The Iron Horse - A Rez Boyz Adventure
Many years ago, before many of you were born, it was great sport and transportation for us to ''jump'' the ore trains. A common practice in the area that I lived in.
The great ''Iron Range'' of northern Minnesota. The Mesabi, Vermillion, Cuyuma and Gunflint made up the Iron Range. Red gold her treasure.
My two brothers and I would spend the best part of summer ''jumping'' ore trains to points unknown to us. Generally not far, since our world was about 5 miles in any direction.
It was July in the early 1950's when the three of use set off on our great adventure. Having had years of experience jumping ore trains, the day started out as any other. It would be a fun day riding around the countryside, and being home by supper. It was not to be.
We started out walking from our house to the local ''Roundhouse'' at Kelly Lake, an area where trains switched and we could jump one as it was just starting out. After a walk of three miles we had it in sight,we waited by the railroad tracks for the first train to come by.
Looking down the track here she came, huffing and puffing as she gained power, black smoke billowing from her stacks. It was a ''Great Northern Railroad engine, the one with the mountain goat for an emblem. As she came closer and closer to us, the huge ''cow catcher'' pushing out front of her, she was bellowing, smoke pouring from her stacks and we could hear the clackity clack from running over the rails. She was big, powerful and scary.
We were excited and scared at the same time, this monster of a train was heading right at us. As she passed the noise was tremendous and the birds were leaving the trees. Huge steel wheels went by our heads and we looked up and could see the Engineer leaning out the side, looking ahead and the ''fireman'' was shoveling coal into her. She was beautiful and frighting at the same time, she was the most powerful thing on earth.
As she roared by us the ore cars tagging along behind this beauty. One hundred cars long, the red ore piled high in each, as she gained power, she ate up the tracks.
Now was the time, we started running along side of her reaching out to grab a ladder to swing ourselves up on, a slip meant death. Our hearts were pounding, our lungs felt like they were going to burst. Finally I reached up and grabbed a post and swung myself up on the ladder. Reaching back I helped my brothers up.
Now we were King of the Rails. She was our Iron Horse, massive, powerful, without equal, one that would make us free. She was hurling down the tracks, gaining speed with ever turn of her mighty steel wheels. The birch trees on each side on the tracks were becoming a blur and she roared down the tracks.
Still gaining speed, her whistle blowing out a warning to all. ''Do not challenge me''.
We were holding on for dear life as she roared through a railroad crossing, the cars looking like tiny toys next to her. The people in the cars were waving to us and we waved back.
Freedom was ours on the back of this powerful being, we knew that she was alive, we had become part of her, our fear leaving us as we screamed in joy, we are the King of the World.
Soon we were on the outskirts of a town about ten miles from our start. She was not slowing down, she was gaining speed. Her giant wheels taking bites out of the track, smoke from her stacks, thick and black, her whistle screaming at the heavens. We were riding the most powerful being in the universe.
We looked at each other, the same thought ran through our minds, we were headed to the ore docks on Lake Superior over a hundred miles away. She wasn't going to stop, this was a one-way ride for us.
Hours later we could see the ore docks, we had to get off or risk being killed when they dumped the cars. As she slowed down we jumped, hit the ground with a thud and rolled and rolled. Looking at each other not knowing if we were dead or alive.
Soon we realized that we were in a world that we had never seen before. 120 miles from home in the port city of Duluth. The only way home was to ''jump'' another train and hope that it was headed in the right direction.
That night we waited for a ''Great Northern'' engine to come our way. We waited and waited, soon the sun was coming up and a whole night had passed.
Here she came, huffing and puffing gaining speed for her trip back to the ore mines. We ran along side her and jumped aboard. The ride back was mixed with excitement and knowing that we were in big trouble.
Hours later we were coming up on the ''Round House'', as she slowed down we jumped again, landing with a resounding thud, we were still in one piece.
Now the long walk home and what awaited us there. We had been gone for over 24 hours and our parents must be out of their minds with worry.
We were right, the ass tanning that we got must have set an all time record. After the tanning we were sentenced to life without parole. We would be digging potato's, plowing furrows, splitting wood, and every other job our dad could think of. When we were done with that, mum would have many other chores for us.
For 24 hours we were free, riding the rails, the power of the engine was our life blood.
It was worth it.
Kavika 2013. All rights reserved.
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Oh heck yes, it was worth it.
