About the Author J. D. Santucci (a.k.a. "Tuch") began his railroading career in 1978 as a trainman on the Missouri Pacific. After a round of lay-offs in 1985, Tuch embarked on a railroad odyssey, working in many different situations for different roads. This column tries to explain some of the nuts and bolts of the job and also demonstrates what we have to deal with on a regular basis within and without the industry. Tuch currently works through freights out of Chicago for Canadian National/Illinois Central. ©1999, 2003-2007 JD Santucci. Logo ©2002 The Railroad Network. By J.D. Santucci

September 14, 2003
Before we dive into this week’s column, an update on the job changes and where I landed. Virtually all of the jobs were changed around at Markham effective 4 September. When all was said and done, I wound up on a yard assignment; the south end pull down job. We work the south end of Markham coupling up tracks and swinging them over between A Yard and F Yard. I'm lacking the whiskers (seniority) to hold the road right now on a regular basis. I presently go to work Wednesday through Monday at noon, ya noon. I have Tuesday off. I guess if there is any consolation, I am working out of Markham which is only 21 miles from home, so the beautiful bride will get to see me everyday instead of every other day and have me home every night. Although if it is like this past Sunday night, my arrival home was not until nearly 0100 as we went dead and made tow in time to boot. After having me around far more than I have been in years, I’m sure that in short order she’ll be asking me when I am going back on the road as I am pretty certain I’ll be driving her nuts.

And now on with the show.

I had actually planned this particular column before the event of which I am writing took place. When I found out about it and decided to attend, I felt that it would make for interesting reading. It would also be a thank you of sorts and a tribute to some great railroaders.

On 31 July, 2003, I had the honor and privilege of attending the first ever reunion luncheon of the C&EI/Missouri Pacific Chicago Terminal employees. This informal group actually considers themselves the C&EI Retirees and neither MoPac nor Union Pacific are mentioned. Now the MoPac took over the C&EI in 1967 and the C&EI as a corporate entity actually lasted into October 1976. Even though the order of progression had the property become the Missouri Pacific and later Union Pacific, the place is still commonly referred to as the C&EI. And for those not from these parts, the proper way to say this is “the SeeNeeEye." The reunion was held at Tiebel’s Restaurant, a tradition itself here in Northwest Indiana that almost goes back to the dawn of time. Sixty-four former or current railroaders of C&EI/MoPac heritage were in attendance including yours truly. Some brought spouses or girlfriends as well. I brought the beautiful bride along with me.

As it would happen, it was the beautiful bride’s birthday this day, but she still saw fit to attend with me. I guess perhaps she was looking to hear a few stories about me that I won’t ever tell her on my own. If she heard anything good (or bad), she hasn’t let on yet. And being that she hasn’t thrown me out or left, I’m guessing what she might have heard wasn’t too bad, or at least won’t hold up in court anyway.

The C&EI group does meet in an informal forum once a month. It is usually a much smaller attendance, normally twenty to thirty some folks getting together over breakfast on the last Thursday of each month at another restaurant down the road from where we had this day’s reunion. The gang has been meeting for breakies for several years now. It started out rather small, but has grown into a larger gathering over the years. On several occasions I have been able to join them, share memories and catch up on what we have been doing and where we have been. The luncheon reunion was the first attempt to make it a more formal event. Now we didn’t do the black tie thing here. After all, we are railroaders; formal attire for us is usually reserved for weddings and funerals. What I mean was that this affair was in a more formal venue with a nice plate meal in a banquet room complete with such amenities as cloth tablecloths and napkins. And of course, the requisite bar. What railroad function would be complete without liquid libation being made available?

The idea of the more formal affair was the brainchild of Jason “Jason Oscar” Simmons. Jason had suggested that perhaps we could do a luncheon, planned well in advance so that many of the old gang that has moved out of the region would have a chance be able to attend. The idea was to plan the affair far enough in advance and get the invites out to everybody so that they could make arrangements to come back into town to attend.

The lovely and talented Peggy Schaeffer accepted the formidable task of getting a plan drawn up. She created an invite, printed up a bunch of them and sent them out by mail or handed them out directly to the folks that showed up at the breakfast gatherings. Money was collected and the final count set. Jason Oscar sent out e-mails with updates and a final count of how many were going to attend this little soiree.

To show you how life truly does come and go around, Peggy was a part of my childhood life (not like I’ve really grown up since). When I was younger, well make that much younger, Peggy and my Aunt Jean were best of friends. One might compare them to Lucy and Ethel, or perhaps even Laverne and Shirley. Although I cannot picture the two of them hopping down the street chanting the little rhyme “Schlemiel, Schlemassel, Hausenfeffer Incorporated.” But you just never know. When my aunt and uncle moved out of the region, I lost contact with Peggy. However, when I hired on at the MoPac, Peggy and I were able to meet up again and then catch up on what had transpired over the years. Notice that I am being careful not to make any concise indications of ages or years. I certainly don’t need yet another woman upset with me. Although if she desires to attempt to get even with me and settle the score, Peggy would have to get on a very long waiting list. It’s that way I have with women.

I was actually pretty excited about this affair. I was really looking forward to seeing these people again. They were all an important part of my life and my railroad career. They were also folks I considered friends and friends that I wanted the beautiful bride to meet. She was amused by my excitement.

