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(FBI)— The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has warned that train derails have been stolen. Train derails are used by railroads to protect mainlines from accidental fouling from a rail car rolling onto the main. The FBI warns that the stolen derailers could be used maliciously in an attempt to derail trains. The derailment of a hazardous train or passenger train could be catastrophic.

Editorial

Learning New Things Featured this month is an excerpt from Floyd Kneller's 1949 log book. How it is that this lone book survived is a sad mystery. Actually, there was also a large certificate that certified him as a fireman in late 1942 or early '43. I've never seen another of these certificates before or since.

I've also learned that Mr. Kneller worked more than just freight. In fact, I was very surprised that he had worked some of the "varnish." In February, on the 20th, he was assigned to trains 7 & 6. He left mp 511 and returned to mp 511. The engine on the point was NKP 184. That's an ALCO PA! What a ride! Happle (7) and Tew (6) were his engineers. And on January 16, Kneller got train #8 with 172 on the point. Happle was the engineer and they left Chicago at 7:30 AM and returned to Chicago at 10:45 AM. That 172 was a 4-6-4 built new in 1927!

It seems that some months were spent over the road while others were strictly within yard limits. There were many assignments of interest within the confines of that log book. There were extras for the Argos Turn, double headers for power redistribution as well as double headers to get foreign power through to Chicago such as Pennsy but, sadly, the Pennsy engine type wasn't noted. There were work trains and relief trains, too. It looks to me that Chicago's yard was completely dieselized by 1949, so there are lots of SW units as well.

Berkshires, PAs, Mikes and Hudsons, and diesel switchers, too. 765 showed up several times that year as did others such as 769. What a job. What an era. What a time it must have been.

Feature

May 1949--A Fireman's Life

This article is based upon NKP fireman Floyd "Bum" Kneller's 1949 Saddler's log book. The engine and train assignments are accurate and the names of the engineers are real.

May 1, 1949, I board train 39 at West Wayne (Fort Wayne, IN, mile post 372) with Berkshire 758 on the point. W.J. Marks is my engineer. We depart at 4:15 AM and finally arrive in Chicago (mile post 511) at 11:20 AM.

On May 2, I grab train 54 led by the 766 in Chicago. Marks is again the engineer. We get underway at 12:05 AM and reach West Wayne at 6:55 AM.

On May 3, I get train 21 Extra East at 8:15 AM and depart West Wayne. Engineer Pappert gets us out and back to West Wayne at 7:25 PM.

May 4, Osterman and I take train 1/55, led by 756, from West Wayne, at 3:15 PM, to Chicago, by 9:10 PM.

May 5, train 32 is headed up by 767. Osterman gets us going from Chicago at 10:30 AM. We arrive in Fort Wayne at 7:50 PM.

May 6, I draw 729 on the point of an Extra West. Swinehart is the engineer and he gets us rolling from Fort Wayne at 4:45 AM. We arrive in Chicago at 1:35 PM.

May 7, I get train 36 led by 758 and under the charge of Swinehart. We depart Chicago at 11:00 PM and arrive at West Wayne at 9:35 AM.

May 8, engineer Brittain and I get berk 754 pulling on train 51 out of West Wayne at 9:45 PM. We arrive in Chicago at 5:25 AM.

May 10, berk 760 pulls Brittain and I along with train 54 out of Chicago at 12:05 AM. At 6:15 AM we arrive in Fort Wayne.

May 11, Osterman grabs Extra West pulled by 756 and takes out of West Wayne at 6:00 PM. He gets us into Chicago at 5:00 AM.

May 12, Osterman and I get train 52, led by 738. At 7:30 PM we depart Chicago with a 1:05 AM Fort Wayne arrival in our future.

May 16, L.C. Meyer and I get train 39 led by 757 out of Fort Wayne at 3:30 AM. We get in to Chicago at 2:00 PM.

May 17, Meyer and I take train 56, led by 765, from Chicago at 7:55 AM. She drags us into Fort Wayne at 3:00 PM.

May 22, 756 on the point of train 35 sees Wayne Crapser and I depart the Fort at 10:15 AM. We get stopped in Chicago at 8:10 PM.

May 23, train 32 is pulled by berkshire 750 and Crapser and I get rolling from Chicago at 10:40 AM.We hit Fort Wayne right at 7:20 PM.

May 28, I draw train 55, led by engine 759, for a 3:10 PM departure from West Wayne with engineer Brittain at the throttle. We arrive in Chicago at 7:00 PM.

May 29, Brittain and I get train 32 with 737 on the point. We get out of Chicago at 10:30 PM and into Fort Wayne at 9:40 PM.

May 31, engineer Hiatt and I wind up the month with train 39, led by berkshire 750. We depart Fort Wayne at 3:30 AM. We get into Chicago at 5:45 PM.

Times, start and end points, train and engine numbers, and engineer names are as listed in the Saddler time book.

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