How some people made their money

[Timbermcpherson]

Best story I heard as about a guy who worked for the railway in Louisiana post ww2. He had a buddy who worked in a foundry that made the 16 inch barrels for guns for battleships, who was involved in dismantling it all as the carrier era meant no need for the battleships. The foundry included a bunch of barrels made for ships that were not to be built. They were all destined for scrap. 

 The railroad had a deal with its staff that they could take anything they wanted destined for scrap providing the either paid the scrap value or exchanged it for the same weight in other scrap. And scrap value post war was low, they were moving half build tanks, new artillery pieces, aircraft, everything you can imagine. They were even scrapping the rail wagons because there were to many for foreseeable demand that were meant to end up in the war in europe. 

 So the railroad worker acquired several dozen of these barrels, (each about 20m long) and was able to secure storage for them and he waited. 

The Korean war came up, and the outdated 16 inch guns were used to great effect against ground tagets, to the point of wearing out barrels so the Navy tender went out for replacement barrels. (and they aint cheap)

And his very competitive tender was how he never had to work a day in his life again.

So years went by, the remaining barrels stayed in storage, the family had all the money it needed and it seemed there was never going to be a use for the rest of the barrels

 

Vietnam meant the next 2 generations never had to work again.