OURHAMLET.ORG

Photos Courtesy: Jim Crooke

That's not my granddaddy, HB Pate, in the second picture sporting his engineer's regalia, but I do have possession of his Union Made "Hercules" denim jacket like the one worn by the fellow on the right.

The interesting thing about these photos (at least, to me), and perhaps a clue as to why they were taken, is the motive power used as a back-drop. The engine is a EMD E6a (cab version) locomotive manufactured by General Motor's Electro-Motive Division. Only 91 of the units were ever manufactured and this particular one was EMD's demonstrator unit which became SAL 3014. SAL only had two others on their roster; 3015 & 3016.

Joe,

Glad you have to have you back. This is another picture that was with the two above. It probably will help identify the location.

That looks like the platform in Raleigh. It was built in a curve.

Ditto! Much too large for Hamlet, and the brick structure in the background is not a part of Hamlet architecture.

Our Hamlet is about memories and I have one to share, unrelated to the photographs, but sparked by the fact that Jim Crooke shared the images.

I remember a trip to Raleigh with my father, Wilbur Scarborough, on one of his fact finding tours. Now you know where I get it—genetics. He was taking one of his rock samples to the State Geologist to be identified. I vividly remember getting on the air conditioned coach and sitting on the right side (east on a north bound train) nearest the north vestibule with Daddy's back toward the head end of the train. The next thing I remember is being near the Museum of Natural History and the Art Museum (all downtown at the time). Daddy told me and a friend to go to the museums while he went to the Geology Offices. I'm thinking I was less than 13 at the time, maybe much younger. In any case, he later caught up with us in the room where the Whale hung from the ceiling, so pretty close to the end of the museum. The next thing I remember is Wriston Crooke (the conductor on our train), dressed in all his finery, coming up and asking if I wanted to blow the horn. Wilbur said it was okay so Wriston took me back to the rear of the train, out onto the vestibule platform, picked me up so I could reach over the railing and let me push that little button that blew the horn sending some "signal" to the head end crew. What the signal was, if it was, I have no idea; but there was definitely a sequence involved.

It was a kid's dream! Even when you grow up in a railroading town, moments like those are memories forever.

At some point while I was in elementary school, my grandfather H.L. Meacham took Lee and me on the morning train up to Raleigh. We ate at a lunch counter downtown, fed the squirrels on the capitol grounds and then visited the museum with the whale skeleton before catching an afternoon train home. My most vivid memory was watching the cars on Highway 1 through the train window thinking nobody on the road was as lucky as I was because I was riding the train.

When I was in school at Chapel Hill and wanted to come home on a weekend, I would catch a late afternoon bus to Raleigh, eat supper with my aunt Eunice and uncle Dan, and then they'd take me to the station to catch the Silver Star to Hamlet. I would eat a second supper in the diner and be home by 9:30 p.m.[/i]

We ate at a drugstore lunch counter-Walgreen's Drugs Store, I think! I, too, felt very special riding the train with Poppa. Did not realize at the time that only employees of the railroad, and their families got to ride free! Our dad, Joe Meacham, worked at the Post Office, so I never had the privilege to ride the train to the state fair! What a bummer!!!