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On Friday, October 11, there were about five times the usual number of railroad buffs at Rogers Road. It turns out they were in town for the Missouri Pacific Historical Society's Annual Meeting.
The folks told me they were headquartered at the Ramada Hotel. I went down there after I got off work, hoping to find out something about the society. None of the hotel staff had ever heard of the group or anything about the group being in town and meeting in their hotel.
I read that the two biggest producers of bathroom tissue have merger. How long will it be before the stuff cost a dollar a roll?
When I get off in time, I sometimes take the long way home so I can watch the Tarantula Express leave Stockyards Station on the North Side of Town.
There is always a whole raft of railroad buffs of all descriptions. I have noticed a difference other than the obvious one between male and female railroad buffs.
Women get excited and do more waving when train watching. Some of them even jump up and down. The men on the other hand, are more passive. It must be a macho thing.
I called Darrell Compton Sr when I learned he had retired. During our conversation, when we recall his years as Local Chairman for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, I remarked, "You'd have had an easier time dealing with the Mafia than you had trying to handle union business with the old MOP."
He replied, "Well, the TP was nearly as bad. When the Union Pacific took over, we didn't know how to act."
When we were the old MP, we could always tell when there was a business car expected to arrive in town, because the washrack would be working at the Diesel Shop. By the way, why aren't we washing engines anymore?
The Federal Reserve Board controls interest rates and makes no effort to hide the fact that the rate is pegged to maintain an "optimum" number of unemployed persons. They say that without at least 25 million people on the unemployment rolls, workers gain too much bargaining power and wages are driven up, thereby causing inflation.
It's too bad there isn't a way to let the members of the Federal Reserve Board stand their turn as one of that 25,000,000. Maybe we could bring back the Selective Service System, this time for bankers. I even know of a few people who would gladly volunteer to serve on that kind of "Draft Board."
It is bad enough not to have Air Conditioning on "modern" locomotives on these hot days. The railroads claims the equipment is too hard to maintain. You would think that after using it on passenger trains for over 60 years, they would have learned how to maintain it by now or the manufacturers would have developed more reliable units.
What I can't understand is why our mechanical forces have removed so many of the latches that hold the doors of the cabs open. Gee! Even if we can't have air conditioning in this day and time, it would be nice to at least have some air circulation.