BCR mouse-capades
By Adrian Telizyn
Did you ever wonder what British Columbia Railway (later BC Rail, now Canadian National) yard crews do in the time between going on duty and actually beginning to move cars around? They hunt.
The mechanical and engineering departments share the station at Fort Nelson, British Columbia. It consists of two offices, a large lunchroom, and two service bays for the car department. It is also teeming with field mice at times.
In early 2004, a fellow named Lindsay held the yard foreman's job and George was his helper for the 2200-hours Fort Nelson Yard assignment. Both men are rather excitable and are also avid big-game hunters.
The lunchroom has a large table in the center, a "fridge" down one side, and a big old metal desk left over from the original 1972 BCR station in one corner. A fax machine sits on the desk.
Lindsay absolutely hates mice. Every night when the crew would come to work, two of the bolder mice would scurry across the floor between the car department's storage room and the crew fridge. And every night, Lindsay would try to catch them.
Lindsay has a big old Husky mix named Justice that would come to work with him. The dog just slept in the corner of the lunchroom, and the mice would even run over it in their effort to get away. He was a very poor mouser!
This drove Lindsay and George nuts.
One night, the smaller of the two mice came out and tried to make a run between the fridge and the old desk. The two men were onto it like a flash. Justice lazily opened one eye, then promptly went back to sleep.
Lindsay saw the mouse go behind the big desk, and George did not see him come out the other side. The hunt was on! Both men began to pull the desk apart, one drawer at a time. They were convinced the mouse was inside.
The fax machine went flying. 'The papers were swept off the top into a heap on the floor. Lindsay heaved on the top center drawer and, not seeing a mouse inside, slammed it partially closed again. George began pulling out the drawers on one side, dumping their contents, while Lindsay started on the other side. Ted Tollifson, the engineer, just stayed put in his seat to watch the show.
Five minutes had gone by, and still there was no sign of the mouse, so Lindsay and George ran out the back door of the station. Ted was beginning to wonder what those two were up to, when the mouse popped up in the center drawer for a look. Ted began to laugh. Up periscope!
"What's so funny?" bellowed Lindsay.
Lindsay and George reappeared with the locomotive watering hose. Oh, no! The mouse disappeared again. Down periscope!
George began to pull out the side drawers and fill them with water.
"Drown him out!" hollered Lindsay. Still, there was no sign of the mouse.
Lindsay then pulled the six now-sloshing drawers out, one at at time. Still no mouse!
"Perhaps he's hiding in the big hollow legs," suggested George.
Both men went for the hose together, turning their backs to the desk. The mouse appeared again in the top center drawer for another look. Up periscope!
Ted began laughing so hard tears were running down his face. The floor was flooded, and those two Keystone Cops still couldn't catch their mouse.
Lindsay grabbed the hose and began to fill the inside of the desk's legs with water. The night's switch list was waterlogged and useless. The phone was ringing. A train was arriving and calling the yard crew on the radio. Two grown men were in a frenzy banging on an old desk. Another was gripped by peals of laughter. And Justice was still sleeping in an ever-growing puddle!
The mouse reappeared again! This time, Lindsay slammed the top drawer shut: "Gotcha!" he yelled. But when George opened the drawer to catch him in a tin can, he was gone.
That was one tough mouse. It deserved to live.
Did you ever wonder what British Columbia Railway (later BC Rail, now Canadian National) yard crews do in the time between going on duty and actually beginning to move cars around? They hunt.
The mechanical and engineering departments share the station at Fort Nelson, British Columbia. It consists of two offices, a large lunchroom, and two service bays for the car department. It is also teeming with field mice at times.
In early 2004, a fellow named Lindsay held the yard foreman's job and George was his helper for the 2200-hours Fort Nelson Yard assignment. Both men are rather excitable and are also avid big-game hunters.
The lunchroom has a large table in the center, a "fridge" down one side, and a big old metal desk left over from the original 1972 BCR station in one corner. A fax machine sits on the desk.
Lindsay absolutely hates mice. Every night when the crew would come to work, two of the bolder mice would scurry across the floor between the car department's storage room and the crew fridge. And every night, Lindsay would try to catch them.
Lindsay has a big old Husky mix named Justice that would come to work with him. The dog just slept in the corner of the lunchroom, and the mice would even run over it in their effort to get away. He was a very poor mouser!
This drove Lindsay and George nuts.
One night, the smaller of the two mice came out and tried to make a run between the fridge and the old desk. The two men were onto it like a flash. Justice lazily opened one eye, then promptly went back to sleep.
Lindsay saw the mouse go behind the big desk, and George did not see him come out the other side. The hunt was on! Both men began to pull the desk apart, one drawer at a time. They were convinced the mouse was inside.
The fax machine went flying. 'The papers were swept off the top into a heap on the floor. Lindsay heaved on the top center drawer and, not seeing a mouse inside, slammed it partially closed again. George began pulling out the drawers on one side, dumping their contents, while Lindsay started on the other side. Ted Tollifson, the engineer, just stayed put in his seat to watch the show.
Five minutes had gone by, and still there was no sign of the mouse, so Lindsay and George ran out the back door of the station. Ted was beginning to wonder what those two were up to, when the mouse popped up in the center drawer for a look. Ted began to laugh. Up periscope!
"What's so funny?" bellowed Lindsay.
Lindsay and George reappeared with the locomotive watering hose. Oh, no! The mouse disappeared again. Down periscope!
George began to pull out the side drawers and fill them with water.
"Drown him out!" hollered Lindsay. Still, there was no sign of the mouse.
Lindsay then pulled the six now-sloshing drawers out, one at at time. Still no mouse!
"Perhaps he's hiding in the big hollow legs," suggested George.
Both men went for the hose together, turning their backs to the desk. The mouse appeared again in the top center drawer for another look. Up periscope!
Ted began laughing so hard tears were running down his face. The floor was flooded, and those two Keystone Cops still couldn't catch their mouse.
Lindsay grabbed the hose and began to fill the inside of the desk's legs with water. The night's switch list was waterlogged and useless. The phone was ringing. A train was arriving and calling the yard crew on the radio. Two grown men were in a frenzy banging on an old desk. Another was gripped by peals of laughter. And Justice was still sleeping in an ever-growing puddle!
The mouse reappeared again! This time, Lindsay slammed the top drawer shut: "Gotcha!" he yelled. But when George opened the drawer to catch him in a tin can, he was gone.
That was one tough mouse. It deserved to live.
posted by Mary at 9:18 PM
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