ACL operated a through freight on the Perry Cut-Off that was nick named the "Blue Goose" by employees. I believe it came out of Lakeland and ran to Thomasville, Ga. This train was number 236 or 238 , would like to know when this train ceased operations. I have it on my 1957 timetable... Was this a phosphate train or did it carry general freight and was the "Blue Goose" involved in the head on wreck near Floral City, Florida in the 50's.

-- Steve Manuel (wwjb@innet.com), March 25, 1998

Answers

The wreck at Floral City, Fla. occurred 10/18/56 and is covered by Interstate Commerce Commission Report #3713.

-- Harry W. Bundy, Jr. (y6b@aol.com), May 26, 1999.

Have been told the through frieght got the nickname "Blue Goose" because a certain conductor hung a weather vane on the back of his caboose or perhaps he had it on the top...Apparently back then ,mid fifties, the conduct stayed with his caboose or was assigned to the same one all the time.....MAYBE IT LOOKED LIKE A GOOSE RATHER THAN A ROOSTER!!!!! STEVE

-- Steve Manuel (wwjb@innet.com), June 06, 1998.

Blue Goose was the name of a citrus packing house, could this have been a perishables train?

-- Donald R. Hensley, Jr. (taplines@greenepa.net), May 09, 1998.

I have about one Southern Division employee timetable per year, and they show the following. A through freight 206-207 began operating in 1951 and ran into 1952. In 1953 through freight 236-237 is shown, and lasted until 1958.

I don't know what the train carried. Would like to know this and also how the "Blue Goose" nickname came to be.

I have the Floral City wreck report but can't put my hands on it right now; will keep looking.

Have very little info on the log train other than one photo of it showing a single F unit pulling the log cars, which were high-side gons in the K-10 class with side stakes added.

There's a great Lines South article here if we can pull together some additional details.

-- Larry Goolsby (LGoolsby@apwa.org), March 26, 1998.