Railroaded

Almost a year after his poker game, Frank was leaving work one evening when he heard an older man's voice yelling. "Hey, boy. Come on over here. I got something for you."

Frank looked around and saw a vaguely familiar figure standing beside a Lincoln Mark LT grinning at him. He looked around to see if he was really the "boy" the old man wanted to talk to. He once again heard, "Well, come on, son. Don't ya remember me? I suppose not. I bet ya thought I would just take your $25K and cut out didn't ya? Well, I didn't. We had us a real fight there for a while, son, but we beat 'em. Come on over here. You got yourself a little railroad and we need to do a bunch of paperwork as soon as we can."

When the man began talking about the railroad Frank remembered him and the deal. In truth he was surprised. He had completely forgotten about that night. Frank slowly walked over to the man and shook his hand. The man said, "Well, son, we got us a railroad now and I made sure you didn't get stiffed on the rolling stock either. I made them send the maintenance records on all the stock and I wouldn't accept any that hadn't been through the repair yards recent like. Hell, boy, I even got you a dining car. I'd forgotten they got one of those from us until I read the inventory lists. You have two decent locomotives with only a little over 1000 hours on the overhauls. Should be good for a long time if you care for them correctly. As soon as you can get off we need to get with my attorney and transfer the company to you. You'll need a company name and should incorporate it also. Like I promised, I will help ya get everything set up and ready to go."

The old man looked at Frank for a moment and said, "After I do the deal with you I know it will be your railroad, but I would surely like to see you revive the name it held before we sold out. I live by the tracks, son, and I would surely like to see trains going past with my family's name on them again. We ran the Southern Missouri Railroad for years and I would like to see it run until I'm gone."

The next few days were a blur for Frank. He still had most of his $22,000 from the old mine and he even saved a little from his job and poker winnings but he had nowhere near enough to begin operating the short rail line. In between signing papers and taking control of the business he had to find money to operate and he had to drum up business for the new railroad.

As soon as the deal was completed Frank got to work. He began planning for resumed service and gave interviews to the local papers, TV, and radio stations. One result of the interviews was being called into his boss's office. After a royal chewing out for being disloyal he was fired for going into competition with his current employer. Another result of the interviews was a phone call from Jan.

Frank's phone rang late on the evening the first TV interview played. When he answered he heard, "Frank, I can't believe it. You really own a railroad now? I thought you decided that old man just took your money and forgot you. Tell me all about it. When are you going to begin operations? I'm so excited!"

Frank explained his financial difficulties to Jan and also told her he was having trouble finding freight to haul as well. She broke in and said, "That's a bunch of bull. How much do you have and how much do you need to begin operating? If you get the funds we can find customers."

After Frank answered all her questions they visited for a while. Just before she hung up, Jan asked, "Frank, can I come down and help you for a while? Please? I have some time off and I really, really want to see the trains and get up close and personal with them."

Frank laughed and said, "Sure, Jan. Come on. Hell, even if we don't have any freight we'll run down the track a little so you can ride. I've hired an old retired engineer to operate the engine and teach me what I need to know about things so I can meet all the legal guidelines. The old man that sold me the business is helping also. He used to work on the railroad and is a fountain of knowledge. After he sold the line to me I talked him into taking back 25% of the stock after we incorporated and working with us until we got the operation up and running again. He agreed to do it with the provision he didn't have to work daily after I had learned the business. He even threw some greenbacks into the bank for operating capital."

Two weeks later Jan arrived late on a Friday evening at Frank's house. When Frank opened the door she bounced into the building with a grin a mile wide. She gave Frank a big hug and said, "I can't wait to get started, Frank. I'm so excited about this." They talked long into the night about the railroad. Jan was just full of excitement and ideas.

The next morning Jan woke Frank clattering around in his kitchen preparing breakfast. He took a quick shower and stumbled into the room. As soon as she saw him she placed a cup of coffee in his hand and pushed him toward the table. She said, "Sit. Breakfast's almost ready. We have to hurry and eat. I want to see our railroad."

