GUEST: Tennessee Valley Railroad’s Steve Freer

Link to Tennessee Valley Railroad

“Give me a hand, man. Come on!” the boys yell to each other, as they try to align the extracted rail back on the track, but it’s not seated correctly on the rail bed.

“Forget it! Forget it! Just stop the train!” shouts Homer. O’Dell, Quentin, and Homer run toward the sound of the approaching whistle, but Roy Lee heads in the opposite direction.

“Roy Lee!” yells Homer. Roy Lee turns around and follows the other boys.

Along the curve of the track, the boys see the locomotive ahead. It looks like it’s headed their way, fast.

“Stop! Stop! The track’s out!” they all yell. The whistle blows louder.

As the boys get close to the locomotive, they notice lots of missing rail pieces on the spur track. The turnout for the spur is not pointed toward the abandoned spur line. The boys pause, as the locomotive passes with a string of empty coal hoppers on the main line. The engineer waves at the boys.

“Ain’t That a Shame” by Fats Domino plays.

A montage:

* The boys rolling a wagon of steel rails to the metal shop, Homer counting money as they walk back from the metal shop.

* Mister Bolden holds up a shiny steel cylinder. “SAE 10-20 bar stock,” says Mr. Bolden.

* Quentin explains how a deLaval nozzle works. “The angle of thirty degrees is crucial. When the fuel combusts, it creates a controlled explosion. The nozzle directs a –“

In This Episode

• Jake Gyllenhall as Homer Hickam
• William Lee Scott as Roy Lee
• Chris Owen as Quentin
• Chad Lindberg as O'Dell
• Randy Stripling as Mr. Bolden
• O. Winston Link as Locomotive Engineer