[PRCo] Re: ANOTHER ACCIDENT

[John Swindler]

The Chicago Transit Authority also hired full-time temporary employees 
(college students) during the summer so that their regular employees would 
take summer vacations.  Had a wonderful time - and they even paid me for it 
- what a country (:>)

John



>From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net>
>Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>Subject: [PRCo] ANOTHER ACCIDENT
>Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2007 20:41:10 -0400
>
>
>I know a chap from Brooklyn, now leaving up in Queens, who would be
>in his early 70s.   He was a big help to me when I was working on the
>PCC book because he had squirred away a lot of official records from
>Brooklyn and Queens Transit.   He isn't here to refute my errors so
>I'm not going to toss out the name.   Let's just say he is one very
>likable man...
>
>Well, he had a dream in the younger days of going into the
>priesthood.   He never accomplished it and I never asked why and that
>doesn't matter.   But while he was working toward that goal he spent
>one summer working as a motorman for Atlantic City Transportation
>Company.  You need a little explanation up front.   ACTC was
>essentially a summer operation just like the Pennsylvania - Reading
>Seashore Lines trains going to the shore.   Trains magazine wrote an
>article a half century ago on the PRSL which they titled, "Three
>Months Feast - Nine Months Famine".   I think that also summarized
>ACTC operations.   On winter days they might have gotten away with a
>10 cars and on on the the 4th of July they might have had 35 or 40
>cars in service.   My friend was typical of the summer motormen ...
>like the restaurant employees he was young and many of his colleagues
>were also college kids.
>
>He was telling me about his training ... he had apparently a very
>brief indoctrination into how to run a Brilliner and when they got
>back to the barn he was told to put it on Track such and such and
>then report back to the dispatcher.   When he got to the dispatcher
>he was told to report to Ray Stark's office.   Stark was the Numero
>Uno of the corporation.   Then the dialog began something like, "Your
>application says you never worked for a transit company before but my
>instructor tells me you taught him a few tricks about running a
>car.   When did you last run a car before coming here?   (Answer...
>last night)   "Where?"  (Brooklyn).   "You work for them?"  (No, just
>a railfan.)
>
>They would never let him run a Hog Island and Stark kept waving it in
>front of him as the carrot saying they wanted him back the next
>summer.   If he came back, they would qualify him.
>
>He did admit to more accidents than a few but he also claimed he
>smiled at all his customers, thanked all his customers for their
>fares, thanked them for riding, and when he did have an accident, he
>said he always came in with a fist full of signed witness cards.   He
>said he felt that was what made them want to keep him.
>
>The worst accident?   Well he told me about one down in Margate or
>Ventor where a traffic light went green and he and a huge black Caddy
>on his right both took off simultaneously.   If you folks don't know
>the area, the trolley was on center-of-the-road private right-of-way
>ballasted with sand.   Several blocks down the street the driver of
>the Caddy apparently forgot about the Brilliner that had been on his
>left, and he made a left turn  ... and found a Brilliner in his front
>seat.    I asked Don if he got away with it and Don said he had a
>witness card from everyone on the car all stating that the Cadillac
>turned in front of the trolley without stopping.
>
>Pays to be nice to your passengers.
>
>
>

_________________________________________________________________
i'm making a difference. Make every IM count for the cause of your choice. 
Join Now. 
http://clk.atdmt.com/MSN/go/msnnkwme0080000001msn/direct/01/?href=http://im.live.com/messenger/im/home/?source=hmtagline