Meet me at The Station

Meet Me at the Station.
By
J. Mallone


Well youngins back again to listen to an old mans ramblein eh, well fair enough.
Gather round close now, don't make me holler there. Let me see now, well how about I tell yall about somethin that happened to me way back before your mommas and daddies was even born, why it was way back when I was just a youngin myself.

Wass that?
Now Don't be smart boy, of course I was a youngin once , everybody got to be a youngin sometime or other , shame is most us don't enjoy it while it's a happenin and it goes by too fast, way too fast. Heck you think I always been this wrinkled old man sittin in the sun spinnin tales for you?

Anyways this story mostly was back years and years ago, when all around here was just Cotton Fields and woods but the story really started way even before that, back when my Grandpappy was a youngbuck himself. Now back in them days this ole little town of Crossroads Georgia here, was even littler if you can imagine, yep just barely a wide spot in the road back then, Heh.

Well my Grandpappy and his Pa used to come to town once a month to pick up supplies and get the mail, cause they lived way out where route 33 is now, pretty near close to the county line.

One day they come into town and there was excitement everywhere cause the Train was running awful late.
Them trains prided themselves on being on time so this was an unusual thing, and folks was mighty upset about it. Well sir that old Train finally did come a pullin in, and there was more trouble cause that train driver just up and said I quit, yessiree just up and quit right there in the little depot we used to have over across from the courthouse, where that hamburger place is you kids like so much.

Now this driver quitting was serious cause the train needed to get goin but nobody hereabouts knew how ta drive the thing, And with no time to wait for someone to make the trip down from somewhere else.

Now my Grandpappy had always loved them trains, he used to sit on the riverbank fishin there by Mullins Trestle and watch em roll by and dream of being something besides a poor dirt sharecropper.
Well when he heard that Train needed a driver he just up and volunteered, right on the spot.
He didn't know a thing about drivin it but with the help of the old fireman he was sure he could figure it out betwixt here and Atlanta.
Well that’s what he did children, and from then on he was a real train engineer, right up till the day he died, and even after that.

Well darlin I’ll tell you what I mean by that if you can wait a bit, a story has to run its course, no rushin it now.

Now my Grandpappy, he drove them trains in on time for years, all over the State and country.
Then it happens that about a year after my Pa was born Grandpappy was working that old night run up from Augusta on them tracks that used to run across Mullins Trestle.

Now it was spring time and the weather had been rainy and wet for weeks, and that old river down there was raging like a wild bull and had jumped its banks.

Sometime during that dark stormy day the river bank there at the trestle just gave way and fell into that rushin water and all that water and trees and stuff that had been washed down well, it took some of that old bridge with it...

My Grandpappy was runnin hard cause the weather was making him late, the night was dark and rainy with terrible lighting and thunder and they must of hit that old trestle doing pert near fifty miles an hour and too late saw that there was just a big hole where the tracks use to be.
Now you can't just make a train stop on a dime, ya see, they slip and slide for quite a ways after them brakes is put on.
Well as I heard it, that whole dang train went right into the river, from the engine to the caboose all piled up, every bit of it and all the good folks who was riding and my Grandpappy too.
Not a single soul survived that wreck.

It was the next morning that the big railroad men showed up and looked at the wreck and the undertakers pulled them bodies out and later they pulled that whole train from that muddy river and hauled it all away.
They never did fix that sad old trestle, some said it was easier to just lay another line down south where the main road crossed the river, so they tore up those old tracks there and left the bridge like it was. And so it stayed that way for many a year.

Well now you see my Pappy grew up and then I came along and it was in the summer of 22 when I was about twelve that me and some of my friends were sitting out under the shade trees one day trying to escape the heat.

Billy Hacker was talkin and he up and says.
"Did you guys hear what happened to Ole Man Wilkerson the other night?"
"No" we said cause there was me and Tommy Johnson and Billy's little brother Odell and none of us had heard.

"Well." He Said. “Old man Wilkerson was out with his boys, Coon huntin, down near Mullins crossin and they were way back in the woods and somethin strange happened to em."

