On The Lighter Side

JUMBO KILLED BY TRAIN !!!

01/16/2012  Idea Contributed By Conductor P.L. "Phil" Rock  excerpts from Article By Charlie Duble. Bandwagon, Vol. 1, Jan-Feb, 1956, pp. 5-6. And other info From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumbo

The famous "JUMBO" advertised by the one and only P. T. Barnum as the "Lord of Beasts" was the largest elephant ever to be on exhibition Because of his great size and popularity the word "Jumbo" was formally adopted into the English language as a term for anything unusually large.

It was on the night of September 15, 1885, to a large audience in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, that Jumbo completed what was destined alas, to be his lost magnificent performance. He was escorted by his keeper, Scott, to the waiting circus cars, there to be loaded for the next stop on the itinerary. The circus trains had been backed into the only siding of a one track line, ready to receive and load all the circus equipment. To expedite the loading, a gap had been torn in the fence along the right of way, and a space had been left between the cars on the siding to permit access to the main track.

Jumbo's private car was some distance down the main line, and it was while walking to this that a shrill whistle signaled the approach of an oncoming freight train on the Grand Trunk railroad, on the very same track. The railroad employee whose job it was to flag down any advancing train while the show was being loaded had, on hearing that the big elephant was coming through the gap, left his post to get a better view. His carelessness was the cause of Jumbo's sad ending.

Hysterically, but too late, the flagman ran toward the swiftly approaching train, waving his red lantern. Brakes were speedily set, sparks flew from the locked wheels, but the downward grade had already given the onrushing train a tremendous impetus, allowing the brakes to have little effect in the short distance. Scott frantically turned Jumbo around, shouting, "Run Jumbo, run." The elephant responded with alacrity and raising his trunk high in the air commenced to retrace his steps to the opening which he had just passed.

Running wildly he had in the meantime passed the opening he sought by two full car lengths, before he realized his mistake. Turning around to retrace this precious distance to safety, he was met head on by the engine. The force of the impact was so great that the engine was derailed and a car following it was also. Jumbo's head was crushed between a box car and a flat car. In a lawsuit that followed, between the railroad and the circus, a settlement was reached out of court, whereby Barnum received $10,000 in cash and free use of that railroad, the Grand Trunk, for one year for transportation of the circus. Barnum claimed that the loss of Jumbo meant at least $100,000 at the gate. Many accounts have been published of the famous elephant, some with errors, and his height stated as much as 11 feet at times, however from accurate records preserved by the MUSEUM of NATURAL HISTORY, Jumbo was 10 feet, nine inches tall.

Jumbo, king of elephants, was mourned far and wide. He was one of the few African elephants ever brought to America, and he was an animal whose reputation eclipsed that of any favorite that since has been presented to the public.

JUMBO THE ELEPHANT DIES AT CLASSIFICATION YARD

Jumbo died at a railroad classification yard in St. Thomas, Ontario, where he was hit and fatally wounded by a locomotive. Barnum afterwards told the story that Jumbo died saving a young circus elephant, Tom Thumb, from being hit by the locomotive, but other witnesses did not support this.^[2]

Barnum's story says that the younger elephant, Tom Thumb, was on the railroad tracks. Jumbo was walking up to lead him to safety, but an unexpected locomotive hit Tom Thumb, killing him instantly. Because of this, the locomotive derailed and hit Jumbo, killing him too.

Many metallic objects were found in the elephant's stomach, including pennies, nickels, dimes, keys, and rivets.

Jumbo's skeleton was donated to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The elephant's heart was sold to Cornell University. Jumbo's hide was stuffed by William J. Critchley and Carl Akeley, both of Ward's Natural Science, and the mounted specimen traveled with Barnum's circus for a number of years. In 1889, Barnum donated the stuffed Jumbo to Tufts University, where it was displayed until destroyed by a fire in 1975, coincidentally a fate that befell many of Barnum's exhibits during his own lifetime.

The great elephant's ashes are kept in a 14-ounce Peter Pan Crunchy Peanut Butter jar in the office of the Tufts athletic director, while his taxidermied tail, removed during earlier renovations, resides in the holdings of the Tufts Digital Collections and Archives.^[3] A statue of an elephant, dubbed "Jumbo", was purchased from an amusement park and placed on the Tufts campus after the fire. Jumbo became the university's mascot, and remains such to this day.

September 19, 2011 A Sweet Celebration of History On a rainy September morning in 1955 an incident changed the quiet town of Hamilton, N.Y., forever. A 50-car train—pulled by a 213-ton diesel locomotive—traveling more than 30 miles an hour derailed near a coal trestle, and the locomotive flew more than 100 feet through the air before crashing. While no one was injured, several cars broke open, from which forth spewed all forms of Nestlé chocolate. To the children scurrying to salvage the liberated candy, it was like manna from heaven. The "Chocolate Train Wreck" will be celebrated this weekend—only the third time since 1955. The event, which is free and open to the public, will feature a reenactment of the train wreck (on a model train set, of course!) and all things cocoa, including chocolate train carving, chocolate finger-painting, and chocolate eating competitions. And if you don't like chocolate or are on a diet, don't worry—there will be plenty of low-calorie family fun, including rides, history, and music from Grammy Award-winning artist Tom Chapin.

