ACM wrote: Mr. BR&P...Those three pictures are priceless. I'm 56 years old and have lived in Greece for most of my life. The coal docks closed down when I was eight years old so every image that shows up is a thrill. There are many questions I have that I'll address on an older thread. Thanks for sharing!!!
I'm happy I can contribute! Before I discovered cars and girls, I spent all my time on the B&O and NYC anywhere between Charlotte and Emerson Street. A great deal of that time was at the docks, either at the docks itself or wherever the crew was switching. Many days I'd be at the docks two or even three times over the course of the day.
Many of the crews were great about giving rides. One time two of us were trackside when B&O pulled by and on the back platform was a brakeman we knew. We trotted alongside as we asked some question, and finally he said "What the **** are you running for? Get on!" It was a fascinating operation and while I may have missed steam, I'm very thankful I was able to see the docks in operation - not just from standing at a road, but from almost every aspect of it.
Getting back to the topic at hand, that phone booth at Dock Junction was used a lot by the crew when they arrived. Sometimes they would have the work all dictated from when they left Brooks Ave. But if there was a boat loading or they didn't have specifics, they would go to that booth and ring 1 long and 1 short on the crank phone. The Docks clerk would answer and tell them what track to store their cars on, or to begin by pulling empties off the trestle, or whatever work was urgently needed. On the other hand, offhand I don't remember ever seeing a crew use that other booth at Feldspar Jct.