Great story as good as the first time you told it.
Thanks PJ.
Did it require a lot of training ...
Bad pun on my part ... great story on your part.
LOL, I think you might needs some training wheels for that comment Mac.
Was I off track? Have I derailed the discussion?
BTW, I have at least one train photo from what would be no later than 1915-20, and possibly older. And I have some others that might be of interest.
Is it OK to post them?
This is not a LOCO MOTIVE … just an offer to add to the discussion.
Great adventure. Good you survived it
Great Northern Railway had some big steam locomotives and a cool logo
Do you recall the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range locos?
Oh hell yes. The DMIR. My uncle was an engineer for them for years.
The big DM&IR Yellowstone steam loco is a HO model I will get one day. At least 2 of the real one still exist
LOL, when I was a teen I worked at a place in North Carolina called "Tweetsie Railroad", it was one of the places that actually had a steam engine still in operation.
Photo of a 1907 DM&IR locomotive with cars at the Hibbing/Chisholm Hull Rust mining museum.
That must have been fun.
cool, I do have models of the ore cars
It was fun, I had many jobs there over the different summers, it's also were I got the "bug" for cooking professionally, learned blacksmithing from a guy who worked there as the blacksmith, (he had a real shop at his home), learned woodworking and, met a lot of girls (lol). Oh, I also learned how to operate carnival rides there which helped later in life.
Here's some of those loco's.
And here's a double headed model in HO scale.
Finally, for those who are interested, here's the latest update on the Union Pacific's restoration of 4014, a Big Boy locomotive that sat in a California park for several decades and was pulled back to Cheyenne to begin the overhaul. The Union Pacific has devoted to a lot of resources to keep a few of their legacy steamers up and running and that makes us fans of steam very happy. The other two are 3985 a 4-6-6-4 "Challenger", currently in the shop with 4014, and 844 a 4-8-4 "Northern" type, being used for excursions. It will be pulling the Frontier Days Train a bit later this summer.
thanks for posting all of that. I just got back for a big train convention in North Carolina
I used to ride slow-moving trains switching cars in the local rail yard to get from the southeast side of town where we lived to the far west side of town where a friend lived. The engineer would often slow to a walking pace to let us get on in the late 1970s/1980s.
years ago some crews would let you ride with them if they knew you, enjoyed that
My sister and I had a paper route that only delivered on the weekends. We would always bring a copy for the crew.
It was called the Marketeer.
Great form of transportation, especially since it was free.
Another great story that only you can write. I remember this story from before, and enjoyed it all over again.
Thanks RW.
Alright, I give up trying to rate which story is best.
I just bust out laughing trying to imagine what is going through your minds as that train blows right past your expected stop.
Then looking for your ride back and nothing. Hungry. Cold. More cold. More hungry.
I bet that sunrise felt good. Yet did you even know if you were going to catch a ride back that next day?
"Priceless".
We were pretty sure, since the ore trains ran 24/7 we were bound to get one.
I remember my Dad telling me about the times he rode the rails during the Great Depression, before he joined the Army looking for work so, he could help grandpa and, grandma out. He wasn't even 16 yet.
That was a tough time in America, Galen.
Yes, it was, when he turned 16 his mother signed for him to go into the Army, that's how he met my mom. LOL, that's a whole nother story.
During the late 1940s when I would spend my summers at my grandmother's cottage at Burlington Beach, that narrow strip of land at the far west end of Lake Ontario, separating it from Burlington Bay, that the Queen Elizabeth Highway was routed along from Toronto to Niagara Falls and Buffalo, and there was also a train track along that route. On those tracks I flattened many pennies, and when the train was stopped, climbed onto the cars. One of the sweetest and most haunting sounds at night was the train's steam whistle blowing in the distance, so different from the ugly raspy horn of the later diesels. Great memories, though not as exciting as yours, Kavika.
That is so true, a truly unique sound.
If I had done something like that I would still be in a prison cell.....
Great story. I hope the ass tanning and hard labor was worth it
Oh hell yes it was worth it...We were the King's of the World for awhile.
I had a friend in college who would jump freight trains. He would get caught usually but not arrested. I am the one he would call to come get him because he knew I would. The furthest I had to go one time was SF. I once said to him "Dude, you are like a millionaire and can afford a ticket." His response was "Hell I could buy the entire train, but what would be the fun in that?"
BINGO, he knows the feeling...