Author Topic: Lard  (Read 6411 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline OkieJohn

  • Probationary (Probie)
  • Posts: 53
  • Reputation: +12/-2
Lard
« on: June 20, 2008, 04:05:39 PM »

Now your wondering why I started a thread about lard in the hobby section, aren’t you?   Well Frank started a thread about trains, and I wanted to share my experience with trains, however, I wouldn’t have had an experience without lard.  Now that makes sense, right?

During WW2, kids played a vital role in the defense of our country.  Recycle was the name of the game in those days.  Everything was recycled.  Paper, rubber, metal, glass, plastic, and cars.  In fact, the reason cars from 1900 to 1940 are so rare is because we melted them down into bombs and gave them to Germany and Japan.  Everyday gangs of kids would roam the streets across America, not to do drugs or violence, but to find anything to take to the recycle centers.

Bare with me now, cause I can be kinda long winded.

On the farm, the adults had gone off to war and left all the kids with Grandma.  All thirteen of us. We raised corn and other veggies, and about 200 head of swine and three or four head of cattle.  Yep - - pigs.  That’s where lard comes from.

About every 90 days, we would slaughter about 25 to 30 pigs and make hams, pork chops, bacon, ribs, sausage, and lard, lots and lots of lard.  Some of the hams we salted, some we sugar cured, and some we smoked in the smoke house.  Can you say, uummm good?

Now lard was extremely important to Uncle Sam, just like food to feed his army.  Every three months or so, a big army truck would come to the farm and pick up veggies and hams and bacon, and the barrels of lard we had prepared.  They always left us new barrels.

The army didn’t just use lard to cook with.  It was a major ingredient in the manufacture of  nitro-  glycerin, which was a major ingredient in the manufacture of most of the explosives used in the war.

We would collect all the fat from the pigs, and then use the water-rendering method to produce lard.  That consists of placing the fat in huge kettles with water, bringing it to a boil, and skinning the lard off the top.  That takes lots of heat.

Now we were already logging a bunch of hickory to fire up the smoke house.  Damn, that was a lot of work for a bunch of kids. So we decided to turn to coal.  The problem was we didn’t have any coal.

The valley we lived in was horse shoe shaped.  There were train tracks running thru the middle of the valley.  The trains would enter the valley and by the time of their exit, they had traveled almost five miles and climbed almost 1500 feet in elevation.  Four times a day, trains filled with coal traveled through the valley, headed to the steel mills, for the war effort.

We decided to steal some coal.  Now that is a lot easier than logging.

The major thing about trains is you can set your watch by them.  We always knew when and where they would be.  One day a week was coal day.  About twenty kids would be waiting for the train, and we would all wave and shout at the engineer as he went by.  He would always shake his finger at us as if to say, “Now don’t you kids jump on my train.”  Of course, we did. 

As soon as that engine was out of sight, we would storm that train like it was “D” day.  For the next five miles we would pitch coal off  like “Nobody’s business.”   We kept that whole valley supplied with coal during the entire war.  All people had to do, was just walk down to the tracks and pick up a gunny sack full.  Coal made life so much better.  Cooking and warning the house and making lard became really easy after that.  Ever wonder why the Saturday night bath came into being?  It was so you would clean to go to church on Sunday.  It was the only time you would get to see girls.  Most of the time in the summer we would bath in the stream behind the house.  It saved carrying all that water.  Coal made bath water so much better. Heck, we felt like city folk.

Now, I am going to try to explain what it was like to watch a pair of big Mallet 2-6-6-2 engines go by, pulling about 200 cars of coal, going up a steep grade.  People loved trains, and even in the forties and early fifties, trains were a very important part of the American way of life.  Trains moved everything before the days of big trucks.

Standing by the track, waiting for the train, we first hear the whistle.  Two longs and one short would ripple through the valley. Now I don’t speak “train whistle,”  but the engineers knew the language, and somebody in the crowd would always say, “Here comes the train.”  It’s kinda of like standing at the bus stop watching the bus come around the corner and someone always says, “Is that the bus?”  Humans just can’t help themselves.

You don’t just watch a train go by.  No, you use every sense in your body.  No, that’s not right.  You use every part of your whole being.

