Railroaders' Nostalgia > Here's to you, Stan!

I remember the first time I ever worked with Stanley Wilson. It was my birthday: June 3, 1979. We were called out of Emporia, KS at 9:45 AM for a lowly 365 train to Arkansas City. I say lowly for a good reason: Quite a few of the regular local trains scattered around the Middle Division were treated better than the mainline 365. For example, here is our power line up: 2908, 2556, 2103, 2562 & 2677. In 1979 terms that would be: GP-9, CF-7, GP-7 [rebuild], CF-7 & GP-7. And the train was usually loaded down with close to the maximum tonnage that could be lugged between Emporia & Ark City.

On this particular trip I got to ride the rear end. For this momentous occasion, meet Santa Fe Middle Division extra-board conductor Mr S. C. (Stanley, or just plain Stan) Wilson! Stan was one of those gregarious types who rarely had anything bad to say about anyone. I found Stan to be open & friendly, and very fond of laughing & cutting up. You might think he had a devil-may-care attitude about everything, but he was a solid railroader; a man you would work with any time. We hit it off immediately.

So it’s my 24th birthday in 1979 and I’m riding Santa Fe train 365. I don’t remember the circumstances that put me aboard the waycar of train 365, but who was I to complain! Riding the waycar was generally preferable to riding the head end (unless maybe you were a railfan). My timebook show us departing Emporia @ 1045. I’m pretty sure that departure was off of Yard Track #3. The 365 almost always got a head end fill at Emporia. Our running time to Ark City wasn’t all that bad; a total of 4’ 32”. It could have been better, but it could have been a LOT worse. The head end crew (whose names now escape me) got our train yarded & tied down. They took a while to get the power to the roundhouse and a taxi ride back to the yard office. We didn’t get officially tied up until 1635, about an hour after we arrived. In a rare circumstance the head end boys chose not to go eat right away, so Stan & I made it a two-some for some supper.

In 1979 Santa Fe still put its Ark City crews up in the ancient Osage Hotel downtown at N Summit St (main drag) & Central Ave. From there we set out on foot to find our supper. I don’t recall where we ate or what we had, but afterward we decided to take a leisurely stroll around downtown Ark City. When we passed a local theater I suddenly stopped. Stan asked me “what’s up?” I asked him if he’d ever seen the flick showing on the marquee, and he replied in the negative. Having learned Stan’s penchant for laughter & a good time I told him we HAD to go in and see this movie, even if I had to pay his way in! We had plenty of time because we knew we weren’t going back to work until the next morning.

So I had talked Stan into his first experience with the zany, goofball comedy classic “Young Frankenstein”. During the movie I quickly discovered I was sitting next to someone who laughed longer & louder than any person I was ever with at the movies before or since. For nearly the entire 96” he was absolutely hysterical with laughter. Yeah, I think he kinda like the flick…

In the coming years Stan & I would work together a handful of times, no more and no less than extra board odds would dictate. But I enjoyed working with him every single time. And after early 1982, with both of us being single we would occasionally bump into each other out in the (er… um…) “social scene”. I can remember one notable night in 1983 when we were both invited to a Saturday night house party. Since our ‘social-type place’ was closing down we both accepted this invitation. A few days later we compared notes and came to the conclusion that we could both remember everything from that house party. Sorta…

For certain financial reasons I was forced to quit the Santa Fe in 1987. I ended up working the bulk of the rest of my RR career up in Montana. I never saw Stan again until a few months ago when I visited the BNSF yard office in the Topeka passenger station. I was actually looking to find another old Santa Fe crony of mine. It was early in the work day and a switch crew was going over the day’s upcoming lists & working instructions. It’s amazing (depressing?) what the aging process can do. When I walked in I barely recognized Stan and he had trouble recognizing me… until I mentioned Young Frankenstein. We started chatting away like we had parted only last week. I am very grateful to TO.com member “Santa Fe” for texting me a heads-up about Stan’s last working day & retirement party (Sept 3). It was a no-brainer for me to be there to see my friend & fellow Santa Fe train serviceman reach the Golden Years. Here’s to you Stan! Enjoy your retirement, my friend. It will be the best job you’ll ever have…

1. I’m shooting over Stan’s shoulder as we have a mutual rolling inspection in progress at Cassoday, KS. It’s my 24th birthday: June 3, 1979.

2. After the roll by in image #1 we got back into westward motion and I talked the young & debonair S C Wilson into posing for my camera. I believe he told me he has the framed 8 x 10 print of this slide still mounted on one of his walls at home…

3. Stan (in the cowboy hat & sunglasses) & I were part of a Santa Fe pile-drivin’ work train crew up in Superior, NE on April 30, 1980.

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Fast-forward only 35 years + change…

1. BNSF engineer S. C. “Stanley” Wilson is still cutting up… his retirement cake, that is! Congrats, Stan! (Dang! That sonuvagun still has ALL his hair. Although it is a bit on the silver side… ;^)

Thanks Stan, for your friendship both on & off the rails!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

(PS: Stan paid his own way into Young Frankenstein way back in 1979. He musta been grateful ‘cause he bought me a beer or 2 in following years… ;^)

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Congratulations on your retirement!

Wonderful story!

Great story as always Lance.

It is another Lance classic !  That shot of the pile driver activity is priceless. How many shots like that 
have we seen?   Part of the RR life.

Nice to see Stan get a little coverage, I forgot he was ever that young.
 

I agree, another great story. Looks like Stan was a fan of Mork and Mindy.

Happy retirement.

Jay

I dig the 'safety orange' on the cake.
...Lorenzo

Congrats and have a long and happy retirement !
Tom