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Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Welcome to Caboose Coffee!

After much pushing and shoving by friends and family, I've finally decided to put my railroad experiences in writing and submit them to the public domain for your entertainment and edification.  For all of my old "Scoop Shovel Hoghead" friends, that means you can now laugh openly at all of my mistakes and you may even learn a few things from my experiences just as I learned from yours.

In some cases, names will be changed or omitted....to protect the guilty and to avoid prosecution.

To all of the younger railroaders who might find their way to this blog, I want to tell you about how it used to be, when cabooses were lit by oil lamps and engines had no toilets, hotplates or drinking water.  Times have changed a lot and it was only through the lessons learned and commitments made that these changes were able to take place at all.

I'll begin soon with a bit of background on my railroad heritage and the wonderful life I've led because someone took a chance and hired a sixteen year old boy with a smile on his face and determination in his eyes.  I come by it, not by virtue of a University degree, or of a moneyed background or privilege,  but by long hours, immeasurable hardship, danger, excitement, laughter, anger, frustration, ingenuity and sometimes leaving my family at the dinner table on Christmas Day to pack for a road trip.  All this has been so that I might share the whole experience with you.

I look forward to writing these stories for you and to hearing about yours.

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4 comments:

  1. Susan August 2, 2011 at 11:55 AM

    Finally...

    Now I can quit nagging!

    (Aunt Em will be pleased too)

    The long, all suffering, Wife

    ReplyDelete
  2. BruceAugust 2, 2011 at 12:00 PM

    Ahhhh, I sense the peacefulness already. But thanks for your patience....it's appreciated.

    Hub.

    ReplyDelete
  3. LAAugust 2, 2011 at 12:48 PM

    I'm looking forward to this! My grandfather was a boiler maker for Southern Railroad way back when. I'm sure you have some wonderful tales to tell.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jim HutchingsAugust 4, 2011 at 4:00 PM

    Thanks to Susan for alerting me to this auspicious event. I hope there are many more tales to follow. Railroading of the past was rich with characters and events both humorous and serious. Being from a railroading family, I know I'm going to be looking forward to new installments.

    ReplyDelete

I really appreciate you stopping by for a visit and thanks for writing! Your comments and any anecdotes you care to share are gratefully accepted. Bruce "Hotwheels" Harvey