Railroaders' Nostalgia > Grand Trunk in the Badlands (hoping to escape!)

On October 23, 1987 I made what was likely my next-to-last trip (maybe even my VERY last) as a conductor with the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern. I’ve since lost all of my DM&E time slips, so I can’t be 100% sure. All summer long quite a few of us DM&E train service crewmen had been watching the formation of a brand new railroad up in ‘Big Sky’ country. This new RR was, of course: Montana Rail Link, MRL for short.

All summer-long I’d had steady RR work (& a steady paycheck) for the 1st time in 6 years. But I didn’t relish the thought of spending the rest of my life working 10 MPH trains in South Dakota. I had time off already granted from DM&E, ostensibly for a trip back home to Kansas for a week. But I had my eye squarely on Missoula, MT. I literally dreamed of hiring on with this new, upstart RR!

My engineer on this trip with the GT 4139 leader was my roomie, Richard Frazier, who I had also struck up a friendship with over the summer. He was a great influence on my decision to head up to Montana. I didn’t think my prospects for getting on with MRL were very good, but he talked me into at least trying. He told me: “You never know what will happen in a start-up situation.” He was right, and I owe him a huge debt of gratitude. On our last trip together he was very understanding that I wanted to stop our train & shoot the GT leader. I think he even enjoyed me shooting these posed pics. He didn’t care, he was very disillusioned with the DM&E. He was also very homesick for his wife & family, and would be heading back to Texas in a few short weeks. After this trip he & I would part ways with me heading west and Richard heading south.

I already had my personal work record & a favorable letter of reference from my days with the Santa Fe. I packed a week’s supply of work clothes & other living items and at noon on October 26 I started what turned out to be a 16 hour drive. Montana, here I come! I left Pierre, SD and I wouldn’t arrive in Missoula until around 4:30 the next morning. I grabbed a cheap room and managed 4 short hours of sleep. I found the public library, paid to use a typewriter and ‘pecked out’ a readable resume using only 2 fingers. (I didn’t dare use more than 2, lest my speling get even wurse!) I then found my way out to MRL’s base of set-up operations: Washington Corporation headquarters on the west side of Missoula. The place was an absolute ZOO! It was a beehive of ringing telephones & people scurrying every which-way. By a miracle of chance I was able to get an interview and produce my resume. Trainmaster Tom Jones told me he liked my references and told me to “stick close by”. I was still skeptical of my chances, but in the interim I enjoyed exploring Missoula! 3 unbelievably chaotic days later I knew I would be hired, and I was pretty sure I would get good seniority. At 1500 on October 31st (Halloween afternoon) I went to work on a switch engine. I promptly faxed in my resignation to DM&E. My heartbreaking departure from employment with Santa Fe was partially healed. And I had escaped the Badlands!

So had a large group of DM&E engineers. On MRL’s 1st day of operation I counted 17 total DM&E crewmen (out of 62) on the way up to Montana, if not already on the property! I was one of only 3 conductors to come, but I was the only one to hire on that 1st day. A few of the engineers also ended up going back, but I understand DM&E had to cease running trains for a few hours. There were NO rested crews!


1. & 2. DM&E 4139 still in GT paint with train RCPR near the ghost town of Wendt, SD on October 23, 1987. My engineer, Texas native Richard Frazier is at the throttle.

Richard, my friend: THANK-YOU!
Lance Garrels, santafe199…
aka:
(former AT&SF)
(former DM&E)
(former college-bar DJ)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/14 23:03 by santafe199.

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WOW. What an interesting set of power, but an out of place GT in South Dakota!

Mike

You have to love geeps running long hood forward. Old school on the CNR/GTW/GT.

Lance, were any of those 17 DM&E crew members that boomed over to the MRL ex-Milwaukee Road "Lines West"? I seem to recall there were a couple of guys who were...or maybe my memory is faulty.

Thanks!


Allen

bradleymckay Wrote:
> were any of those 17 DM&E crew members that boomed
> over to the MRL ex-Milwaukee Road "Lines West"?

I think there may have been an older engineer (named R J Cox??) who made the jump to MRL, but he retired very shortly afterwards. There were a few prior Milwaukee guys with DM&E and of course NUMEROUS Milwaukee guys with MRL...

I'm fascinated by these "day one" war stories, Lance...Keep on telling what it was like on an upstart!
I worked with a few guys that were "on the other side" of the shortline coin--following the work at the big railroad away from their home...there were a lot of angry men, and some shenanigans, but in the end, I think everyone realized it was a business decision, and the company only thinks of you as a number...

Great story Lance

MILW86A

There was a reason that MRL = Milwaukee Road Lives! ;^D

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR