Riding the Rails

Mom's dad, Robert E. L. Powers, worked on the bridge crew for ABC Railroad, which is currently CSX. Because of his employment, his family had passes to ride the rails anywhere ABC traveled. The train was the primary transportation to town and points beyond.  When mom was about 14 (1942) her sister Emma and husband Beck Beckwith lived in Americus Georgia. Another sister Grace and her husband Bill Camp lived near Brunswick, Ga.   Bill was working as an electrician. They had come home to Chandler Springs to get their furniture. Mom returned with them to Brunswick. Bill and Grace lived upstairs in an oyster house. Grace sent Emma a post card saying that Mom was coming from Brunswick on her way home and to pick her up in Oglethorpe, Ga on a particular summer day. (Oglethorpe was the closest ABC station to Americus.) Mom arrived in Oglethorpe late (about midnight) to find no one was there to pick her up.  The only other person in the station was the Station Master. About 2 AM, the Station Master concluded that no one was coming to pick her up, so he arranged with another line to transfer her to Americus. The train made an unplanned stop to pick her up.   She only had a nickel, so Mom isn't sure how the ride was paid.  When she arrived at Americus early the next morning, she made a call to Emma with her nickel. Mom had never used a phone before, much less a pay phone. She put the nickel in the phone and the operator came on and told her she should have waited until the party answered.  Fortunately, Emma answered and came to pick her up.  Later that day in the mail delivery, the post card announcing her travels arrived a day late. Now that really was snail mail!