" Putting the bite on Squeeky"
Jim [Squeeky] F. was the General Yardmaster on the midnight shift at Bathurst St., and when everything was cleaned up, and quietened down, he would take out his false teeth, put them in a cup, stretch out with his feet on the desk, and his head in his locker, and try to catch a few ZZZZ's.
Ken M. remember Ken M. , he was the guy that put the bucket over the yellow light on the Yard Engine, causing a great comotion.
Ken M. when Jim had fallen asleep, sneaked into the office, and replaced Jim's false teeth with a set he had found.
When Jim woke up, he decided to have his lunch, and so put in his teeth, and couldn't for a while figure out what had happened, but eventually did, and went around the office like the Mad Hatter seething, and trying to figure out who had changed his teeth, and deal with them.
When he found Ken M. hiding in a large cardboard box in the supply room, Ken found out why, if he never knew before, Jim was called Squeeky.
Allan
1 comment:
I started car checking at Bathurst St. in July 1960. I was just barely 16, and I remember talking to the siding checkers. There was a long table that ran the length of the north wall of the yard office, and this is where they all gathered before starting out in the morning.They'd start at Bathurst Street and walk all the way to Danforth checking all the customers sidings on the way. They were a friendly bunch and were astonished that I was only 16.
Most of the guys were pretty friendly but a few liked to chew your ass out to let you know you were nothing special. Squeeky, the GYM wasn't friendly nor unfriendly but seemed a little aloof as he was the boss, and didn't have too much time for a new checker. It was just shortly after I started that the CNR came out with a new type of label to attach to the cars to show their destination. The card was blank until filled in by the Bill & Train clerk with a black brush pen. Everything was coded such as 35 for Toronto,or 25 for Montreal, and beside it a letter was added to further pinpoint the delivery. 35P was the Don, 35M mimico, 35K Bathurst Street, etc. This was one of the car checkers jobs to staple these lables to the cars.
So this night I had been up checking Jefferson Avenue and as I walked by the Graveyard on my way back there was a small lift set up for a Winnipeg train. I wasn't checking this lift but just looking at the labels as I walked by. Right smack in the middle was a car labelled "25", meaning it was supposed to be going to Montreal but was about to be lifted by a northbound train. I went into the switchtender's shanty at the Graveyard and phoned Squeeky to tell him. A yard engine had to be sent up to switch the car out but Squeeky was sure happy that Montreal car wasn't headed for Winnipeg. After that, I couldn't do anything wrong as far as Squeeky was concerned.
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