When the inbound train was on time, a brisk walk, without loitering, was required to arrive at first period class before the bell tolled. On assembly days the school schedule was advanced five minutes. Timely arrival could still be accomplished by a forced march on the double. The writer received much of his cross country and track running practice on the uphill sprint from Sixth and C to the Gray Castle. Early in the semester the first period English teacher delivered an ultimatum. The alternative was not seriously considered because it delayed afternoon beachward departure by two hours.
One morning the writer entered very late into the ominously silent classroom to be transfixed by the razor-sharp stare of la professora. An explanation was in order and it had to be good! In desperation, one of the writer's very few public speeches was launched. It included all of the lurid details of the cause of tardiness as told to him by an eloquent and imaginative train crew.
The last train of the evening before was drawn by No. 15, a snappy 4-4-0, acquired from the San Diego & Southeastern. It ran through an open, facing point switch leading to the La Jolla engine house. With train in tow, it crashed into the house on a track occupied by a Mack 4-2-0 rail bus, recently purchased to stem the flow of red ink on the company ledgers.
Said motorized contraption was punted through the rear wall of aforementioned engine house by the toe of No. 15's pilot. The score was made at a point where no door was provided. The charging No. 15, followed by La Jolla Zephyr, breezed through the newly created opening and came to rest, on the ground, beyond end of track. Fortunately, there were no casualties, other than the football, Mr. Mack Bus. It is reported that all passengers reached home on their own power from this climactic termination of an otherwise routine train ride.
Naturally, it took more time than was available before scheduled morning departure, to pick up the pieces and make up a train. The second best engine. No. 2, an 0-4-2 which saw service on the Coronado Railway, was out of service undergoing the major operation of installation of new flues. At the bottom of the motive power barrel was No. 4, an 1880 vintage Forney 2-4-4 from Holton Interurban. It had to be fired up in spite of its sad state of disrepair, with one good cylinder and only sporadic impulses available from the other. With only one short, open-platform coach in tow, it could barely wheeze up Bird Rock grade. The painful, asthmatic gasps of this ailing kettle were pitifal to hear. The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to the Iron Horse should have stopped this inhuman abuse.
This was the train for several days after the unofficial "open house" at the engine terminal. Any similarity to a schedule was purely coincidental and first period tardiness was unavoidable.
At this point, the defendant before the stern English teacher rested his case. The paralyzing stare melted in sympathy for the gamely struggling Forney, No. 4. Members of the sedate English class were rolling in the aisle, in hysterics. The defendant was declared not guilty by reason - not of insanity - but of an advanced case of railfanitis. He owes his successful defense to the aforementioned eloquent and imaginative train crew. Case dismissed!
By Jim Baker
Our Steam Program is about to get moving again! Starting in January, we work the second weekend of the month, Friday and Saturday, as our regular days to work at Campo. We will have our meetings on the third Monday evening of the month. Therefore, the first regular work weekend will be January 9th & 10th, 2004. And our next meeting will be Jan. 19th. Friday work days will allow those of us who don't have regular jobs on Fridays (like me) to come out to work, without the danger of being "Shanghaied" into train service. For those poor souls who still have to work weekdays for a living, we'll have Saturday sessions.
My plans are to work in the shop on Fridays, and appoint a "Lead Person" to lead the activities on Saturdays, while I make myself available for train service. I would be available for any needed decision making first thing Sat, morning, between trains, and in the evening. Our meetings are scheduled to review what we did on the previous work weekend, and to plan for the next one.
Our priority project is to re-assemble 2353 so she looks like an operational locomotive, and move her to the Visitor Center as a display. The display will serve two main purposes: To have another exciting and educational exhibit for our visitors, and to show what a finished 2353 looks like when we apply for grants for an operational restoration.
Here's a few of me things we plan to do in the next several months:
1) Remove front heads from valve and engine cylinders. Inspect for any water, rust and/or corrosion.
2) Grease sealing surfaces on superheater units and superheater header, and loosely reinstall units.
3) Clean crank pin on #3 drivers; clean, lube, and install side rods between #2 & #3 drivers.
8
| BACK | HOME | EXCURSIONS | GALLERY | FAQ | HISTORY | STORIES | SOUNDS | LINKS |