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"Animal Tales" from the SP
Author: Ken Shattock (KRK)
Date: 07-21-2012 - 08:41
Hi Everybody-- Another tale from the KRK Archives for your pleasure and enjoyment....
Tales from the Division--Southern Pacific style
An old SP friend of mine from Walnut Creek, CA told me some 'Animal Tales' while working in engine service out of West Oakland in the late 1950's... I had forgotten about them for many years but just happened to run across his notes (in a box of stuff) this weekend. Hope you enjoy this series from KRK ...
The year was around 1957 and my friend and his engineer had just returned to West Oakland Roundhouse from Vacaville ("cow town") aboard locomotive # 5849. The reason they were in Vacaville is a longer tale and will be told later.
Anyway, enroute back to Oakland my friend recalled a tale that had been circulated around the Rio Grande and Tucson Divisions.
It seems there had been two wrestlers traveling throughout the Southwest, along with a bear. This was an old-fashioned barnstorming troupe, stopping at all the tank towns and offering
$ 50.00 or so to any local yokel who could go on the mat and throw one of the pros, or the bear.
One night they stopped at Gila Bend, where the SP track was right behind their motel. They had the bear out and walking on a rope.
Or maybe it was a chain; I'm not sure what you use for walking a bear. They were feeling the effects of imbibing some spirits a little earlier. So they used a switch stand for a hitching post and tied up the bear, and then staggered back to the motel.
In due time, a freight arrived at Gila Bend with some cars to be set out, and that switch had to be used. Can you imagine the surprise
of the brakeman when he was greeted in the dark by the snarls of a "UFB" ? (Unidentified Flying Bear) ...
This bear presented as menacing a defense as the Chicago Bears, and the brakeman stopped one (railroad) yard short of the goal.
You might say that the bear had been well "trained". Various authorities were contacted, and the wrestlers and their bear were sent back to Mexico, from where they had come.
KRK
Tales from the Division--Southern Pacific style
An old SP friend of mine from Walnut Creek, CA told me some 'Animal Tales' while working in engine service out of West Oakland in the late 1950's... I had forgotten about them for many years but just happened to run across his notes (in a box of stuff) this weekend. Hope you enjoy this series from KRK ...
The year was around 1957 and my friend and his engineer had just returned to West Oakland Roundhouse from Vacaville ("cow town") aboard locomotive # 5849. The reason they were in Vacaville is a longer tale and will be told later.
Anyway, enroute back to Oakland my friend recalled a tale that had been circulated around the Rio Grande and Tucson Divisions.
It seems there had been two wrestlers traveling throughout the Southwest, along with a bear. This was an old-fashioned barnstorming troupe, stopping at all the tank towns and offering
$ 50.00 or so to any local yokel who could go on the mat and throw one of the pros, or the bear.
One night they stopped at Gila Bend, where the SP track was right behind their motel. They had the bear out and walking on a rope.
Or maybe it was a chain; I'm not sure what you use for walking a bear. They were feeling the effects of imbibing some spirits a little earlier. So they used a switch stand for a hitching post and tied up the bear, and then staggered back to the motel.
In due time, a freight arrived at Gila Bend with some cars to be set out, and that switch had to be used. Can you imagine the surprise
of the brakeman when he was greeted in the dark by the snarls of a "UFB" ? (Unidentified Flying Bear) ...
This bear presented as menacing a defense as the Chicago Bears, and the brakeman stopped one (railroad) yard short of the goal.
You might say that the bear had been well "trained". Various authorities were contacted, and the wrestlers and their bear were sent back to Mexico, from where they had come.
KRK
| Subject | Written By | Date/Time (PST) |
|---|---|---|
 "Animal Tales" from the SP |
Ken Shattock (KRK) | 07-21-2012 - 08:41 |
|
Re: "Animal Tales" from the SP
|
Tony Johnson | 07-23-2012 - 08:15 |