Railroaders' Nostalgia > Your Favorite Part of Your Railroad Career

Well it will be going on 5 years since I did the retirement thing, so I guess I am starting to grow just a few whiskers, very few at this point, on the retirement seniority list. That gives a little time and space for reflection on the past. As a kid I lived and breathed to grow up and become a locomotive engineer.

I started my first Railroad Retirement paycheck at Age 19 as a track laborer and at 20 hired out as a brakeman. Both of those employments were short as can be, but they got me established in the door. Eventually I was a shop laborer at age 25, then a brakeman again a few years later, but mostly in those years I worked and did whatever I had to do to earn a living and begin supporting a family, mostly in the hotel business or retail hardware among other things. Trying to break into the industry in the late 1970's and early 1980's was a challenge not without pitfalls and insecurities, at least in my neck of the woods and world. Finally it was back to a shop laborer, and then starting up the ladder for good. Shop Manager, Administration, General Manager of a Tourist Railroad, locomotive engineer, conductor, Supervisor of Locomotive Engineers, Dispatcher, Rules Examiner, a stint in purchasing, finance, due diligence team, more shop management, and several rounds of consulting, mostly in mechanical and engineering disciplines. You know consultants, they are the guys who can lead you astray with confidence !  Seriously, it was very diverse, challenging and fun .... mostly, and I got to work with some excellent people who I respect to the highest degree to this day. But there is always a challenge too in that, if I actually "owned" that problem, department or issue could I really produce the results I profess in theory as a consultant ? It was always an internal challlenge. I think ultimately my answer is yes, which derives some degree of satisfaction. For a number of years I swung back and forth between cosultancy and direct railroad emloyment full time "in the trenches".  I enjoyed both, the diversity of consulting as you never knew what was going to come down the road, and in the trenches as that was the ultimate challenge of success or failure of what you thought you knew and could do. Trying to survive in railroading is not for the faint hearted.

So now I sit back and think, what did I enjoy the most? Certainly consulting was fun, but it was always someone else's project ultimately. I was a resource or assist, presumably with experience, guidance and wisdom to share. Lots of diversity and lots of travel meeting all sorts of folks at all levels and getting to know many of the industry leaders along the way on a first name basis. Cool stuff ! I found I got bored quickly with running engines. It was fun at first, but grew old on me. I liked running the old #6 non-pressure maintaining brake on a long grade watching the watch and timing off the miles and leakage, especially on a manual shift locomotive like the old RS-3's. Running more modern power with 26 brake and automatic transition felt like driving an automatic transmission car after years of driving a stick shift; something was missing. Given my druthers I'd prefer to work the ground as a Conductor, even in bad weather, but there was something about being an engineer when you made that "magical run" when everything went right that always drew you back to get that high once again.

I was heavily involved with locomotive shop operation and locomotive maintenance management over the years. That was more fun to me than the running trades and operations, but although there were certainly levels of complexity, especially with integrated electronics, software and PTC in recent years, it didn't have much depth for me and largely confined me to the four walls of the shop pretty much. My earlier days got me out on call as a troubleshooter, but that was when I was younger, riding trains all night and sleeping on the 2nd unit or on the cab floor as need be fighting to keep those locomotive revenue ton-miles in motion. To this day I detest even the memory of the sound of a locomotive alarm bell.

I think my favorite thing overall in my career was MofW / Engineering. Track, signals, bridges, buildings, grade crossings, lots of 49CFR Federal FRA Regs, a diverse set of environmental factors with mother nature (blizzards, washouts, storms, cold, heat patrol, etc.) and miles and miles of territory ..... outdoors, not confined to four walls. Especially fun when resurrecting an old "abandoned" line or when catastrophic damage from mother nature hit.. it made the blood pump. As years went by I still retained my locomotive engineer's certification, but as those years went by more and more of my core job demanded certifications; Track Inspection, CWR, Safety, Mechanical, PTC, Drug & Alcohol, Operations Audits, Rules, Accident Investigation, etc. Finding time and place to run engines as an engineer and complying with the three year Part 240 cycle of rules, airbrake mechanical, check rides, operating time, etc. I had to let it go. My last run was July 4, 2013 and I wondered if I would miss it. I dont. If anything after this time of reflection I miss all the people I worked with, the good times, camaraderie and I miss the challenges of mother nature.  I posted a little story in the Railroader's Nostalgia section a few years ago about the Blizzard of 2020 near the end of my career - https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?18,5533117,5534518#msg-5534518