First you hear this chug-chug noise that gets higher in pitch as the engine draws close.  You see these big bright billowing puffs of black smoke and soot and sometimes a few glowing cinders coming from the smoke stack. Then your feet start picking up vibrations from the ground that become intense as the train draws even. The engineer starts ringing his bell when he sees you near his track.  Then come the pressure waves of hot air as those  powerful drive cylinders expel their used power into the air around you. You hear the massive drive wheels, taller than a man, as they strain and slip against the rails with a grinding noise as they struggle to pull two hundred cars of coal up the steep grade. Then the strong smell of burnt oil, and the taste of soot arrives.  Your eyes start to sting a little. You hear the wheesh, wheesh, wheesh as giant steam chests dump their loads of hot steam into the drive cylinders. (Ok, I made up wheesh. I’m not good at writing and spelling sounds, OK?  Not to be confused with the whoosh sound.)
 
There is also a faint metallic taste, and you wonder why.  Then you notice the large coupling rods driving those giant wheels and all the other moving parts and you hear metal grinding as all that power accomplishes its work. Gentle pressure waves of warm oily air blast your face, leaving a slight film  on your body.  The vibrations are now thumps as your whole body shakes and smoke burns your eyes.   You can hear the raging sounds of the fire as the fireman opens the firebox and feeds more coal to the roaring beast inside, and you notice the sound of water boiling. 

As the drive wheels slip, you hear grinding and notice the little lines of sand falling in front of the wheels as the engineer dumps material from the sand dome to help aid in traction.  The noise becomes over powering and deafening, and ejects all thought from your mind, a couple of hot cinders fall around and you feel a little fear, that you may be to close to this powerful metal monster conceived and built by the minds and hands of man.  Through it all you hear the constant ding, ding, ding of that bell. Your whole body relaxes, and you feel as though a supreme being has just walked by.  Your mind recoils with different feelings as you realize the power of 1000 hp, and the work it can accomplish.

Suddenly it’s gone and you’re surrounded by a smokey haze,  left with a taste of soot, and smell of steamy oil and smoke, and a gentle click-a-dee-clack as the cars behind roll over the track connections, which brings you back to a sense of almost peaceful bliss. 

Then you realize how insignificant one little human  can be compared to this monstrous metal being.

Aw, that’s nuts.  Time to throw some coal.  As you reach for the rung of the ladder, in the background you hear two longs and one short.

I hope that gives you an idea of what it’s like to have a 440 thousand-pound locomotive roar past.  It’s the best description I am capable of giving.

Thanks for the experience, lard.



The train is a wonderful hobby.  If you don’t have room in your house, look into a garden railroad in “O” or “G”scale, for your patio.  Setting on the patio as you little train chugs through the flower beds, over bridges and thru tunnels, is quite soothing. 

It is an excellent family hobby. A very small investment can provide hundreds of hours of quality time with the kids. Mom and the kids can help build houses, and paint animals and build trees.     Father and son can build mountains and tunnels and lay track. Making the scene as real as possibly is the name of the game. There is always something else to do.

Most cities now have model railroad clubs with large track layouts, and they just live to show off.  Check the local phonebook and take the kids by.

Electric trains now have remote control and realistic onboard audio and smoke. If you lie down by the track, it’s almost like the real thing going by.

Naaaaaaaaaah,        just kidding.   

Use your search foo to find hundreds of railroad garden clubs and ideas.

Might I also suggest “Dogpile.com” as your search engine?  It doesn’t return all those sites children look for.


Offline franksolich

  • Scourge of the Primitives
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 58679
  • Reputation: +3057/-173
Re: Lard
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2008, 04:40:18 PM »
Damn, that's good, John.

In fact, it's great.

One wonders if the Union Pacific 4-8-8-4s made the same sorts of noise as the Southern 2-6-6-2s did.

Things are bigger out here.

Steam was way before my time, but from reminescences of others, one gets the impression that while diesel locomotives are just big engines, steam locomotives had a personality of their own, something more than just metal and steam.

I get the impression that steam locomotives were so open, so honest, about how they operated (rather than everything being hidden under a shroud), that one could actually "relate" to them, and that your perception about man being a midget beside them is a common perception of those who've seen them.
apres moi, le deluge

Offline OkieJohn

  • Probationary (Probie)
  • Posts: 53
  • Reputation: +12/-2
Re: Lard
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2008, 04:53:41 PM »
Damn, that's good, John.

In fact, it's great.

One wonders if the Union Pacific 4-8-8-4s made the same sorts of noise as the Southern 2-6-6-2s did.

Things are bigger out here.

Steam was way before my time, but from reminescences of others, one gets the impression that while diesel locomotives are just big engines, steam locomotives had a personality of their own, something more than just metal and steam.

