Railroad Stories Archives - Page 2 of 7 - The Trackside Photographer

Posted on December 31, 2021December 31, 2021 by admin

Legacies – Living History

One of the things I regret is that I did not take the time to learn more about my family history from my parents when they were still living. Now I have a lot of questions and it is too late to ask. One of the best ways to learn about earlier times is to talk to the people who lived through them.

A while back, John Springer, who is a regular contributor the The Trackside Photographer, phoned me and said that he knew of several retired railroaders who had worked at a time when telegraphy and morse code were still in use by the railroad. A few weeks before Christmas, we had the opportunity to record a conversation with three “old-timers” and listen to their stories. This is history—living history.

Their stories are fascinating, and provide a vivid glimpse into a time when railroad operations were more akin to the 19th than to the 21st century.

Edd Fuller, Editor

Posted on October 28, 2021November 4, 2021 by admin

Moved Into Memory

Canadian Pacific was the last operator of mainline steam in the state of Maine, and also the last operator of rail passenger services until VIA Rail took over. The yard at Brownville Junction served as a mid-point between Quebec and New Brunswick, also acting as the exchange point with the Bangor and Aroostook. The town of Brownville Junction swelled around the two railroads, being a hive of activity for the movement of pulpwood, finished paper, potatoes, grain and fuel.

To accommodate the needed motive power, there were coaling and watering facilities, not to mention a large roundhouse with a metal shop and an electricians shop. Anything that required service or repair between Megantic and McAdam, whether it involved a broken tamper or butchering an unfortunate moose at trackside, fell to the men at Brownville Junction. Blackflies in the summer, sub-zero temperatures in the winter, and always in the most remote region for the season.

Posted on October 14, 2021October 21, 2021 by admin

Learning to Become an Engineer

When I was eleven years old, I was very lucky to have many engineers from the New York Central take me in the cab with them for train rides. Going east I rode the head end from North White Plains to New York City and went west as far as Chatham, New York in Duchess County. Today I can talk about it because none of the men I rode with can get fired for letting a kid in the cab. Sad to say, many of them have passed away and have gone off to Heaven where the trains never break down, all signals are clear and all the jobs work days with weekends off. Some of the jobs even pay overtime.

However, my story today is not about those men that were great to me as a kid. It’s about a special engineer that I fired for on the New Haven line. Back in 1973 I was lucky enough to be the firemen on NU-2, UN-1 with Norris Myers. We had a very good train crew. John Molyneux was the conductor, Bernie Sullivan was our head end brakeman and Eddy Sapinski was our flagman. Without a doubt they were one of the best crews I had the privilege of working with. This train crew could really make the best out of one work-horse of a job.

We reported at 8:00 P.M. at Cedar Hill engine house. We would go out and put our grip on the power and I would check out to make sure everything was ok on our three units. After a call to the yard master we would head for our train in the “departure yard.” While we were pumping air for our break test, our conductor would be making his calls. When we left, we knew just what we would do at all our stops the rest of the night. I mention this because later I worked with train crews that left much to be desired.

Posted on April 8, 2021April 15, 2021 by admin

The Quiet Easter

When you live up on a hill above the river and the city stretches out below, there’s a few sounds you get used to, like auto noise from the freeway, the scream of late night motorcycle races, planes, helicopters, trains and on Sunday mornings, the sound of church bells. There are at least half a dozen churches within hearing distance and all ring their bells on the sabbath day. Easter in 2020, of course, was very different what with most of them closed due to “the Covid” as it is known around here. No bells were heard, and an eerie silence pervaded.

Posted on March 4, 2021March 11, 2021 by admin

Cold!

The second trick operator at MO Tower wades through the knee-deep snow to take over the desk. MO didn’t last much longer. It was taken out of service by the next year.

Tuesday January 18, 1994 was forecast for frigid temperatures and there was a significant snowfall already on the ground. What better time to head up to the top of the Alleghenies at Cresson, Pennsylvania, to take a few train pictures? Listening to the radio on the drive up, the weatherman was warning people that the high that day would be negative 7 degrees. Pretty darn cold.

I bundled up in my warmest parka, heavy gloves and insulated boots. Remembering mistakes I’d made in the past, I made a mental note to rewind and finished rolls of film very slowly. The extremely dry air at that temperature could cause a lot of static between the film stock and the felt seal on the film canisters. I’d seen lots of “lightning bolts” on people’s film at the lab. Explaining what happened with someone’s vacation pictures to some completely clueless customer was not fun.

Posted on January 14, 2021January 28, 2021 by admin

A Surprise Ride on
Amtrak’s Broadway Limited

The exact date is lost, but one warm summer afternoon in 1980 I headed over to Washington Union Station from my office at the American Railroads building for an overnight ride to Chicago. A meeting of the Research Committee was scheduled for the 9:00 a.m. the next day and my attendance was mandatory. I was a little worried about taking the train knowing that it could well be late, but the Assistant Vice President of the department was a former Pennsy man and he assured me that it would be okay. Even so, the rest of the staff flew.

My train was Amtrak’s version of the famous Broadway Limited. The original Pennsylvania Railroad Broadway Limited ran from New York City to Chicago via Philadelphia. In 1980 however, there were two trains that combined at Philadelphia’s 30^th Street Station. The Washington section passengers rode forwards while the New York riders rode backwards across New Jersey.