifier Job at the yard made up the trains,went to coffee or beans when they were putting their train together and getting out of town.
By then most of the outbound loads were delivered and mtys hauled away for loading in the AM
Visualize north (SP west) to south (SP east)
Right side: New York, Salinas agency(station),, Chicago distr .and at Spreckel's Jct. the Tokyo distr..
Kansas City was just south and off of the (geo) eastern lead to the yard.
Further south was the Portland district, and then Boston at a branch to a sugar beet mill.
Tokyo branched off from the Boston lead.
That, very early historically and as time went by, the district's names had derived from the major powers there, I dunno,
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