I get the impression that steam locomotives were so open, so honest, about how they operated (rather than everything being hidden under a shroud), that one could actually "relate" to them, and that your perception about man being a midget beside them is a common perception of those who've seen them.

Thanks Frank,

You would have made a great Texan.  Everything is always bigger.  LOL

When I was a you lad, a few weeks ago, the old guys would talk about the 2 4's running around the prairies.  They had to stop every 15 miles for more water and wood.  That's why little towns are so close together down the old rail lines.



Offline franksolich

  • Scourge of the Primitives
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 58679
  • Reputation: +3057/-173
Re: Lard
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2008, 04:59:53 PM »
Thanks Frank,

You would have made a great Texan.  Everything is always bigger.  LOL

When I was a you lad, a few weeks ago, the old guys would talk about the 2 4's running around the prairies.  They had to stop every 15 miles for more water and wood.  That's why little towns are so close together down the old rail lines.

Actually, this was the topic of one of my very first posts on freerepublic, many years ago.

Every single book I have about railways--and I have lots and lots of them (I'm a fan of modes of transport)--says that the Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 was the largest steam locomotive ever built.

It was used mostly between Cheyenne, Wyoming and Ogden, Utah; over the Rocky Mountains.

But I happened--I no longer recall why--to Google "steam locomotives" one day, and the internet said the largest steam locomotive ever built was the Norfolk & Western 2-6-6-6-6-6-6-2 (or something like that).

I had never heard of this Norfolk & Western creation; it's not mentioned in any books I have.

Anyway, apparently it did exist, but was probably a "test model," never developed for real use.

I am hardly hesitant to point out that the 2-6-6-2s of the Southern Railway, and of the Norfolk & Western Railway, and of the Western Maryland Railway, were enormous giants too, dwarfing railway locomotives as we know them today.
apres moi, le deluge

Offline franksolich

  • Scourge of the Primitives
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 58679
  • Reputation: +3057/-173
Re: Lard
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2008, 05:56:30 PM »
I looked it up, John, sir.

I wish I had a better idea of the area you're talking about, so as to snatch a photograph of a 2-6-6-2 from that area, rather than from the Illinois Central.  I'm assuming you grew up amid the Louisville & Nashville, or Southern, or Western Maryland, or Chesapeake & Ohio, or Baltimore & Ohio railways.

First, the 2-6-6-2, but an Illinois Central model:



Second, the Union Pacific 4-8-8-4:



To give a better idea of the length of the 4-8-8-4, remembering that the 2-6-6-2 was not much shorter:



Two 2-6-6-2s coupled together, hauling coal in the mountains of the southeast, must have been utterly awesome to watch; as far as I know, only one 4-8-8-4 was used at a time, and if a second locomotive was needed, it was usually a mere 4-8-4, not another 4-8-8-4.
« Last Edit: June 20, 2008, 05:58:03 PM by franksolich »
apres moi, le deluge

Offline RobJohnson

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8876
  • Reputation: +332/-109
Re: Lard
« Reply #5 on: June 20, 2008, 06:01:04 PM »
John, you need to have that short story published in a railway magazine....it was top notch.


Offline Chris_

  • Little Lebowski Urban Achiever
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 46845
  • Reputation: +2028/-266
Re: Lard
« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2008, 06:03:52 PM »
Is it true that train engineers use Morse code when signaling with the horn?
If you want to worship an orange pile of garbage with a reckless disregard for everything, get on down to Arbys & try our loaded curly fries.

Offline franksolich

  • Scourge of the Primitives
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 58679
  • Reputation: +3057/-173
Re: Lard
« Reply #7 on: June 20, 2008, 06:16:07 PM »
Is it true that train engineers use Morse code when signaling with the horn?

I'm not sure if it was specifically Morse Code, but it was some sort of easy-to-understand, hard-to-get-mixed-up sort of code.

And before the red-and-green lights were in common use, the guys on the ground used to use some sort of big elongated oval to signal messages to the oncoming train.  Radio had been invented many years before, but until the advent of diesel locomotives (in the mid-1930s, although they never became "established" until the late 1940s), radios weren't in frequent use.

Probably had something to do with the noise swirling around inside the cab.
apres moi, le deluge

Offline OkieJohn

  • Probationary (Probie)
  • Posts: 53
  • Reputation: +12/-2
Re: Lard
« Reply #8 on: June 20, 2008, 07:22:38 PM »
Is it true that train engineers use Morse code when signaling with the horn?

Being an old radio operator, I can tell you no.

I believe there were only about 10 different signals.

