Good morning erveryone! Greetings from “The Crossroads of America “, Indianapolis, Indiana. 1 hot cup of coffee, please.
In response to the question about interaction with friendly crew members; I have a very great memory to share. I was about 17-years of age and was visiting my family members that resided in Bloomington, Indiana.
My first cousin’s gentlemen friend was there that day, and I discovered he was a switchman on the railroad - needless to say - he became the center of my conversations.
His name was “Hap”, short for his given name “Happy”. Believe me, his given name perfectly fit his personality! Before long, while the rest of the conclave gathered in the house to talk and visit. Hap and I found ourselves out on the front porch steps talking about trains.
On the second morning we were there, I was out front awaiting Hap’s arrival when I heard a mournful sound coming from downtown. It was a C.I.&L.RR (MONON ROUTE) southbound pulling through town; making its way from Lafayette, Indiana down to Louisville, Kentucky.
As I sat there surrounded by the sounds of that passing freight, Hap drove up and yelled “…get in, we got a train to catch!” This was back in the day, my parents were inside - and I was in a car headed to who knows where….but…I did know one thing. There was a MONON Freight train waiting for me there!
Hap and I drove a few blocks down the street, turned off the main street onto a side street then again turned into a very narrow alley. a head a few hundred feet I could see moving freight cars. I Was In HEAVEN!!!
The car rolled to a stop right next to the MONON mainline, Hap and I quickly exited and walked towards the tracks. “Frank and Tom should be here in a minute.” Hap smiled “I think you are going to enjoy this.” He laughed.
Within a few seconds a headlight appeared from the southern direction. Well, that was confusing, I had heard the southbound freight and I presumed we were going to meet it. Nope. Something totally different lay in wait.
A MONON locomotive, that I will admit not knowing what type it was, slowly approached us and stopped in front of us. “Come on, let’s get a going boy! We have work to do!” Yelled one of the crew from within the cab! I TRULY WAS IN SHOCK AND IN HEAVEN!
Hap helped me up and onboard, the promptly introduced Frank the engineer and Tom the fireman. (Steam had only been gone from the MONON for a couple of years, so that title was in regular every-day-use).
Hap and I spent the entire morning aboard that little engine - which I later discovered was a Monon ALCO RSD15 “Alligator”. I was laughing, watching, learning - and forming a memory that I never will forget! It has now been 57-years……Thank You Happy, Thank You Frank, Thank You Tom….I will always be grateful.