[PRCo] Re: Troop trains

Tue May 10 21:51:45 EDT 2011

Oh yes.   Rolla.   Last traffic light on US 66 for a hundred miles or more going west from St. Louis!   

How I know.   Well, in May 1959 I had a three day pass and hitched from Fort Hood up to St. Louis to ride the trolleys.   On the way back on Saturday night, I went out to somewhere near Kirkwood or Manchester and raised the old thumb.   A car stopped with three young ladies.   They took me to Rolla telling me it was the last traffic light.   

Damn that one in the back seat next to me was hot.   

On May 10, 2011, at 8:43 PM, Dwight Long wrote:

>   Bob   On my trip to Rolla I had spent the day riding the IT suburban
> service= and fotting SLPS before heading west to Rolla.  The Dog on which I
> ro= de had no restroom--it was an early version of the Highway Traveler
> series--and I well remember the rest stop on my trip.  It was at a p= lace
> called "The Diamond,"  or something close to that and I think it = was on
> theold Rt.66.  I was in desperate need of it, at any rate, hav= ing been
> lulled into a belief that the bus would have a restroom by virtue = of the
> fact that the one I rode into STL DID have such a facility!   And yes, that
> is the preferred pronunciation of Rolla!   Dwight
> 
> May 10, 2011 04:20:13 AM, pittsburgh-railways at dement= ia.org wrote:
> 
> I remembe= r stopping at the Post House in Rolla (RAWL-Luh) on a
> cross-country=C3=82&n= bsp;Greyhound trip in 1962. 
> 
> 
> 
> Bob 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Herb Brannon" To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org 
> Sent: Monday, May 9, 2011 9:46:= 25 PM 
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Troop trains 
> 
> I haven't heard that tow= ns name mentioned in quite a few years. 1957 was 
> almost a decade before= my time there but I doubt if it changed very much. 
> On Mon, May 9, 2011= at 21:02, Dwight Long wrote: 
> 
>> =C3=82&n= bsp; =C3=82  =C3=82  Herb =C3=82  Back in 1957 I was returni= ng
> east from Rolla, Mo., on the 
>> Frisco's loc=3D al passenger train= , and we went into the hole at least
> once, 
>> and I think tw=3D ice, = for a very long troop train. =C3=82 I learned
> laterthat it 
>> w= as headed =3D to Ft. Leonard Wood. =C3=82  Dwight 
>> 
>> Ma= y 9, 2011 05:29:17 PM, pittsburgh-railways at dementi=3D a.org wrote: 
>> = In the Summer=3D of 1964 I had a "seasonal" job with the City of Akron,
>> Street 
>> &Hig=3D hway Dept, as a laborer on a McAdam pavi= ng crew. We had a three
> day 
>> job,=3D in mid-August, on a city stree= t which ran along side the main 
>> east-westrailroad tracks. These tr= acks served the Eire-Lackawanna, 
>> Baltimore 
>> &=3D Ohio = 
>> and the Pennsylvania railroads. Every day we worked on that street= =3D we
> saw 
>> troop train after troop train headed westbound. All th= e trains us=3D ed
> the 
>> 1930s Pullman cars you speak about. Just a f= ew months later in Ap=3D ril,
> 
>> 1965 
>> I 
>> departed, l= ike your brother, on a TWA flight headed for BCT =3D and AIT,
> as a 
>> = Combat Engineer, at Ft Leonard Wood, MO. 
>> 
>> 
>> 
> &g= t; On=3D Sun, May 8, 2011 at 22:52, Bob Rathke wrote: 
>>> 
> &gt= ; >A couple of follow-ups, Fred: 
>>> 
>>> 
>> &g= t; 
>>> =3D - In March, 1963 I took my brother to Greater Pittsburg= h Airport
> where 
>> he>boarded a TWA Constellation for his inductio= n in the Army at Ft. Kn=3D
> ox. 
>>> Attached is a photo of my broth= er about to enter the door, look=3D ing
> back 
>>> toward the camera= . 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> By 1964=3D -67, th= e Defense Department was sending a greater number of 
>>> Pittsbu= =3D rgh inductees to basic training on trains from the PRR and
> P&LE >>=3D stations. I took photos of the 1930's Pullman cars kept in th=
> ose
>> stations>for use on the inductee trains. 
>>> 
> = >>
>>> 
>>> - L=3D ast Fall, my uncle told me abou= t his rail trip to basic training
> in 
>> 1942> (previously, he had = never talked about his WWII experiences). His 
>> dad=3D 
>> 
> = >>accompanied him to the P&LE station that day where he boarded = =3D a
> B&O
>> train 
>> to 
>>> Washington, D.C., and= then on to an Army base in=3D the South. Hhe said
> his 
>>> parents= (my grandparents) didn't know that=3D he enlisted in the Army -
> they 
> &= gt; >always thought that he had been dra=3D fted. 
>>> 
>> = >
>>> 
>>> Last Fall he talked freely about his =3D e= xperiences in the U.S. and
> Pacific 
>>> 1942-45, and I furiously to= ok n=3D otes on everything he said. 
>>> 
>>> 
>> &g= t; 
>>> Bob 
>>> 
>> =3D >
>>> 
>> = >
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> = 
>>> 
>>> =3D ; 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> = 
>>> 
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> &=3D g= t; From: "Fred Schneider" 
>>> To: pittsburgh=3D -railways at dementia= .org 
>>> Sent: Sunday, May 8, 2011 10:40:38 AM 
>>> =3D ; = Subject: [PRCo] Re: Pennsylvania RR Heritage Passenger Train 
>>> = 
>> &=3D gt; Back on October 8th, 1958, I entered the army. The lo= cal
> recruiter 
>> (yes=3D , 
>>> guys, RA stood for ragged ass= ) gave me a ticket to Harrisburg on =3D the
> 
>> Pennsy. 
>>> M= y parents were on the station platform in Lancaster to=3D say good-bye.
>>> And dad had one last picture of the train disappeari=3D ng west w= ith one
> of 
>>> those Pennsy business cars on the rear end of n=3D = umber 25. 
>>> 
>>> That was one hellish long day. Hours o= f processin=3D g and finally a bus
> to 
>>> Philadelphia and another= bus to Fort Dix. An=3D d then standing in
> formation 
>> for 
>> = >an hour. Finally some a-hole serge=3D ant comes out of a building and s=
> ays, 
>>> "Oh, you guys still here. Wel=3D l maybe we do something.= " And he sent
> usto 
>>> dinner at 11 PM for wha=3D t was left over= in the reception center. Then
> to 
>>> bed at 1 AM. Then =3D they w= oke us up again at 4 a.m. to tell us we were
> in 
>>> the army now.= =3D 
>>> 
>>> Thanks Bob, for the memories. 
>>> = 
>>> 
>>> -- A=3D ttached file removed by Ecartis and put = at URL below -- 
>>> -- Type: im=3D age/gif 
>>> -- Size: 1= 88k (192970 bytes) 
>>> -- URL : 
>>> http:=3D 
>> // = 
>> lists.dementia.org/files/pittsburgh-railways/TWAConstJackStairs63.=
> jpg.gif=3D 
>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> = 
>> 
>> 
>> -- 
>> Herb Brannon 
>> In Cuyah=3D o= ga Valley National Park 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
> &g= t; 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Herb Brannon 
> In Cuyahoga Valley National Park 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 