Things like;

I'm on the mainline, or I am high balling, or  I'm stopped come on thru.

Or the bad one.  Four longs,  runaway.

No need for something as complicated as Morse.


John, you need to have that short story published in a railway magazine....it was top notch.


I am not much of a writer like you guys, Rob.  I am glad you enjoyed it, and I am practicing.

I looked it up, John, sir.

I wish I had a better idea of the area you're talking about, so as to snatch a photograph of a 2-6-6-2 from that area, rather than from the Illinois Central.  I'm assuming you grew up amid the Louisville & Nashville, or Southern, or Western Maryland, or Chesapeake & Ohio, or Baltimore & Ohio railways.

First, the 2-6-6-2, but an Illinois Central model:


To give a better idea of the length of the 4-8-8-4, remembering that the 2-6-6-2 was not much shorter:


Heh heh, I made Frank think.

I believe it was Illinois Central and L&N that came thru. . .
Remember, it was a time of war and I don't think whose line meant very much.  New York trains went all the way to San Francisco.  Those boys moved freight in those days.  Stopping to hand freight over just slowed things down. I believe congress passed a free track law, opening all the rails, or maybe a Pres order.

I think I remember it taking almost a year for everyones engines to get home, and lots of cars never did.

The 4 8 8 4 were just to large for back east.  The curves on most lines were just two tight.

The Tandem 2 4 4 2's pulled more because combined weight was 880,000 pounds. Thats a lot more than the 4 8 8 4 weights.

The area was half way between Knoxville and Oak Ridge, Tennessee

You are right about it's openness.  All the moving parts could be seen.  Because of your hearing maybe you would not have been overwhelmed like me, but you bones would have certainly carried those massive vibrations from the air and ground.

Oh yea Frank. You don't have to call me sir, I'm just as good as you are. lol

Offline franksolich

  • Scourge of the Primitives
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 58679
  • Reputation: +3057/-173
Re: Lard
« Reply #9 on: June 20, 2008, 09:00:50 PM »
Hey John, sir.

I don't want to look it up in any book here; they're all over on the other side of the house, and it's hot today.

Anyway, a "mallet" steam locomotive was an "articulated" one, right, where parts of the long length bend in the middle, so as to go on curves?

I could be wrong on this, but it seems to me that most steam locomotives that had more than one set of driving wheels were articulated, which made the 4-8-8-4s and 2-6-6-2s usable in mountainous terrain despite their overlong length.

Or perhaps "mallet" meant something else?

I myself have never seen a real authentic steam locomotive in action, although the Union Pacific does still have and sometimes uses, a 4-8-4 and a 4-8-8-4, both of them over in Wyoming.  They're used for publicity purposes, but they have been called upon for real service a few times too.

The only actual steam locomotive I've ever seen was in a park, and it was one of those pansy-assed 4-6-2s used by an eastern road, either the New York Central or the Boston & Maine.
apres moi, le deluge

Offline franksolich

  • Scourge of the Primitives
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 58679
  • Reputation: +3057/-173
Re: Lard
« Reply #10 on: June 20, 2008, 09:20:31 PM »
This was a man's steam locomotive, the sturdy reliable 4-8-4, this one from the Union Pacific, although most railways had quite a stable of them.  The generic "real" steam locomotive.



This is from the pansy-assed northeastern states:



Ooops, wrong photograph.



This is a 4-6-2, and I'm embarrassed to admit it's from the Great Northern; embarrassed to admit we used such lightweights out west here.

In deference to bijou here, the 4-6-2 was great on British railways, and in fact was the most-common sort of steam locomotive in the United Kingdom, but it was eminently suited for the terrain and the space.

But here, in the northeastern states, they used to shroud the locomotives, as if their inner workings were indecent.  (The 4-6-2 shown is not shrouded, but the Great Northern, Minneapolis-Seattle, was known for its practicality, not pretension.)
apres moi, le deluge

Offline RobJohnson

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8876
  • Reputation: +332/-109
Re: Lard
« Reply #11 on: June 21, 2008, 02:31:06 AM »

Offline Dixie*Darling

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1117
  • Reputation: +133/-25
Re: Lard
« Reply #12 on: June 22, 2008, 05:27:52 PM »
Great read John!  Thanks for sharing!

Several months back I took a trip with my grandson to the NC Transportation Museum in Spencer, NC.  The trains and roundhouse of course, are the highlights of the museum.  It's a nice day trip that I will take him to over the course of the next few years since the museum is a work in progress.  We had a great time.


