Railroaders' Nostalgia > Erma Lee

In early 1976 I walked into the “Wire Office” in the west end of the Santa Fe depot in Emporia, KS for the first time. I was in total awe of this relatively small room. This was where outbound train crews picked up their train orders and whatever other information pertinent to their upcoming shifts. Even as a greenhorn railfan I had learned I could copy down near-future train information from the line-ups which were posted and regularly updated. And right out the door were the West & Eastbound mainline tracks where crews traded trains back & forth. Depending of course, on their direction of travel. The wire office was also where crews from trains originating & terminating out in Emporia Yard came on & went off duty. This office in the Emporia depot was literally the beating heart of operations for Santa Fe road crews, both Eastern & Middle divisions.

I don’t recall if it was on this initial entry into the wire office that I first saw train order operator Erma Lee Steeley. But I soon came to recognize her stern countenance from behind the counter where trains orders, line-ups and all sorts of other necessary information was dispensed. She had enough seniority to hold the prime daylight, Monday-Friday trick. And in my eyes she was the absolute epitome of a veteran Santa Fe train order operator! It didn’t take an observer very long to realize that she was all-business at her job. From that point on, right through my getting hired into train service in 1978 thru the 1987 end of my stint with Santa Fe I had total respect and admiration for Erma Lee.

I’m incredibly grateful I had the presence of mind to shoot a few slides of her at work. I regret that I never did shoot a pic of her sitting behind the counter. But I did get a few shots of her outside the wire office hanging train orders for outbound trains. I also got her hanging orders for tardy Amtrak trains.

Fast-forward to Wednesday just past. I drove to an informal dinner at the Hays House in Council Grove, KS. In attendance were several of my fellow Middle Division train & engine men, all now retired. Also there were a handful of Eastern Division men such as switchmen, operators & clerks. We all knew each other by virtue of having the Emporia, KS crew-change terminal in common. I sat next to Dale Brecht who in those days barely had enough seniority to hang onto a 3rd trick operator’s job. In our working days I never knew he was a railfan. I only found out by bumping into him 10+ years ago at a formal Middle Division reunion picnic which we have every September in Emporia. As a fellow railfan Dale is more of a collector, rather than a photographer. And at that picnic he showed me a SFe sign he had acquired, and wanted to know if I knew anything about it. I did not, so I shot a pic of it and found an answer here on TO: ( I've NEVER seen one of these before! ).

It was great fun talking with Dale again, along with a couple of other rails sitting in our corner of the table. It was through Dale I heard that the long-retired Erma Lee had recently passed away. It was a very sad moment for me, and I immediately remembered so many times seeing her at work behind that counter in the Wire Office. She was a classic, who will be missed by everyone.

May I introduce you to the late AT&SF train order operator Erma Lee Steeley:

1. There she is hanging orders for Amtrak’s super-late #3, the westbound “Southwest Limited” on February 20, 1978.

2. I’m only about 98% sure this is Erma Lee on the platform. I tossed this shot in because that’s my late fellow KS Gangster & fellow Middle Division brakie Dave Franz ( My brother, Dave ) in the shot. This was on January 3, 1979 during the great Midwestern blizzard that severely crippled Amtrak’s LDT operation during early 1979.

3. Now handing off orders to an Emporia-based local (#1292?) crew leaving town via the Eastbound Yard lead on May 14, 1981.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 11/26/24 11:59 by santafe199.

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4. Again, hanging orders for the Southwest Limited. This time it’s late eastbound train #4 on September 30, 1981.

5. & 6. A couple of scenes inside the Wire Office in March of 1977 & on November 25, 1977 respectively. I believe I’ve previously posted both of these images.

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Again, we fast-forward to September of 2015 at a formal Middle Division reunion picnic. I was very pleased to be able to send Erma Lee copies of all of this thread’s images... :^)

7. 8. & 9. The retired (and now late) Erma Lee Steeley & retired (also now late) Eastern Division Chief Dispatcher Ray Polley are in a joyous reunion at our Middle Division picnic on September 12, 2015. I was almost embarrassed to be intruding with my nosy camera. But these were shots that HAD to be taken!
ALL photos taken in Emporia, KS.

Thank-you so much for looking & reading!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

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Nice shots and commentary Lance...I remember her as well...a real pro at what she did and was always pleasant to talk to. I wish I had taken more shots of the places and people when I had the chance.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/24 11:24 by atsfer.

Lance, thank you for the pics and story of Sister Erma.  Over the long years I was fortunate to meet a number of special ladies who were train order operators and agent-operators.  They did their jobs well, and some still did telegraphy too.  I was tickled and proud when my wife had to qualify as a train order operator.  It was nostalgic watching her run out of the station to fork up orders and waybills by hand to trains and watch her struggle with the high speed train order bracket.

A touching photo essay and background story of Erma.  It truly is the people that make the railroad.

A very well done post. Thanks for the look back and hstory.I can relate because I took a lot of pictures too ,but never enough. Bill Webb

Lance ,was this the lady that Tony Fey mentioned visiting on his off days when he worked for the MP? I remember a story he wrote in CTC Board Magazine a long time ago explaining his rail career.

Posted from Android

Spirit-ofTheConrail7 Wrote: > … was this the lady that Tony Fey mentioned …

It could be, but I really don’t know. Tony attended Emporia State in the early 70s so he had ample opportunity to get to know who she was. Add when he was working for the Mop his trips to & from visiting his folks in Newton always went through Emporia…

Posted from iPhone

Very cool. Nice look back at some of the people that we all worked with that made the railroad go.
JB

Bravo!

Bob Wilcox
Charlottesville, VA
My Flickr Shots

I wish I had taken more pictures of everything, people, places, etc.

Now the FRA and the Carrier’s have made sure it’s hard to take any photos. Just have to know the details of the rules.

So many great people have pulled the pin, and I go to too many damn funerals now. Not enough pictures of them.

Keep on taking them photos, brother!

Regards

Posted from iPhone

Very enjoyable series!!

Larry

Great story and a very nice tribute to Erma! 

I might have missed it mentioned,but does anyone know when Erma Lee established her senority?

ts1457 Wrote: > … does anyone know when Erma Lee established her seniority?

I really don’t know, but I would assume it was in the mid-late 50s…

Posted from iPhone

Thanks Lance. I forgot about Fey stopping in Emporia a lot.

Posted from Android

Very Enjoyable story and photos Lance!

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA

That sign in photo 5 says it all.  Long before phony "mission statements".
"People expect the best of the Santa Fe"

Also like the sign about not disturbing the busy operator.

And "YOU are responsible for your own safety".
 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/24 15:51 by Englewood.

Drknow Wrote:
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> I wish I had taken more pictures of everything,
> people, places, etc.
>


So much would always be there

. . . then it wasn't.

TAW