Becker Farm Railroad - Operations

Operations

At full operation, the railroad ran on Saturdays until 5 pm between the beginning of May and the end of October, including Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day. It also operated on Wednesdays during July and August until dusk. It provided a two-mile (3 km) round-trip ride between Centerville and Peachtree Jct. Originally, a round-trip ticket cost 20 cents for children and 40 cents for adults (later raised to 24 and 48 cents, respectively, during the early 1960s, and to 25 and 50 cents, respectively, by the late 1960s). Typically, #1501, a 4-8-4 live steam locomotive, would pull a train on the hour (10 am, 11 am, noon, etc.) and #1502 or #1503 (miniature diesel locomotives) would run on the half-hour (10:30 am, 11:30 am, etc.). Six to eight passengers could ride per car, and trains usually ran with 8-10 cars. On rare occasions, if ridership warranted, #1500 (a smaller 0-4-0 diesel engine) would be called to run as an "extra" with a shorter consist of cars (usually no more than four cars) on the quarter-hour.

As such, trains would originate in Centerville yard and be pulled across the grade crossing (where the ticket booth was located) and into Centerville station where loading would take place. (Only the first runs in the morning would pull into the station empty since trains coming back from Peachtree Jct. would first pass through the station and into Centerville Yard so that the engine could be placed on the opposite end of the train.

On signal from the conductor, the engineer (who was typically dressed as an engineer) would blow the horn or whistle and then start the train out of the station. Since the train station was located at the bottom of a sizeable hill (3½% grade), the train would need to accelerate as quickly as possible before it crossed the short trestle over Foulerton Brook and then across a second grade crossing. From there, the track continued to climb on what was called Pigpen Grade (named after the pigpen on the righthand side of the tracks) until it reached the crest of the hill, the meeting point for outgoing and incoming trains: Pigpen Siding.

The next landmark on the railroad past Pigpen Siding was Horseshoe Curve, a sharp curve in the shape of a horseshoe near the adjacent treeline, which was fashioned after the Pennsylvania Railroad's Horseshoe Curve near Altoona, Pennsylvania, and which restricted trains to 8 mph (13 km/hr). After leaving Horseshoe Curve, a second, lesser-used, siding was encountered, after which the line curved to the right and the Long Fill (about a five foot (1.7 m) fill) where the best speed on the railroad could be made. (Although trains were restricted in revenue service to 12 mph (19 km/hr), locomotive #1500, ironically the least powerful locomotive on the railroad's roster, was known to have attained in excess of 40 mph (64 km/hr) on numerous occasions. However, the lack of a long straight (tangent) track, and the risk of turning over a rail, were concerns that limited "high speed" running on the C&S RR.)

At the end of the Long Fill, the track entered a rock cut and then passed into the woods and approached Peachtree Jct. Although the diesel locomotives would operate without having to refuel, steam locomotive #1501 was required to stop to add coal to the fire as well as water to the boiler. This was done on the loop track. Due to the construction of #1501, this stop was necessary, and could not be performed while the train was in motion.

On the return trip to Centerville, trains usually stopped and sat "in the hole" at Pigpen Siding to allow the next train to pass. On rare occasions, when only one engine was running, the train would pass through the siding without stopping. When returning to Centerville, the train would pass through the station and into Centerville yard, where the engine would be run around the train (if it were a diesel) or be backed into the turntable for turning (if it were #1501) and then would be coupled back to the other end of the train. (Number 1502 was the only engine that didn't require turning since it had engineer controls on both ends. Number 1500, although a diesel, had only one set of controls and would also need to be turned on the turntable.) The train would then reverse direction back to the station where passengers would wait for the conductor to unlatch their car door so that they could leave the train.