After the meal Frank led Janice to his truck and they drove down to his small rail yard. He parked and locked his truck then took Jan over to one of the engines. He did the necessary preoperational checks while Jan shadowed him then climbed into the cab. He started the huge diesels and let the engines come to operating temperatures. After he was satisfied all was in order he slowly moved the engine out of the yard onto the main line. As he slowly made his way through town pulling a lone Pullman car Jan stood in the window of the engine and waved at the people watching from the side and cars stopped at the road crossings.

When they arrived at the first small town, Jan said, "Frank, can you stop here and let me go shopping for a few minutes?"

"Yes but why? We can go shopping when we get back to Joplin if there's something you need. Oh," he said as he glanced at her crotch. "I'm sorry. I didn't think. Yeah, we can stop. This is my line exclusively so there will be no other traffic."

Jan blushed when she saw where Frank was staring and realized what he thought. She said, "Frank, it's not that. I just had an idea and I want to try something, ok? Please?"

The small station and siding for his line was still on the edge of the old business district so they didn't have far to walk to find what Jan wanted. To Frank's surprise she ducked into an office store for her purchases. She bought several bright colors of spray paint, some strong tape and some poster board. After her purchases she almost ran back to the train and straight into the Pullman.

Frank watched as Jan quickly made some signs. She only asked him one question. She wanted to know the business phone number. Frank hadn't gotten around to getting one so he gave her his cell number. After the signs were completed she placed them in the windows on each side of the Pullman. Jan ran outside and looked at the car with pride as she, Frank, and several passersby read them. The signs showing through the windows said, "Coming Soon; Rail excursions to Branson and other towns along the SMRR Line. Freight Service Also Available. Call x-xxx-xxx-xxxx for more information."

After she had read the sign Jan grabbed Frank's hand and pulled him back to the engine where she insisted he continue her trip to Branson and back. All during the trip she jumped and waved as people stopped to watch the train. Their excursion was an all day proposition and Frank tried to ignore the fuel cost which wasn't small. Jan was having a ball and, to tell the truth, so was he. He even got into the excitement and enjoyed talking to the people that gathered around when Jan made him stop in each small town they went through.

The next morning the local paper featured a picture of the engine and Pullman on the front page with the headline "LOCAL RAILROAD IN OPERATION AGAIN". There wasn't much to the story because no one contacted Frank about the trip the day before. He and Jan read the short article with interest and excitement, however.

After they finished reading the article, Frank and Jan were drinking their morning coffee and talking about the railroad when the phone rang. It was the paper wanting to send a reporter to interview him for a follow up story. He agreed to visit with the reporter at three that afternoon.

Jan was almost jumping with excitement when he hung up his phone and turned to her again. She said, "See. I told you this would work. If we can get enough publicity I know we can make a ton of money here and still have loads of fun."

Jan jumped from her chair and ran into the living room. She came back carrying her purse. As she walked she was rummaging around in the purse. Finally she found what she was looking for and pulled it from the depths of her enormous bag. She smiled and handed an oblong piece of paper to Frank saying, "Here. Take this and use it for the railroad too. I know it's not much but I want you to have it. All I ask is that you let me help. Please?"

Frank looked at the cashier's check made out to the SMRR. He couldn't believe it. The check was for $53,276.43. He looked at Janice and said, "Jan I can't take this. What if we go broke? You could lose it all. This is all your savings isn't it? Did you even keep anything out to live on?"

"Yes, Frank. That IS all my savings, but I did keep some money out for emergencies. Actually, that was what I had in my retirement accounts and what I had left from the gold this summer. You know that gold was really yours anyway so I only put a little over $30,000 of my money in this. I know for a fact you put everything you own in the business so I couldn't do any less than that, could I? There's no way I will let you give that back to me."

