Diann tower operator Lowell Addy watches as the flagman reaches way out to grab his running orders off the "iron man" at 50 MPH. It might appear the flagman missed his mark, but rest assured, he snagged those orders like a pro! Grabbing orders southbound at Diann had to challenging as the track was a little rough before and over the Ann Arbor Railroad diamond. I recall the entire train swayed and bounced quite a bit as it passed by the tower! Caboose 131 is former Reading 92827 and is one of five purchased by the DT&I in 1969 through an equipment broker. Built in 1932, all five were refurbished at the DT&I's Jackson, Ohio shops before being placed in service. Just in case anyone is wondering about the two upper order forks; the top one was for the engineer and the lower one was for the conductor. The DT&I was unique in that the conductor rode in the second unit and not in the caboose. This practice dates back to the steam era when Henry Ford owned the railroad and continued on after Ford sold the railroad to Pennroad, a PRR subsidiary. Old photos of DT&I steam trains almost always show a caboose directly behind the tender, which was there for the conductor.