The Scoundrels of CMS:

There are strange moves made in a boxcar's shade By those who switch on the lead Those rusted rails
Have their many tales Whose repeating is a switchman's creed Their lantern lights have revealed foul sights But the worst they all
confess Is that empire run and unanswerable to none By those scoundrels in CMS

On new year's day I was working my way Through a variety of holiday cheer My job was annulled and my senses were dulled
When a ringing I began to hear Because of the drink I didn't think And I carelessly picked up the phone "Hello" I said then
immediate dread As I heard the callers tone

"I haven't a crew so I'm calling you "As a conductor on the hill "You'll take the call or I'll report y'all "So answer that you will
"Should you refuse then I'll accuse "You of missing a call you see "And I'm afraid there'll be UPGRADE "And your already on
level three

I stammered and stuttered, then slowly muttered As I broke into an icy sweat "Ya got it wrong pard, I work in the yard, "But this
call I'm willing to forget" "As you damn well know, I don't have to go "I'm not on the extra board Then I held my breath for I was
scared to death As I waited for his retort

"Your job's on the line, your ass is mine" There was evil in his voice "You'll report when I say or they'll be hell to pay "You really
don't have a choice. My vision went red when next I said "I am not taking any call. "You ignorant f_ck, don't press your luck And
the cord I yanked from the wall

A week I waited, my fears abated I thought that the incident died Then checking the mail I felt my heart fail As I a U. P. Letter I
spied My stomach churned and the letter burned My hands as I looked inside I became sick with dread as I slowly read "You are
hereby notified . . . "

The union pleaded that my case be ceded As the griever told me what he'd do "Don't worry kid, we'll put a lid "On this thing in a
day or two "I'll talk to the man and do what I can "To put the kibosh to this" "My only fear is if I hear "That this charge came from
CMS"

His fear was confirmed as he soon learned CMS was behind this evil plot To punish my ass for having the brass To give'm what
they got. Level four was proposed, but I was opposed To waive my right to a hearing "I'm right and I know it, what's more I can
show it" This unjustness had me searing

The hearing day came and the accused was framed As the kangaroo court commenced The griever was outstanding in always
demanding They prove all the evidence "The tapes" he commanded "should all be handed "Over for confirmation "As they would
display to those here today "The accused's innocent affirmation"

"The caller also should be here to show "His part in this grisly mess "If he was here right now we would show how "The fault is
with CMS" The hearing officer snorted before he retorted "Your request is respectfully denied" "Let the record reflect, that we
object!" My layman lawyer cried

Our pleas unheeded, the hearing proceeded Justice was defiled. It was finally done, my senses were numb Now to wait the results
of the trial. "Its always the same" my griever complained. "For those who live by the sword "That hearing wasn't fair, but this I'll
swear "We'll win this at the board"

Back to work I went, my feelings spent While I awaited the final decision Three weeks went by 'fore the letter arrived Outlining
the super's position I couldn't wait to reveal my fate So the envelope I carefully tore And there in bold, the last line told "You are
upgraded to level four"

I know out there is a company somewhere Where discipline doesn't exist Where respect is given and employees aren't driven By
things that make them pissed But the culture here is intimidation and fear And to this I can attest You will surely lose if you ever
chose to cross those scoundrels in CMS

Switchmen's Poet Laureate L.B.Holder

Two blondes traveling together broke down on the side of the road, they both decided that taking the direct route through the woods was the much quicker way to get home . As their home was just on the other side of the woods this seemed logical. They locked their car and proceeded to walk it to the woods. Soon after entering they became lost and decided to follow animal tracks to get clear the woods. On and on they walked until coming upon a set of tracks. One blonde said to the other " I think these are made by a Deer we should follow them surely we will find our way out of the woods ." The second Blonde says " you're right we should follow but they're not Deer they are actually made by a rabbit." The Argument Ensued , as they began to follow what made the tracks one said it's a Deer , I can hear its Mating call.... The other one positive that the path was made by a rabbit argued no, rabbits sometimes make sounds. They continued to argue and argue when suddenly the ground trembled, and three blinding white lights appeared .... As they Dove for cover , the first blonde said to the second blonde . What's the train doing on the deer tracks ???

Negotiations between union members and their employer were at an impasse. The union denied that their workers were flagrantly abusing their contract's sick-leave provisions.

One morning at the bargaining table, the company's chief negotiator held aloft the morning edition of the newspaper, "This man," he announced, "called in sick yesterday!" There, on the sports page, was a photo of the supposedly ill employee, who had just won a local golf tournament with an excellent score.

A union negotiator broke the silence in the room. "Wow," he said. "Think of what kind of score he could have had if he hadn't been sick!"