The two argued for a while and finally Frank gave in but he exacted a compromise from Jan. For her money she had to agree to take a 9% stake in the company's stock. There were now three shareholders in the company. Frank owned 66%, the old man whose name was Thomas Steele owned 25% and Jan now owned 9%.

Jan told Frank she had an agreement with her employer to telecommute and do her programming from home. By doing that she intended to spend substantial amounts of time helping Frank with the railroad. They spent the rest of the day until the interview planning for the beginning of operations. There was so much to think of, so much to do!

During the next week Frank and Tom hired three retired men with previous railroad experience to work part time on maintenance of the equipment and tracks. Jan had the bright idea of enlisting local ticket outlets in Branson to sell tickets for excursions. She also found people in each of the towns along the route where they wanted to stop to serve as ticket agents and sell tickets for the passenger service. Within a month they had the passenger side of the line set up and ready to go.

Now they had to decide how to price tickets. In the terrain their line went through they expected the engine to burn between 100 and 150 gallons of diesel per hour, depending on the load it pulled. It would be more efficient if they could combine freight and passenger service but if they stuck to a strict timetable for passenger service they might not be able to do that. If that was the case they had to figure out how to price freight and passenger service to be profitable. Their line was about 150 miles total. They estimated the trains could average 40-45 miles an hour on the lines for total fuel usage of around 700-850 gallons of fuel for the complete round trip. Current fuel costs would make that about $2,800 per round trip in fuel costs alone. This equated to approximately $9.34 per mile for fuel alone assuming one engine running at low to moderate power.

Each of their passenger cars held 52 seats. If they pulled passenger cars only and had a 50% fill rate the tickets would have to cost about 36 cents a mile for the round trip to pay for the fuel alone. Of course that assumed a passenger rode the entire distance. It was probable that the passenger would board the train in Springfield, Joplin or one of the smaller towns on the route and go to another destination rather than make the complete round trip so ticket prices would have to be adjusted for that. Frank and Jan decided to price the tickets based on the miles ridden. They decided to price the tickets at 50 cents per mile ridden initially. If they had 50% fill on one car only that would be more than the fuel expended and go a long way toward the overhead. They decided to adopt the freight rates in force with their connecting railroads. Since they weren't a Union Shop they would make more money with the standard rates than the larger railroads did.

Finally, the reincarnated railroad was ready to begin service. Surprisingly, instead of initiating service with their passenger cars they actually began freight service first. Several feed mills along their line became their first customers, using the railroad to ship in loads of grain. There was one feed plant for a major broiler chicken company on the line that used an average of three carloads of grain a day. This was the business that Frank's old boss expanded to get. Their first passenger service was a Valentine's Day trip to Branson from both Joplin and Springfield. They actually had to put on a second car from both locations. Passenger service ran to Branson from each of the terminal cities every morning and returned in the late evening.

One great thing about the rail line was they managed to pick up some airline traffic from Springfield. Even with the new airport in Branson many people still flew into Springfield and rented a car to go to Branson. They made a deal with the local cab company to give cut rates to those who wanted to use the train to go to Branson instead of renting a car. Of course they didn't get a lot of travelers that way because of flight and train schedules not syncing well but every rider helped. They also got several riders from Springfield who wanted to go to Branson for a day or weekend and not have to worry about driving. There were even some riders who just wanted to ride the train for recreation. In fact, there were a large number of those people. The service became profitable rapidly as its reputation grew. The dining car had been redecorated and meals improved. Alcohol sales helped immensely, too.

The fledgling railroad also put on special trains to commemorate special events and days. They had a Valentine's Day special, New Years special, and specials that ran during the fall so riders could see and appreciate the fall foliage. All the passenger trains pulled one of the baggage cars and used it to haul light freight that could be loaded and unloaded rapidly. This helped revenue and the bottom line.

