Nostalgia & History > Learning to Become and Engineer

In 1973, John Springer was a fireman on the New Haven and worked with a special engineer who befriended him and set him on the path to becoming an engineer.

http://thetracksidephotographer.com/2021/10/14/learning-to-become-an-engineer/

Edd Fuller, Editor
The Trackside Photographer
http://thetracksidephotographer.com/

I enjoyed that story.  Thanks for posting it.  In the quiet moments when my train is stopped. I think back and remember the old head engineers that took time to explain things to me.  My favorite and the oldest was a guy named Ed Byrd.  He went firing on the Seaboard in 1920 and had over 52 years in when he brought the Silver Star into Raleigh NC for the last time in a pouring rain and retired.  He had quite a career.  He worked the Orange Blossom Special and the Silver fleet and he ran the SAL's "twin Pacific" 2-6-6-4's.  Tonite on my run, I'll think about him and the many others.  Next week I start my 51st year in engine sevice.  Maybe someday one of my firemen  or engineer trainees will remember me.

Notch7 Wrote:
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> I enjoyed that story.  Thanks for posting it. 


>Next week I start my
> 51st year in engine sevice.  Maybe someday one of
> my firemen  or engineer trainees will remember
> me.

Congratulations on 51 years.

Posted from Android

Very enjoyable story, which brings back good memories of the old railroaders that helped me.

Larry

Nice story.  At the risk of being a nitpicker, the author was working former New Haven territory on the Penn Central.  (He refers to it as the "New Haven line".)  NH disappeared into the PC on January 1, 1969.  

Dave

DavidP Wrote:
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> Nice story.  At the risk of being a nitpicker,
> the author was working former New Haven territory
> on the Penn Central.  (He refers to it as the
> "New Haven line".)  NH disappeared into the PC on
> January 1, 1969.  
>

In Chicago, when I left in 1972, there was no Penn Centrel among rails. It was not only NYC and PRR, it was
The Fort Wayne (PFW&C - Pennsy)
The Panhandle (PCC&StL - Pennsy)
SC&S (South Chicago & Southern - Pennsy)
C&IS (Chicago & Indiana Southern - NYC)
The Michigan (Michigan Central - NYC)
The Lake Shore (Lake Shore & Michigan Southern - NYC)

There was no Norfolk & Western, it was Wabash

There was no Erie-Lackawanna, it was The Erie

The Milwaukee was
The Saint Paul (Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul)
The Southeastern (Chicago, Terre Haute & Southeastern)

The Belt still crossed CM&N (Chicago, Madison, & Northern - IC) near 32d & Kilbourn

C&O was
C&O (of Indiana)
PM (Pere Marquette)

Railroaders don't (or at least didn't back then) take too well to mergers and new names.

TAW

In addition to sentiment, maybe this had to do with seniority lists not being merged right away?

Dave

DavidP Wrote:
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> In addition to sentiment, maybe this had to do
> with seniority lists not being merged right away?
>


That is indeed part of it for locations that had both of the merged railroads.

TAW