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Anyone
driving up the hill off Liberty Ave. at 184th Street into
Holban yard these days would hardly think that Holban was once the main
hub for freight on Long Island. Today it is a parking lot for employees in
the Hillside facility.
When
I retired in 1995, the “yard” consisted of six tracks. One track held
forty stone cars and one track had to remain clear so that moves could be
made from one end of the yard to the other. That left four tracks for any
other cars that might come our way for the engineering Dept.
It
was not always this easy.
In
the late fifties and through the seventies the yard was a sorting place,
or marshaling yard for all freight destined for east of Jamaica.
During
the day, sixty car hauler freights came in from Yard A and set their cars
of onto Holban Hump.
These
trains came in through Jamaica and Hillside to set their cars off onto one
of nine hump tracks. It was impossible for the crew to relay hand signs
(no radios) to the engine crew as the train traveled east on Hollis lead
to clear the switch leading to the hump. When the switch was clear the
conductor “pulled the air” on the hack. When air came back up, the
engine crew started to shove west. The first train in the day would shove
right to the hump, stopping on the bridge over Liberty Ave., where the
conductor pulled the air once more.
Subsequent
trains would of course stop their trains to clear the adjacent track.
By
ten thirty at night, the hump tracks were full of freight and the hump
crew was ready to “Roll’em” as the conductor would call out in a
rather loud and boisterous voice “ON THE HUMP”. This was after one of
the brakeman would walk the length of each line of cars and bleed the air
from each car. He would close the angle cock on the fifth or sixth care
from the east end so that air could be used to help the engineer better
control the brake. If this was not done, it was very possible for the
weight of the line of cars to pull the whole drag, engine and all, over
the hump and into the yard. Hopefully the conductor realized what was
happening and was able to alert the crew to run down and line the yard for
a clear alley (track).
At
this time, Holban Yard had twenty-six tracks to make up trains and a
double end “runaround” track where hacks were stored.
The
conductor controlled the move from the hump by means of a signal that he
operated from a shanty on top of the hump. The signal was back far enough
for the engine crew to follow the command. The signals were position type
with three vertical shove ahead, three diagonal back up, and three
horizontal meant stop.
A
list of riders was kept by the conductor to record the responsibility of
each rider to ascertain they were doing their job properly. Any damage to
a car was listed by who rode the car off the hump.
One
night, I looked at the list and wondered why I was taking many more rides
then the other men. A little later on as I was walking, lantern under my
arm, from riding a car safely into a track, I noticed two brakeman were
standing and talking while bobbing their lanterns up and down. They told
me that they were doing that so it would appear from up on the hump that
they were walking back. A lot of the brakeman were always getting out of
the way to let the other guy go first.
Two
switch tenders and five brakemen were employed to cut the freight all into
the proper tracks for the morning trains.
Usually
the cars on the hump were all rolled by 2:00am when we were free to relax
for a while. Many of the crew liked to play cards; I would rather take a
nap.
One
night when I was a switch tender, I had made myself a bunk in the switch
tender shanty. This bunk was only about a foot wide, but if I didn’t
move around while I slept, I’d be all right. It was bitter cold that
night and the fire in the pot-belly was going dim. Before I lay down, I
climbed onto a coal hopper in the yard to acquisition some fuel.
I
didn’t know about kettle coal at the time. It was a very soft and oily
coal. Before I knew it, I had a roaring fire in the little pot-belly and I
went right to sleep. About a half hour later, I woke up in a sweat. The
pot-belly was glowing red--the stove pipe was glowing red—I grabbed my
jacket and ran out the door and when I looked back—the metal stack on
the glowing red roof was glowing red. I learned a lot about kettle coal
that night. I learned that you could start it with a match.
Needless
to say, the crew got a good laugh at my expense that night.
Well,
here we are halfway through the night so I think I’ll tie-up now if the
card game is over so I can sleep on the table.
See ya after tie-up.
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