"What..What.?" We boys was all interested in strange things.

"Well the old man was runnin the dogs when they just up and stopped suddenly, wouldn't go no more and started to whimper like they were whipped.
So he was cussin at em when he heard a noise way off down towards the river."
He smiled then, havin fun makin us wait for the rest of the story.
"What was it?” We all asked.

"A train’s whistle, blowin loud down in the woods!"
Tommy sneered. "There ain't no train tracks in them woods you makin things up."

Billy crossed his heart. "Honest Injun I ain't, I head my Pa tellin my Ma this mornin when they thought I was out doin chores." Tommy still looked unconvinced.
"But there was more too!

Seems that one of the Wilkerson boys had managed to get one of them old coons treed and he was there at the tree when that whistle blowed like it was right nearby.
Then he said there was a light come up and pert near scared em to death like he was goin to be run over. Well that boy took off like a shot and when his paw found em he was white as a sheet and jabberin out of his head like he gone crazy."

Tommy threw down his pocket knife he had been whittling with and spit on the ground.
"Billy you as dumb as a fence pole, they knew you was listenin and cooked up a story to pull your leg, ain't no train tracks in them woods so can't be no train there either."

"There used ta be some tracks." I put in.
All of them turned to stare at me.
"My Grandpappy drove the trains; and they used to have tracks and a bridge down across the river out there." I Told em.

Well talk went on and us being boys and it being a hot Summer we decided that if there was a Ghost Train runnin in the woods over Mullins Crossin we was gonna see it for ourselves.

So next morning we was all up early and packed with some supplies and tents and such and off we went heading the twelve miles down to the crossin.

Yes we was gonna walk, folks liked to walk back then, wasn't too many cars, and if you had to go you just went by foot or wagon if one was goin that way.
Whats that? No darlin, we didn't call it exercise we just called it gettin there.

Well twelve miles was a good little hike and we wasn't in any hurry and there was an old general store on the way where we stopped and got some cold soda pop.
Mmm, that old Orange Nehi sure tasted good in them brown bottles.

Anyways, along about late suppertime we finally reached the woods down there near the river and set us up a little camp.
Pretty soon as the Sun went down we had us a right nice fire and caught a rabbit to roast and we just sat there talkin and laughin and eatin like boys always do.

Them old woods were dark and full of sounds that night, screech owls and crickets and bull frogs, but no trains.
Well I tell ya it was getting pretty late and we was almost convinced that we had made the whole trip for nothing, when far off a ways we heard it.
That whistle sent shivers down all our spines, it was long and soft and far away, maybe as far as where Burnville used to be.

We all looked at each other, makin up our minds to stay, run, or go see if we could find that train.
I was for goin to find it, cause maybe it was my Grandpappry's train so the others just kinda followed along with me.

The whistle came again, soundin out of them dark trees but closer this time and comin towards us.

We headed down towards the river, not really sure in the dark where the old bridge might have been but after awhile we found it there in the moonlight.
Them old square uprights poked out of the river like rotten teeth supporting what was left of the wooden truss, the rusty rails were dull and still spiked to cracked cross ties
It looked pretty fragile and the moss and vines were probably the only thing keeping it from total collapse.
Well we just stood there and stared, like you do when you see something you have only heard about in stories.
Then the Whistle came again, very close and loud, Little Odell just up and took off, havin seen enough for one night.

There was a light, dim at first then brighter and we could hear the clack clack of a steam engine rolling across the dark. It was coming fast rolling through trees as if they wern't even there at all, steam hissed, wheels squalled on metal rails. The ground shook under our feet.

Then that big long black engine came barreling out into the clearing its headlamp almost blinding us, then right out onto the bridge it swept, too late the brakes started to grab and the four big drive wheels trying to reverse, sparks shot from them rails and there was a terrible crying of metal as the engine reached the end of the trestle and vanished.
We saw the tender, the passenger cars, the fright cars and finally the caboose all tumble over into the dark below.. There were screams, moans, and terrible cries for help for a few long minutes, and then there was just a cold dead silence settled over us all as the full moon moved through the clouds overhead.

