Part 7 - A trip down the Midland Western (using DCC) - on into Thunder Grove

[trainman203]

Part 7 - A trip down the Midland Western (using DCC) - on into Thunder Grove

Note:  all DCC references are for operation with an NCE pro cab running steam engines with tsunami 2–2 decoders.

The Midland Western is a subsidiary of the Gulf Coast Lines, operated by both the Missouri Pacific and the Frisco.  The year is 1940.

While the two brakemen walk the train length in preparation for departure from Donna Pass, checking the couplers and the air hose connections, the engineer is on the ground walking around the engine, oiling around all the valve, gear and rods. The fireman is in the cab, rebuilding the fire and building up a head of steam for the last few miles. The cross-compound air pump is busily thumping away, building the air, brake line pressure up to service level.

Once all the checking of everything is complete, the brakemen return to their assigned locations and the engineer climbs up into the cab.  He opens the cylinder cocks (F4) and sounds two shorts on the ATSF six chime whistle to announce departure. The engine slowly begins to roll forward, and after 10 seconds, the hogger closes the cylinder cocks (F4.) As the engine rolls over some wet leaves, the drivers slightly slip (F19.) The train approaches a gravel road grade crossing, and the hogger sounds the appropriate warning on the six chime - two longs, short, and a long.

Thunder Grove is only 8 miles to the west, and the downgrade trip does not require the Johnson bar to be notched all the way back  (F5, 3 taps). As the train approaches town, the track begins a long, slow turn to the south. The hogger blows a single long blast on the six chime, announcing approach to the station which is actually the Midland Western general office building, a converted former two-story wood frame house painted in standard railroad yellow with brown trim.

The train smoothly drifts to a stop with the caboose in front of the office building, and the passengers hurriedly jump down from the caboose and run to Hattie's Hotel and Bar, next door to the office building, for liquid refreshment after bouncing around in the caboose for 20 miles over the poorly maintained weedy Midland Western track. While the brakemen are unloading the LCL freight from the side door caboose, the engine uncouples from the train,  and pulls up past the southernmost switch on the Midland Western.  It then backs up around the train on the run around track to pick up the caboose and shove it down to the southern end of the single yard track, since there is no luxury of a caboose track in Thunder Grove.

With this final task done, the the road crew is relieved by a yard crew that has been waiting at the office building. They will sort the cars in the yard and switch the several railroad customers and Frisco, interchange in Thunder Grove. It has taken almost 8 hours to get the train over the 20 miles of Midland Western track, so the crew also heads to Hattie's, where over liquid refreshment they will tell and retell yet another time the stories and legends of the Midland Western ... the dramatic downgrade runaway from Donna Pass, and particularly the great Midland Tragedy of generations ago.