[RITSlist] Rock Island moonlighting and other old head stuff from the Rock Island

[No17Eng654 at aol.com]

Noticed lately the RITS list is just a tad serious.  No fun  discussions 
lately.  Let's get some discussion going while us old heads are  still alive.
 
How about getting some Rock Island old heads talking about the unusual  
moonlighting that employees of our railroad would get involved in?  Here's  a few.
 
1.    Conductor on Zephyr-Rocket between Cedar Rapids  and Burlington had an 
interesting job.  Max Demurs (sp?) would leave CR in  the late evening on 190, 
meet the Northbound 201 at Cols Jct. or  Wapello-Mediapolis area, then spend 
24+ hours in Burlington after a 2+ hours  trip.  He had an old school bus and 
worked most of the day around  Burlington as a locksmith.  He was a real 
character.  On the last run  of the train, Andreeson, Hofsommer, et. al. and I rode 
the train with a long lay  over at Burlington while the "Q" switched out the 
equipment for all CRI&P  equipment to go north on the last train and all CB&Q 
equipment go south to  St. Louis.  Max worked the job that night in a  poncho. 
     

SIDEBAR We spent most of the  trip on the vestibule swapping stories.  I rode 
the engine from Manly to  Minneapolis with the penultimate crew Manly to 
Minneapolis, then the cushions  Minneapolis to Manly, and the engine Manly to 
Cedar Rapids at the request of  retiring engineer George Kibler.  Ralph Hubler was 
the last conductor  Minneapolis to Cedar Rapids.  On arrival at CR, he put 
his uniform cap on  my head and walked away.  We returned to Manly about 0900 or 
later the next  morning and watched the train roll out of town and gone 
forever.  
 
I truly rode the last train to Clarksville.
 
2.    Howard Burress, dispatcher in Des Moines and  former trainmaster ran 
the Burress Coffee Company in Des Moines during the day  and dispatched the 
Illinois Division on second trick.
 
3.    Harold Rosenburg was an old head from the Des  Moines office, last job 
working second trick Nebraska-Colorado.  His day  job was mayor of Bondurant 
and used the water tower for his antenna for his  short wave radio hobbies.
 
4.    Emil Hebel, switchman at Manly had a plumbing  business.
 
5.    Al Moore, mechanical laborer at Manly was an  accomplished electrician.
 
 
 
 
 
Daniel  R. Sabin, President
Iowa Northern Railway Company
Paramount Theatre  Building
305 Second Street, SE
Suite 400
Cedar Rapids, Iowa  52401

(319) 297-6000 Ext 1
fax: (319) 297-6005
home: (319)  354-1127
cell: (319) 325-4119
Fax (319) 354-3817
email:  dsabin at iowanorthern.com
No17Eng654 at aol.com



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