We all walked back to the camp in silence and tried to avoid even looking at each other, we knew we had witnessed something so terrible that it should not even be talked about at night.
Later wrapped up in my blankets I thought about my Grandpappy..
An the more I thought about him, the more I realized I had to help him somehow.

Next morning as we was eating some stale saltine crackers Billy had brought along , I made up my mind I was going to tell them boys my plan.
"Fellas." I said. “I think we can help those poor folks on that train."
Billy and Tommy both looked up at me with the look you give a puppy chasin its tail.

"Eddie them Folks been dead for years, you said yourself your Grandpappy was drivin that ole train way back when your daddy was a baby, what we gonna do now to help them folks?"
Odell was adjusting his overall gallusus when he said this.

"Well I was not talkin about helpin em not die, they is already dead, I know that, but remember what the preacher is always preachin about over to the church, they immortal souls is what I'm talkin about."

Billy broke off another cracker.
"Jesus is the one that deals with that stuff, like the preacher says, what we gonna do, we ain’t got no Jesus out here in the woods."

Tommy snorted.
"If Eddie can find Jesus out here, maybe he can turn some of my Daddy's moonshine into good Tennessee sippin whiskey for us."

I Ignored him.
"Look the preacher said Jesus is everywhere and when righteous folks die they souls should go to Heaven, but them folks on that Train, well for some reason they got stuck here. Maybe we can help them get on to Heaven and not be a dying in that train wreck over and over.”

Now all three had to admit that dying over and over all the time was not a good thing for them poor folks so they was more inclined to listen after that.
So I told em about my idea and they was all for it after some more convincing.

Well here’s what I had in mind children, me and my three friends was gonna fix that ole railroad track so that train could keep on goin all the way to Heaven and let them souls finally rest in peace.

We got to lookin and sure enough it wasn't no time till we found some of them old rails the railroad men had pulled up and tossed down in the woods, they was a might rusted but I didn't think that was gonna matter much.

Billy and Odell was off findin some old logs we could use as a prop to hold the rails, and Tommy and I drug them old heavy rails up that riverbank.
It was hot sweaty work and them skeeters feasted on us down by that muddy water ,but we found some old rusty spikes and rotten ties buried in the ground where the tracks used to be, and hammered and shoved em into place to hold those steel ribbons together then propped it all up, tied it with vines till we had a passable bridge across that old river.

By then we was dead tired and went on back to camp.
Billy caught us a coulpla squirrels and we stewed em up with some of the taters we had brought, mighty fine eatin., I must say.
After supper I pulled out that little pocket New Testament my Ma made me carry everywhere.
She said the worst thing a soul could do was get caught in a fix with out the word of the lord in his pocket, always seemed to me it would be a might better to have it in your hand than in your pocket, but that was my Ma.

I sat under a tree and began to read more about them immortal souls the preacher was always talkin about to the congregation. How ifin a soul was saved then it went on to Heaven when that fella died cause Jesus had let him self be nailed up for all of us. There was some mighty powerful stuff in that little book.

Well we was all so tired after eatin that we musta just fell right to sleep one after the other cause I don't remember a thing till I woke up and heard that lonesome whistle way out in the darkness.

The others heard it too cause we was all up and runnin when we heard it again comin closer.
We made it to the river bank and was all out of breath when we saw that the patchwork bridge we had put up had sank in the mud had fell down.

"Come on I yelled to them boys, we gotta get them logs back up there."
"You crazy we will all get squashed by the train." Odell yelled back.
"You dummy it's a ghost train, it ain't gonna squash you."
"How you know that?"
I didn’t have no time to argue so I just ran down there and started working.

Well seein that I was gonna do it anyway they all joined in and we got them logs back up under them old crossties in no time , the whistle was really close now and we could hear the wheels clackin along ,
So we scrambled back up the steep muddy bank as the light started to glow from down beyond the trees once more.
There was stillness around us, except for the hissing steam and rumble, then that whistle that shook us from our heads to our toes.