And one on hiring out - https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?18,5892031

Another one from Alaska RR days - SHUT IT DOWN !   - https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?18,5600566

I was lucky in that for most of my working life I was primarily my own boss and called my own shots. Probably good as I am harder on myself than any boss ever could be. But I had fun, it was the adventure of a lifetime, not without some high prices to pay and downright hard work and heartache, but worth it as I look back.

So for the retired rails out there, what has been your favroite part of your career, other than that montly RRB check or other retirement you now get ?
What were your good times ? Short termers, career railroaders or associated industry folks.
 



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 03/02/26 08:35 by train1275.

My time as Market Manager Cemicals at the Nortwestern.  Over 37 years I worked in sales and marketing at the SOU, Rock Island Lines, Nortwestern, SP and UP..

Bob Wilcox
Charlottesville, VA
My Flickr Shots

I have so many fond memories to pick from! But just minutes ago I described one of my favorite times from early in my career. See my reply here:
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,6146023 .

Lance

Mine started just in the nick of time, twenty nine years old, MAY 1978. Working in train service in the Los Angeles area under local management that was very employee friendly. Being a large terminal, Los Angeles offered a great variety of jobs that made varying amounts of money and days off meaning when you got a little seniority you could pick and choose shifts, income and days off. I was even blessed with starting my career both on the ground and in the seat with at least five people under me to pick on. Even when Santa Fe changed to BNSF local management stayed the same. Working conditions were very good and restrictions such as no phones, inside cab cameras and such did not start until after my retirement which was JUL '09, just days over the required sixty years old for full retirement. Great people to work with, under, and conditions could not have been better IMHO. What other class one road could you stop a mile long 6,000 ton plus train for "Kodak moments" as some of my conductors used to say. It was a great career with no regrets. Approaching year seventeen, retirement is even better.
JB

Running on the Southern Pacific west side line north of Corvallis Oregon with an SD-9, 20 cars, a full crew on a warm spring day at 40 MPH.

I started in the industry in 1973 and left it in 2008. I held jobs in train service, engine service, mechanical department, track department, private locomotive shop, subcontractor to an apprasial firm as a car and locomotive inspector, and held several management postions. It's hard for me to pick a favorite part of my career! I guess I would have to say that it was the people I worked with and met throughout my time in the rail industry! I made some great friends over the years and have some great memories of working with a great cast of characters! 

Several things stick out, but most of all it was getting hired by the Willamette & Pacific and getting to work with Bob Melbo and crew.  The other highlights were getting to run old SP power, particularly the SD9s and that wonderful old SD7, number 1501 (ex-SP 5280, 270, 1401, 1530).  And gettiong qualified on the UP mainline for the run from Albany to Eugene and Salem to BNSF Vancouver.  Running the main, especially between Eugene and Albany, greens ahead, running along at track speed - 50 mph - was one of the times I really felt like I was where I belonged.  It was a good run while it lasted. Although there I times I wished I was running again, you just cannot beat Railroad Retirement; best job ever.

Getting flashed by women, tying up, and any day not at work. Otherwise it’s a hellhole and I just hope to live to retirement.

Regards

Posted from iPhone

Lots of good memories running a locomotive. Seeing the reactions of kids when you give them a couple of toots of the horn is always special. But my favorite memory is chasing a big thunderstorm across the farmlands of Illinois one warm summer evening at 79 MPH on a run from St. Louis to Chicago. We were just far enough behind it to be in sunshine, but the exhilaration of the open windows in the F40 on a muggy evening, watching the lightning show ahead, and blowing for the crossings as we blasted through the small farming communities is forever etched in my mind as one of my favorite runs.

What I liked best about being an engineer was the prepatory time in the crew room where I had captive audiences for my jokes. When you are not very funny it is vital to have that captive audience.

EO
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