At the end of the first year of operation the small railroad actually had a small profit, even after paying a salary to all involved in the business. The stockholders decided not to pay a dividend on the stock, however. Instead, they used the profits to improve the line and equipment.

After the railroad operated for six months Jan quit her programming job and worked full time for it. Somehow, she never found the time to move out of Frank's house. The evening they closed the books on the first year of operations she and Frank walked into his house together (they had taken to riding to and from work together). Frank went straight to their wine rack and pulled a good bottle of red from it. He quickly popped the cork and set it aside to breathe. He wrapped Jan in his arms and gave her a quick hug, saying, "I need a quick shower, then I think we need to have some wine to celebrate our first year. After that I want to take you out for a celebratory supper. OK?"

Jan smiled and replied, "Yes, that sounds wonderful. I'm so happy for you Frank. Who would have thought your railroad could turn a profit the first year? Especially since the line was abandoned because it wasn't profitable for the Union Pacific to operate it."

"I have to admit I was worried but you have to realize they had a much higher breakeven point than we do. They have union labor and we don't, plus their pay scales are much higher than ours are. I do sort of worry about our long term chances when we have to begin repairing equipment and track or buying new. I want to build up a large cash reserve to get us through bad times, too."

"Yeah, but if things keep going as they are that'll be no problem. Heck, you might even be able to take a higher salary next year."

"Honey, there's no need for that. I already make more than I ever have in my life. I don't need more. The retired guys don't want a raise, either. They are working and making all they can and keep all their pension checks. Right now we're in that sweet spot for sure."

The two friends walked down the hallway together and split when they came to the bedrooms. Each went into his or her own bedroom and closed the door. Frank used the master bath for his shower and Jan used the guest bath to clean up. Frank had just barely sat down in the living room when Jan came down the hallway smiling, legs flashing and hips swaying.

Frank saw her and his heart jumped. She was absolutely gorgeous and her dress accentuated that fact. He was so lucky she was one of those women that didn't tarry over her makeup and dressing and also didn't play games making their date wait.

That evening was magical. They went to their favorite quiet restaurant and had a wonderful meal. During dessert Frank took Jan's hand in both of his to stare into her face. He said, "Jan, I know we've never officially dated, but we've lived together and gone out to eat together many times. I can't imagine my life without you in it. I think you would make a wonderful wife and mother. Would you marry me?"

Jan sat staring at Frank. Her mouth dropped open and she made no sound. Frank began to worry he made a bad mistake. Finally, Jan croaked, then licked her lips and managed to begin talking. She said, "I don't know what to say Frank. NO, that's not true." Frank felt his heart sink into his stomach. He started to pull his hands away but Jan grabbed them and held on. She continued speaking, "I mean you just surprised me so. I just wasn't expecting you to do this. I've thought about us being together forever, almost ever since I came to help you with the railroad, but I never got any idea from you that you considered me anything else except a friend. I wanted more but decided I would be happy with what I had. Yes! Yes! Frank I will marry you. I am so happy now I don't know what to do or say."

Frank felt himself relax. He was exhausted from the tension he had been under the whole evening since he decided to ask Jan to marry him. He reached into his pocket and pulled his grandmother's engagement ring out. He held it out to Jan and said, "I brought grandma's ring in case you said yes. If you would rather have a new one I'll understand, but I would be honored if you wore this one. I know gramps would be, too."

Jan smiled and held her left ring finger out for Frank to place the ring on. As she did so she said, "I can't think of another ring that would mean as much to me. Yes, I will wear it and I will be proud to do so."

Frank quickly paid their bill and escorted Jan out of the restaurant. This time when they walked toward his truck he wrapped his arm around her. She leaned into him and rested her head on his chest as they walked.

When they arrived back at Frank's house they walked into it arm in arm. Without a word the two lovers walked into Frank's room and undressed. This was the first time they would sleep together and it would be the first time they made love to each other. A new chapter was opening in their lives and they looked forward to it with excitement and high expectations.