Railroaders' Nostalgia > 1960 SP Coast Division Seniority Rosters

I've placed the following seniority rosters online as part of the Ernie Kiesel SP photo collection, as well as my personal SP RRers' Pages. John Signor was kind enough to loan them to me for scanning. They came from a timebook kept by Engineer C.A. McCarron, a F 1941/E 1951 man who was then running passenger trains between SLO and Santa Barbara. They're otherwise not yet linked to my site, so you're getting the first look. Even though I am a comparative baby to most of you SPers, I nevertheless recognize a lot of those names.

1960 engineers, firemen, hostlers, hostler helpers
1960 yardmasters, yardmen, conductors, brakemen, switch tenders
1960 Santa Maria Valley

I'll next be placing 1925 SP statewide roster for all the above crafts online, also courtesy of John.

Re the Kiesel photos, I'm just about ready to place two parts online: 1) retirement and last run related photos (late 1930's -early 1960's) and 2) the most recently recorded photos in the collection, ca. 1950-1970. It's slow going, but very gratifying.

EO

Interesting. There are a lot of names I recognize, and many whom I worked with in my days as a switchman in SF, one of the oldest being L. E. Goldberg (4-28-1941). I can recall Senator Claghorn (E. V. Smith) talking about Dollarhide (6-17-20), who he spoke of as "the last of the 1920s scabs". I didn't realize Big Daddy (J. F. Bays) had a 1948 Coast switching date.

Thanks. There are a lot of guys I worked with. I have a roster from 1955 and 1976. and it really takes you back. 


Thanks Again,


Nudge

EtoinShrdlu Wrote:
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> Interesting. There are a lot of names I recognize,
> and many whom I worked with in my days as a
> switchman in SF, one of the oldest being L. E.
> Goldberg (4-28-1941). I can recall Senator
> Claghorn (E. V. Smith) talking about Dollarhide
> (6-17-20), who he spoke of as "the last of the
> 1920s scabs". I didn't realize Big Daddy (J. F.
> Bays) had a 1948 Coast switching date.

Big Daddy's cohort down in San Jose, George Myers was also a switchman with a '52 date. I believe that the senior switchman in San Jose when I worked there in '78-'79 was Charlie Dresser, a '43 man ( the "real" seniority was in San Francisco). He was well past retirement age, but fathered a kid late in life, who was then piling up college bills.

The #1 yardman in 1960, EW Fanning, was the grandfather of Jim Fanning, a 1960's-2000's trainman for SP/Caltrain. Jim's father, another switchman, was an L.A. Division Asst. Supt., I think, and was #1 overall in an 1978 yardman's roster that I'll post at some point. His uncle was a Coast switchman, as well.

Beyond Fanning, there are a considerable number of reoccuring last names in the 1925-1978 Coast rosters that I possess, confirming what we all know: Swain (I worked with 4 of them), Kadlubowski (3), Buller, Titus, Loftin, Adams, Lawson, Lipford Brothers, Snyder, Keogh (I believe Dick's grandfather was an 1888 man), Peacock...and on... and on.

EO

Titus, Forrest and Don were multi - generational? 

Sphogger

sphogger Wrote:
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> Titus, Forrest and Don were multi -
> generational? 
>
> Sphogger

Yeah, without looking it up, I think their dad hired out around 1920. Then there's Cecconi, Isham, Balentine...

Yes Ralph Fanning was a switchman and later a Asst. Term Superintendent.  better know as rotten Ralph for his demeanor.  hogheaded Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> EtoinShrdlu Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Interesting. There are a lot of names I
> recognize,
> > and many whom I worked with in my days as a
> > switchman in SF, one of the oldest being L. E.
> > Goldberg (4-28-1941). I can recall Senator
> > Claghorn (E. V. Smith) talking about Dollarhide
> > (6-17-20), who he spoke of as "the last of the
> > 1920s scabs". I didn't realize Big Daddy (J. F.
> > Bays) had a 1948 Coast switching date.
>
> Big Daddy's cohort down in San Jose, George Myers
> was also a switchman with a '52 date. I believe
> that the senior switchman in San Jose when I
> worked there in '78-'79 was Charlie Dresser, a '43
> man ( the "real" seniority was in San Francisco).
> He was well past retirement age, but fathered a
> kid late in life, who was then piling up college
> bills.
>
> The #1 yardman in 1960, EW Fanning, was the
> grandfather of Jim Fanning, a 1960's-2000's
> trainman for SP/Caltrain. Jim's father, another
> switchman, was an L.A. Division Asst. Supt., I
> think, and was #1 overall in an 1978 yardman's
> roster that I'll post at some point. His uncle was
> a Coast switchman, as well.
>
> Beyond Fanning, there are a considerable number of
> reoccuring last names in the 1925-1978 Coast
> rosters that I possess, confirming what we all
> know: Swain (I worked with 4 of them), Kadlubowski
> (3), Buller, Titus, Loftin, Adams, Lawson, Lipford
> Brothers, Snyder, Keogh (I believe Dick's
> grandfather was an 1888 man), Peacock...and on...
> and on.
>
> EO

SanJoaquinEngr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes Ralph Fanning was a switchman and later a
> Asst. Term Superintendent.  better know as rotten
> Ralph for his demeanor. 

Ralph was Jim's uncle. Must have been a family characteristic. Jim himself was (he passed away recently, I understand) the nicest guy in the world, but if he got a drink in him, watch out! I really mean WATCH OUT. About 25 years ago he single-handedly flattened two Los Gatos cops in a bar. In our younger SP years, I had occasional after work drinks with him, but always left when his personalty began to turn, which wasn't always.

As a kid, Jim was a wrestler for Los Gatos High and I once saw him take apart my own school's top wrestler. He went to the state championships, I think. Even in his later years he was built like a brick outhouse, but once age set in, the police got their figurative revenge. By then Jim was living in Gilroy and had had several drinking-related scrapes with the law. After a long, mysterious absence from work (not the first, BTW), Jim finally showed up to work sproting gashes and bruises all over his body. He claimed he was mugged. He was, by the local police, according to another Gilroy RR guy. Jim was found in a heap in an alley and almost died, supposedly.

At about age 60, Jim bought a Harley and we all figured that he was a goner, what with his drinking. He worked well past retirement age to pay the thing off, and apparently died due to a hard life. A real tragic story. When he was right, he was as good a guy as you'd ever find. Charlie Miller, our Superintendent, saw Jim the same way, and bent over backwards to get Jim help every time issues arose. Any other RR manager would have dumped him in the trash. I should note the obvious, that Charlie is a prince of a guy.

EO