Steam & Excursion > Interviews With Former Railroaders

I'm uploading a series of interview clips I recorded years ago with retired Illinois Central men who have since passed away. I have posted them over at the Nostalgia & History board, but since the stories date from the steam era of the forties and fifties I figured I'd put links here. I'm up against the video quota at the moment, but there will be more to come.

A Messy Night On The Illinois Central
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,4383746

Curing A "Wild" Engineer
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,4383749

Locomotives Walking Off
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,4383752

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

Listened to your recordings. I think they're magical. They remind me of crew room talk in the yard offices at Proviso in the late 60s. Steam was a recent memory on the CNW, old heads abounded, and Union vs. management feelings ran hot. Although I did get called once off the Galena Board to flag on a five man crew on the Wisconsin Division (ancient wood way car, even!), firemen on the Galena were gone off everything but the scoots by then and the resentments weren't pretty. Used to work the Freeport way freight out of West Chicago. I was junior man, and had to hop off the head end at the grade crossing in Belvedere right before Chrysler, run into the bakery and pick up the sweet rolls for breakfast. Conductor made coffee in the way car and by the time we ran around the setout at the auto plant and caught the caboose, the coffee was hot and the rolls were on the table. Spring Valley way freight, Clinton jobs, the diner in the boarding house at Nelson with one of the oldest floating poker games in North America pitting Galena against Pekin men. Four tracks under water right under the big coal tower there after nearly every rain -- the plant had pretty much been done in through the Heineman years. Oh, and steam and a helluva dead line at Sterling, too. We had road and yard rights at that time, and I thought it was the best job I ever could have. But I didn't stay. Left the railroad and went on to a career writing TV commercials. The railroad never left me, though...Really brought so many stories flooding back.
Thanks!