On that very same #148/972 doubleheader over the LV main between Bethlehem & South Plainfield in 1975 I lost a tooth and had Alco's scare the crapola out of me.

I was all of 7 years old and riding in the dutch door of one of the coaches on the return trip. Somewhere in western Jersey (I want to say around Stockton) the train went into emergency. If I remeber correctly, someone thought vandals had placed an obstruction on the rails.

Anyway, as the train jerked to a halt, one of those HUGE 1970's hardshell camerabags and an equally HUGE buff came crashing into me, and in turn, into the bulkhead. One of my front teeth got knocked out. It was already loose (it was a baby tooth), and had already suffered damage a few years before in a nursery school accident involving a wooden toy station wagon and a bumpy carpet.

Anyway, the two blows (toy car and camera bag) did permanent damage to the immature adult tooth, which was part of why I was known as "Moonraker" for many of the 8 years I sported braces. Now, I've got a fakie in that spot.

I guess becuase of the era, and also because my family was cool, it was always talked about as "one of those things." I imagine in this day in age, the parents of a kid who went throught that would try to own the nursery school and the Lehigh Valley!

So, how did the Alco's scare me? Was passed a frieght climbing up Trap Rock mountain while we were in the Musconetcong Tunnel. Wow!

Ahhhh, the memories...

Moonraker



trains@robertjohndavis.com

> On that very same #148/972 doubleheader over
> the LV main between Bethlehem & South
> Plainfield in 1975 I lost a tooth and had
> Alco's scare the crapola out of me.

> I was all of 7 years old and riding in the
> dutch door of one of the coaches on the
> return trip. Somewhere in western Jersey (I
> want to say around Stockton) the train went
> into emergency. If I remeber correctly,
> someone thought vandals had placed an
> obstruction on the rails.

> Anyway, as the train jerked to a halt, one
> of those HUGE 1970's hardshell camerabags
> and an equally HUGE buff came crashing into
> me, and in turn, into the bulkhead. One of
> my front teeth got knocked out. It was
> already loose (it was a baby tooth), and had
> already suffered damage a few years before
> in a nursery school accident involving a
> wooden toy station wagon and a bumpy carpet.

> Anyway, the two blows (toy car and camera
> bag) did permanent damage to the immature
> adult tooth, which was part of why I was
> known as "Moonraker" for many of
> the 8 years I sported braces. Now, I've got
> a fakie in that spot.

> I guess becuase of the era, and also because
> my family was cool, it was always talked
> about as "one of those things." I
> imagine in this day in age, the parents of a
> kid who went throught that would try to own
> the nursery school and the Lehigh Valley!

> So, how did the Alco's scare me? Was passed
> a frieght climbing up Trap Rock mountain
> while we were in the Musconetcong Tunnel.
> Wow!

> Ahhhh, the memories...

> Moonraker

It wasn't me with the big camera case, but I was in the same vestibule. Those big Alcos sure did fill the tunnel with smoke! It sounded like the end of the world. Just imagine what it would have sounded like if it had been big Baldwins, as in T-2's!!


K4s1361@hotmail.com

It was a shopping cart on the track, and the lead engineer (on 972) dumped the air. I was passing through a vestibule, heard that unmistakeable sound of air trashing, and a 6-7 year-old kid came flying off his feet through the air-- grabbed him!

And, on the Blue Comet trip, the 1178 hosted NBC's Tom Synder, interviewing E.M. Frimbo (the famously well-travelled Rogers Whittaker) and American Hertiage's Oliver Jensen. As the train moved through the Raritan yard, it went into emergency and Frimbo went flying 4-5 seats down the aisle (he had been sitting on the armrest). The catch phrase among the MLSF'ers was, "Frimbo never flies......except in CNJ obs cars."



hpincus@mindspring.com

Having grown up (1976-1996) in Pattenburg, the east portal of the Lehigh Valley's Musconetcong Tunnel, I was curious what you are refering to when you mention "Trap Rock Mountain." I have never heard this term used when referring to what we called Muscenetcong Mountain or conversationally as, "Jugtown" Mountain.

For the curious: The latter name came from the bootleggers that practiced their trade in the woods on the mountain during prohibition.

Sadly, in all my years as young punk hanging out in the vestibules of "The Tunnel" narry a steamer plied on through.

Regardless, it was quite a rush when a couple of early Conrail freights hit the signals (now gone) at opposite ends of the tunnel, opened up the throttle, and charged on through east and west at the same time. Shake, rumble, an roll. The refuge vestibule seating, pardon me, kicked ass. a couple of fast freights jousting it out in a granite bore is a life experience I will never forget. The noise was deafening. The power saturated our bones.

I am not endorsing that anyone try this at your local tunnel. It is dangerous, stupid, and junvenile, but luckily I experienced it before it was single-tracked. I am happy to say that I survived my childhood with the tunnel as my home away from home, and never once, even had to loose a tooth doing it.

That's how rail preservationists are born.



http://www.orhf.org
gkamp@mwaarchitects.com

Hi,

Someday, I would like to collect a volume of all the names in Jersey for that mountain. Actually, there might be three volumes: one for railroaders, one for truckers and one for "normal" folk.

On the railroad, it seems Musconetcong and Pattenburg are the most common terms for the old Lehigh Valley tunnel and mountain.

Truckers seem to commonly call it Jugtown or Goat Mountain (for the pet goat that used to reside at the top).

The "Trap Rock" name is obviously slang, and one that came to me via a group of geologists. Apparently, the ridge is loaded with trap rock, which is one of the reasons that water has been a constant issue (trap rock is soft and porous, I am told).

If you buy the very cool magazine Weird NJ, you'll see an interesting "non-railfan" view of the legends surrounding the bore.

Rob



trains@robertjohndavis.com