The Grantville Gazette - Volume 4 Part 25

room with a table, a couple of chairs, and a telephone to use.

"Well Chief, I'm glad I got a couple of people from my old MP platoon. One of the first things we're going to need is a company clerk. Someone has to answer the telephone and track messages," Elizabeth said.

Chief Schwartz chuckled, "Ma'am, I think you're right. No military ever ran right without paper."

Elizabeth pa.s.sed on some of her father's observations about armies and paperwork as she explained her background. She was an army brat of sorts. Her father was a reserve colonel who worked in the Pentagon as a civilian. Her mother had served as a nurse in the British Army. Her brother had served in

the Coast Guard and was in his third year at Louisiana State University. Elizabeth told the chief about a videotape she found in the items she was planning to take home after Tom and Rita's wedding reception.

They found a TV/VCR and brought it into the office. Chief plugged it in and Elizabeth inserted the

videotape. The tape started and Elizabeth forwarded it through scenes of a very young Elizabeth and her

slightly older brother with their parents.

"This is what I think you'll be interested in," Elizabeth said. A very old man appeared in the screen with a man Chief now knew as Elizabeth's granddad. "This is my great-grandfather," she said. "He spent three years on the Western Front running these trains. I was probably about six when they filmed this; it wasn't long after that he died."

The old man began to speak, standing next to a locomotive like the one they had seen in the pictures.

"Chief, you'll probably understand this a lot better than I did last night," Elizabeth said.

Chief Schwartz heard a man with an American accent asking questions of the old man and the old man's detailed answers. The interview continued for about ten minutes.

After finis.h.i.+ng the interview, Elizabeth turned the TV off and turned to the chief. "What do you think?"

she asked.

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, the chief replied, "We might just be able to pull this off. The biggest problem we're going to have is track."

"Here's something else that might be of help," Elizabeth said as she pulled out her copy of Narrow Gauge at War. "We should probably get a couple of copies made of this book and get everyone to read it. Folks might have some ideas after seeing this."

"Good idea," the chief replied.

"I agree that we can probably pull this off," Elizabeth said. "Since I've been here, I've seen all sorts of stuff that people hang on to. We can probably come up with the stuff for the locomotives and cars pretty

easily, but track is what is going to make or break us. I don't think it's as big a problem as some people might think, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've ridden over a lot of the territory in the Ring of Fire. Once I started thinking about it, I

realized that there are a bunch of old railway rights of way. They didn't look as wide as normal rail lines," Elizabeth said. "We need to get out there soon and start looking around."

"Sounds like a good idea to me. At nine I've our first recruits coming to see General Jackson," the chief

said. "He has a twenty-seven horsepower lawn tractor that he's willing to contribute as our first

locomotive."

Elizabeth chuckled, "Chief, you and I are going to get along just fine. I need to go down to City Hall and find out where they found some s.p.a.ce for us to set up a shop. I should be back in time to meet our recruits and I'll also start scrounging around for a clerk. What about tools?"

"Well, ma'am, I've got some things we can use and Anse Hatfield, he's our first recruit, has a bunch of

stuff in his shed that will probably be of use to us."

Just then, there was a knock on the door and a young man stuck his head in. Sergeants Bicard and Born and Corporals Kerner and Schmidt from the MPs were reporting in for duty. Along with them was a young down-time man named Ludwig Bode. Bode didn't want to study cla.s.sics any more, he said. When Elizabeth learned he could operate a computer and answer a telephone he was made the company clerk.

Because he had had a year of ROTC, he didn't have to go to basic training, either.

"Sergeant Bicard, you're on your way to OCS," Elizabeth said. "After OCS, you come back here and take charge of the horse-drawn trams." Sergeant Bicard nodded his understanding with a smile on his face.

"Staff Sergeant Born, Sergeant Kerner, and Sergeant Schmidt, you three will have your hands full here,"

Elizabeth said. The three newly promoted NCOs nodded in understanding. "Sergeant Born will be the platoon sergeant of the horse-drawn tram platoon and Sergeant Kerner will be the Headquarters squad leader as soon as he trains our new recruit here to be a clerk," Elizabeth continued. "Sergeant Schmidt, you are now the mess sergeant. We will come up with a field kitchen where you won't have to cook over an open fire any more."