That ole engine burst from the trees in a flash of jet black metal reflected in a faint otherworldly glow, it was detail perfect children, every rivet and pipe on that old boiler and the big iron wheels with the shiny drive rods, the short stack blowing black smoke into the night sky, just as we had seen in our school books and Tommy had seen once when he visited once up in Atlanta.

It roared on towards the trestle and for some reason I just knew the props wasn't gonna hold.
I ran back down the bank as the others yelled at me to come back.

Putting my shoulder to the logs I pushed with all my might and I felt the rush of wind heading towards me from above.
The Rough wood bit into my arms, I gritted my teeth and planted my feet in the slippery mud and gave a growl.
The Train was passin overhead and I could feel the wheels and the big iron axles and the heat from the boiler, it clacked and rumbled and shook overhead for what seemed to me an eternity then it was gone, and I just stood there breathing hard, afraid to let go.

Finally I pried my arms loose of them rotten old logs and slowly climbed back up the slippery bank.
There sittin in the silver moonlight was that old train which had finally managed to get stopped and my friends were standing open mouthed at the sight of it.

I ran up to em, just as a man in faded overalls and an old time engineer’s cap stepped out onto the platform. He took off the cap and wiped his forehead with a dirty flannel sleeve. Then brushed some black cinders from his gray beard.
He looked up at me and smiled and I knew at once that what we had done was right.

"Mighty obliged sonny, you and your friends here done saved all us from falling in that river for all eternity."
I felt a big lump form in my throat.
"It was ok, Grandpappy, now you can finish your run. On time"

He just looked at me for a moment in wonder, his smile growing bigger. His eyes sparkled in the moonlight. "You my Jessie's Boy?”
I nodded.
“Well I'll be, that youngn did good for himself, I’m sorry I didn’t get to watch him grow, will you do me one more favor son?"
"Sure." I stammered. "Anything."

He smiled again, looked back at the train and a look of sadness crossed the face for just a moment.
"Next you see her, Tell your Grandma,..... Well you just tell her I'll be waiting at the station for her ....ok?"
I nodded and he waved to the other boys then turned and climbed back up into the engine cab. Then he stuck his head out the window. “Don’t forget to tell her now, ok?”
The sound of steam started to rumble and the drivers pushed at them heavy iron wheels, cars slowly started to move forward again with a crash.

We boys stood silent there and watched as the cars passed and we saw all those faces from inside, young ,old, male ,female and they all waved at us and smiled.

Then that old faded red caboose clacked on by and on its rear platform an elderly brakeman waved his cap at us till he was swallowed up by the woods and shadows, then the silence settled again over them woods and it was just us boys in the moonlight.

Just as we turned to go there was a groaning from the river, like a death rattle, and as we watched what was left of that cursed old bridge finally gave up its ghost and collapsed into the muddy water below.

We hiked back home the next morning and swore a blood oath we wouldn’t ever tell what we had seen for fear of getting a whippin or extra chores for making up such lies and as far as I know we was the only ones to ever know what happened down to Mullins crossin, that is almost the only ones .

You see a few months later my Granma had been down with the dropsy and it was bad for her not having all the medical knowledge we have now and the doctor said she just wasn't gonna make it. Well when it was my turn to go in and see her on that deathbed, I told her the whole story just as I'm tellin you now, every last bit of it.

Then I told her what Grandpappy had said about meeting her at the station.
But." Granma, Crossroads ain't got no station no more, they done closed it down."
She just softly smiled.
"Child, I used to meet your Grandpappy at the station after every run was through, he just means that when my run here in this life is finished, he'll be waitin at that big station up there in Heaven.

I Hugged her then and she smiled and closed her tired old eyes and I don't think she ever opened em again on this here Earth.
Later that night when she passed on she was still smiling..

And that’s the Story children, plain as I can remember it; every word is true, honest Injun.

Now yall run along and play somewhere else and let an old man have some time to rest here in the warm sunshine.I ain’t got too many more sunshine days left in me.

Yes I promise, I'll tell you another story some other time, now take these few nickels and go buy some penny candy and share, boys and girls alike.. Ok
Now Git!

END