Quote
The North Carolina Transportation Museum is located on the site of what was once Southern Railway Company's largest steam locomotive repair facility. The site features an authentic train depot, antique automobiles, and a 37-bay Roundhouse that includes 25 locomotives, dozens of rail cars and other exhibit areas.  The museum offers seasonal train rides, guided tours for scheduled groups, and special events scheduled throughout the year.

The N.C. Transportation Museum is part of the Division of State Historic Sites, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.  The Department of Cultural Resources is a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina's arts, history and culture. Additional support for the museum and its programs are provided by the N.C. Transportation Museum Foundation.

http://www.nctrans.org/about_us/about_us.php?page=about_us

Here's my grandson Titus on the train ride:




Offline Chris_

  • Little Lebowski Urban Achiever
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 46845
  • Reputation: +2028/-266
Re: Lard
« Reply #13 on: June 22, 2008, 05:30:54 PM »
I read a fascinating biography of Walter Chrysler.  He got his start working in a roundhouse cleaning locomotives.  He eventually worked his way up to being a mechanic and an engineer.  His hand-made tools and toolbox are still on display at the Chrysler buidling in NY.
If you want to worship an orange pile of garbage with a reckless disregard for everything, get on down to Arbys & try our loaded curly fries.

Offline morningAngel

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 871
  • Reputation: +82/-47
Re: Lard
« Reply #14 on: June 22, 2008, 07:42:04 PM »
[youtube=425,350]DJcHbnDlj_A[/youtube]

what we have here

Offline OkieJohn

  • Probationary (Probie)
  • Posts: 53
  • Reputation: +12/-2
Re: Lard
« Reply #15 on: June 23, 2008, 12:59:21 AM »
Frank,

The Mallet was designed by a Swiss engineer named Anatole Mallet (pronounced Malley (French sounding)).  It was not the articulation, but the compounding of the steam system.  Steam from the rear drive cylinders was redirected to the front drive cylinders and then diverted thru the smokebox.  Diverting spent steam thru the smokebox help draw fresh air thru the firebox, which made the fire hotter.  It's why the smoke comes out in puffs.

Chris,
Love them rich people.  My Grandfather always told us, "If you want to be rich, do your job well and hang out with rich people.  They always want to give things away, things like wonderful jobs and investment opportunities.

That worked well for me. lol

Dixie,

Looks like you have a fine engineer coming along there.



Offline JohnnyReb

  • In Memoriam
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 32063
  • Reputation: +1997/-134
Re: Lard
« Reply #16 on: July 31, 2008, 03:49:44 PM »
Steam engines: reminds me of my grammer school days. The shool house was a brand new 3 room cinder block building with running water.....LOL, I started school in 1950, a year earlier than I was supposed to and the last year Southern had a steam engine on the the little line thru here. The tracks were out front, about 200 feet from the school. Whenever the steam engine stopped out front and started switching cars on the sidetrack at the block plant next door....school was out..... :-) :-)

Oh yeah, the water tank was down the road about 5 miles. A man stayed in a little house there and kept water pumped up into the old wooden tank. I stopped there the other day and showed my 13 yr.old  son 4 cement pillars that the tank used to sit on. He didn't seem to impressed.
“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of ‘liberalism’, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.” - Norman Thomas, U.S. Socialist Party presidential candidate 1940, 1944 and 1948

"America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: its patriotism, its morality, and its spiritual life. If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within."  Stalin

Offline Wineslob

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 14429
  • Reputation: +778/-193
  • Sucking the life out of Liberty
Re: Lard
« Reply #17 on: August 01, 2008, 03:58:32 PM »
Great read! Living in Sacramento, Ca, until 1989, I went to the Railroad Museum quite often. I think they have a 2-6-6-2 or possibly a 4-8-8-4 on display.
Standing next to one of these behemoths is an awe inspiring thing to witness.
  I'm reminded of the times when I fished the Feather River Canyon. To access the river I have to make my way down to it from the Pulga bridge:




I make my way downstream (right bottom of picture) along the tracks. When a train comes by, it's always a treat to first hear the rails "scream" and then the train comes around a corner. Sometimes I'll be in a "tight" spot and have to scramble out of the way of the train!
“The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled. Payments to foreign governments must be reduced, if the nation doesn't want to go bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.”

        -- Marcus Tullius Cicero, 55 BC (106-43 BC)

The unobtainable is unknown at Zombo.com



"Practice random violence and senseless acts of brutality"

If you want a gender neutral bathroom, go pee in the forest.