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~~ ICRR Section Gang. ~~
The Rockport IC Railroad Section Gang.>
As the name suggest, a "Railroad Section Gang" is a crew of men, with a foreman, that
maintains a section of the railroad. In the first half of the twentieth century these
"Gangs" also took care of the bridges and trestles for a certain section of the railroad.
Later on, two different crews were organized to take care of this part of the railroad.
A "Bridge Gang" maintained the bridges and trestles while the "Section Gang" took care
of the rails and railroad bed. This was probably in the late seventies and by this
time, this work had become mechanized. In the "Fifties" when this picture was taken,
these men maintained their section of the railroad with very few mechanical tools.
They used mostly hand tools and the work would have been difficult even if the weather
was not considered. Add the "Hot and Dry" conditions of summer and the "Cold and Wet"
conditions of winter, and this job was not for the "Faint-at-heart". It was a physically
demanding job that a lot of men just could not do.
Same view of Rockport taken almost sixty years later.
When I first received this picture of the Rockport Section Gang, I recognized the crew
and was able to name all of the men. Then, I looked a little closer and was thinking
that the person taking the picture was standing with his back toward the river and
looking at the old overhead bridge. Then it hit me-What was the Presbyterian Church
doing "Across Town"? Also, what were those six white post just to the right of the
church? Hum, I was confused and just could not pick up on where the picture was taken.
The more I looked, the more that I became confused. I was sure that, in the time frame
the picture was taken, no church was located "Across Town". Also, the white house on
the right was not the house across the road from Peck Harris' old house. I had all of
the people identified, but I was not able to identify the buildings and the six tall
post in the background. I needed help.
I made up a packet and sent it out to a few people that I thought would know and I had
good results in just hours. I sent the packet to Shirley Smith, Betty Sublett, Harold
Welborn, Hilma Stewart and Gary Durham. Those people got on the ball. Shirley got
with Jimmy Smith, Betty worked with her brother Kelly, Hilma enlisted Jimmy's help,
and Gary pick up an old pro and Rockport Historian, James Barnes. It did not take
that bunch long to establish that the picture was made with the photographer's back
to the old Rockport Depot and once that was established, everyone agreed that the
church, in the back ground, was the old Rockport Presbyterian Church. Gary actually
got with James Barnes and they journeyed down to the old depot site and verified their
answers. The six white poles were actually windows in the old Redman Building. The
large building, to the left of the church was the old City Hall/Firehouse that was
build above the old jail. It was located next to the overhead bridge. The other
house to the left of City Hall is two streets over, and is next to the old Rhule House
that Conard Barnes lives in today. The old Presbyterian Church was located on the
same street. The Redman Building is located on Main Street. Sometimes, it just takes
a team to sort out things. Thanks to all that helped in solving this unknown. Now,
for the main part of the picture; the men in the section gang.
Oh, you say that I have not identified the white house on the right. Well, that is
where the problem comes in. Of the answers and agreements on all of the other buildings,
the white house on the right has not positively been identified or at least, there is
a disagreement. There are three different answers for the identity of this house.
Some think that it is Dave and Flossie Wilson's old house. Some think that it is
Jamie Reid's house and some, including me, think that it is the Zeke Graves House.
Mr. & Mrs. James Fuller lived in this house in the early fifties. I think that
the Wilson house would be out of the picture and more to the right. The Wilson house
was also a two story house and it was laid out in a North-South direction where the
Redman Building sits East-West. I don't think the rear of Jamie's house looked like
the one pictured. Others have said that the Zeke Graves house did not have a basement.
Oh well, the fun of trying to visualize the past some sixty years later. If you will
notice, there is an extra picture below the picture of the "Section Gang". I tried
to position myself where the photographer of the "Section Gang" stood and tried to
get as close to possible to the exact scene some sixty years later. Hopefully this
new picture will help anyone in trying to identify or confirm the identity of each
of these buildings. Come on back at me if you have any comments or ideas. Just click
on my name below and feel free to state your opinion.
Jerry R. Durham
Now, back to the Section Gang. As stated, this was a tough bunch of men. Clarence
O'Brien was the foreman and lived near the Rockport High School. He raised a large
family and his younger son is now living in the house he grew up in. Of course, the
school building is gone. Some of the men are sitting on a railroad car. This car
was used to transport material and men to the work site. This gang had a "Tool Shed"
just to the left of the picture. The tools and the car were stored in this tool shed.
Each morning they would meet at the tool shed, prior to starting work. Mr. O'Brien
would pick up any special work orders each morning, or he would continue on projects
that they were working on the day before or a week or more before. They would select
the needed tools and off they went. A motor car was used if they were going to be
traveling any distance. Crossties were situated on a bed of gravel. A large metal
plate sat on top of each crosstie and the rails sat on top of the plate. Rail and
plate were secured to the ties with large spikes. The most common type of work was
making the rails more firm. This correction consisted of "Tamping In" more gravel
under and around the ties. Of course, ties always seem to have to be replaced and
spikes, nuts and bolts, and plates always seemed to become loose and had to be retightened.
Even the rails, on occasion had to be realigned. In the summer time, the rails would
expand and in extreme temperature days, they could actually detach from the ties.
This problem was critical enough that trains would have to actually be flagged until
a repair was completed. Their work was a never ending process. Talk about job security!
Ray Smith, Roy Smith, Russell Smith, Oakley Bratcher, and Manse Jones lived in Rockport.
All lived near their work station and probably most walked to work. Manse Jones and
Roy Smith just had a few hundred yards to walk to the tool shed. Clarence O'Brien,
Oakley Bratcher, and Ray Smith had a little further distance to get to work and Bill
Jones and Sam Farris lived in Echols. This was some work crew and all were liked and
respected in the towns of Rockport and Echols. I knew them all well. Yeah, back then,
the old timers had time to talk and associate with the younger generation. It was great.
As I have mentioned before, this crew could furnish "Railroad Washers" that were nearly
three inches in diameter. These washers usually came from a trestle or a bridge. Take
four of these washers, dig two holes in the ground about twenty feet apart, and one had
a ready made game of "Washers". We played for hours. This game was usually played on
the river banks and when a player got hot and sweaty, all that was needed was to take
a plunge in Green River. Thanks, Railroad Men, for all of your washers. We certainly
enjoyed your generosity.
:)
Hope you enjoyed..........
jrd
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