Later that morning, Anse and his friends reported to General Jackson's office. When Elizabeth saw the three Germans with Anse, she and the chief had a quick discussion before going into General Jackson's office. After the meeting with General Jackson, Elizabeth asked them to follow her to the company office.

"Sergeant Hatfield, I don't know how you are able to attract some of the most dubious company in Grantville," Elizabeth said. Anse tried to respond, but Elizabeth cut him off. "At this point, beggars can't be choosers. I'll give the three of you a chance. But, I'll be watching and you better believe that I will run your rear ends clear out of Grantville if you get out of line, understood?"

Anse and the three Germans nodded their understanding.

"Ma'am, is there anything else?" Anse asked.

"Nope, just get with the chief to get directions on where to bring the tractor," Elizabeth said.

After directing Hatfield where to bring the tractor, Elizabeth and the chief then back to their office. They

had a lengthy discussion about what else they would need besides people to operate and maintain equipment. The first thing was track-laying and maintenance crews. Second was communications, since they knew they wouldn't get radios. Chief Schwartz suggested old-fas.h.i.+oned telegraph.

Before going to lunch, Chief contacted Pearl Chaffin, a widow who had worked for years as a telegrapher on the B&O. She agreed to take an appointment as a warrant officer and to train the telegraph operators for the railway unit.

After lunch that day, Elizabeth and the chief met back at the office. They had a locomotive and a telegraphy trainer, but they weren't sure how they would get fuel. While discussing the matter, Chief remembered J.B. Torbert, who owned a still outside of town. J.B. Torbert was the town drunk before the

ROF. However, finding himself in seventeenth-century Germany had been the motivitation for him to stay sober, one day at a time.

Chief Schwartz caught a ride with an army car out to Torbert's place after the discussion with Elizabeth. He called for J.B., but did not get a response. He saw some smoke coming out of the woods behind the trailer and walked out there, continuing to call for J.B. Torbert.

J.B. was out back tending his still. "Oh, hi, Charlie," Torbert said, "What are you doing out here?"

"Got something I'd like to talk to you about," the chief said. "You still brewing alcohol in that still of yours?"

"Yep, but only for fuel," Torbert replied. "And I've got a bunch of handyman jobs that are keeping me

busy, too."

"Would you be interested in selling your still to the army?"

"The army," Torbert exclaimed. "What does the army need a still for? And what's an old man like you

doing in the army?"

"You're now looking at Chief Warrant Officer Schwartz of the First Railway Company. We're going to build a unit that can lay track and operate a narrow gauge railroad," the Chief answered.

"Who's we and what's narrow gauge?"

"Well, we just got started yesterday. There's Lieutenant Pitre from the MPs, who will command. She's

bringing four people from the MPs and we have a brand-new clerk. Anse Hatfield is bringing his tractor along. That's what we'll use for our test locomotive. He's got three down-time German friends of his who are joining, too," replied the Chief. "Oh yes, narrow gauge. That's when the track is smaller than normal.

We're looking at something in the two-to-three foot range for a gauge. That's a lot lighter and easier to put down. Something like one of those little trains in amus.e.m.e.nt parks."

"What does she know about railroads?" asked Torbert.

"Actually, she's the one that General Jackson got the idea from. Her grandfather works on a military narrow gauge railroad in a museum up-time, so she's got some pictures. She showed me some real detail from an old videotape of her great-grandfather who actually worked on one during World War One,"

Chief Schwartz said. "And she's smart, really smart, someone who can look at something and come up with a solution where no one else can."

"Well, you're going to need someone to run this still. How about I come along with it?" Torbert asked.

"The lieutenant and I figured that's what you'd say. We'll take you, but she says if you fall off the wagon,

you're gone."

"That sounds fair," Torbert said.

"One other thing; we'll probably make a lot of use out of your handyman skills. Do you have some tools

to bring along?"

"Well, I've my hand tools, a power saw, a drill, and a couple of electric screwdrivers," Torbert said.

"That's real good. Can you have the still ready to move tomorrow morning? If you can, I'll send Anse