They day and time came and we made the short trip to Tiebel’s, which is only a few miles from our house. As we walked in, I recognized a few faces right away. A few others I knew I knew, but couldn’t recall the names. I hate it when that happens. Fortunately for us, this dilemma was recognized and considered well in advance. Name tags were printed up for all of us, including the spouses. So as I exchanged greetings with some, there was the subtle or sometimes, not so subtle look at the name tags to give the old memory a jump start. Although it is not always the memory playing tricks; most of us have changed a bit. Some have increased their weight, others have shed some, and some rid themselves of hair while still others changed the color of it.

One of the guys I met up with even before we walked into the room was Glenn “Brother” Nielson. He knew me right away but I had a little brain freeze. As soon as he said his name I responded with his well known line, “Is that you coughin’?” He broke into a big laugh and got a kick out of the fact that I remembered. This was a running joke for years as Glenn would make this comment over the radio or face to face. As a joke to inspire him to say it, I would often just cough over the radio to solicit his response.

As we entered the room and picked up our name tags, I looked around and saw quite the crowd. A very nice display was created that depicted several of the C&EI logos used over the years including the final “buzz saw” emblem created after Missouri Pacific took control. You can take a look at two of the emblems at http://mo-pac.com/tuch_chicagosub_1.html. There were several photo albums with pictures that captured years of the Chicago Terminal in C&EI, MoPac and Union Pacific days. Carl “Shoes” Hinderer put together a CD-ROM of photos he had collected over the years and had them playing in a slide show using his lap top. Carl also burned copies of this disk for everybody. There were also several models of C&EI locomotives on display as well. A card was placed for everybody to sign wishing well to one of our comrades that is having some serious health problems and unable to attend. More on that in a bit.

In scanning the crowd I saw the room was full of people with names like Slippery, Muffy, the Clip, the Polish Prince, Pup, Harker, Liver Sausage, Bright Eyes, Bullet, Gorgeous George, Sea Horse, Uncle Darryl, Running Bear, Shoes, Arky, Shakey Bob, Yakamoto, Mammy, Coop, Swinging Bill and Wolfie. There were others in attendance as well, but not everybody had a nickname, or a nickname that would necessarily be polite to print here in our little family oriented forum. Some of you will recall the piece I did several years ago “What’s in a Name” in which I discussed nicknames and how many of them came to be. Most of these guys were the inspiration for that column.

While I have seen some of these people periodically since I departed the MoPac, I hadn’t seen some of them in years, a few of them in almost twenty years. There was a couple with whom I only worked with a few times before they retired and they really didn’t recall me, but I remembered them. Shows what kind of impression they made upon me.

There was a large cross section of railroaders in attendance representing most of the departments; Transportation, Clerical, Mechanical and Engineering. There were several former supervisors including the Special Assistant to the Superintendent and one of the Claim Agents. One of the current supervisors, a guy that was both a Yardmaster and a Conductor in my days there was also present. While the majority of the group are retirees, there some that are still working. A few others on hand while not retirement age have had their careers cut short by on the job injuries. They are collecting disability instead of being able to work. Unfortunately for them, they are proof that despite all the advancements in safety, the railroad can be and still is a dangerous place to work.

I decided to do a little unscientific survey amongst the group and asked how many years total railroad time each person had accumulated. A couple did slip through the cracks so to speak and left before I could ask them, but I did manage to get responses from fifty-seven of the attendees. Including me, there was a total of 2125 years of accumulated railroad service gathered together in that room. That is a tremendous amount of experience. And with that experience, a tremendous amount of stories, experiences and episodes to recollect; and recollect we did. Now granted, not everybody had that much time in at the C&EI/MoPac/UP. There are several including me that have worked for more than one railroad. Also, several of them that had all their time in at the C&EI and its successors worked in more than one craft over the course of their careers. Many of the Engineers had also been Trainmen prior to their transfer to engine service. One of them had been a Laborer at the roundhouse prior to going into engine service. And there was at least one Clerk who became a Trainman. Those that were supervisors of some sort came out of the ranks as well, with several of them having been Clerks prior to their advancements.

While most of the folks averaged somewhere in the range of mid 30’s for years of experience, there was one in attendance that had 46 total years, two with 44 years, several others with 43 years and eleven with 40 or more years. The average of all the folks in attendance was 36.6 years.

The beautiful bride and I mingled about and I introduced her to many of the people that taught and trained me in the infancy and then early development years of my railroad career. These folks were all, in one way or another, the ones that nurtured and mentored me. It was very special for me to see them all again and to have the beautiful bride meet them. They were the people directly responsible for laying the groundwork and foundation that made me the railroader that I am today.

A bit more on what goes around comes around. Way back when I was a really little kid, we had some neighbors, the Earls that lived around the corner from us. They had a couple of sons that were about my age, Kenny and Kevin. We were friends and we frequently played together along with the other kids in the neighborhood. The Earl’s moved away and then later we moved away. I didn’t see them for years. When I started on the railroad, I met up with one of the Earl kids again, Kevin. He remembered me and I remembered him and we rekindled an old friendship. Eventually his mother Joyce wound up marrying another fellow railroader, Dave “Mammy” Zdych. Many of us from the railroad attended that affair. We had quite the time and I still talk about it with some old railroad friends.

Also when I was a little kid and then later on a little bigger of a kid, I was a scout. First I was a Cub Scout and then a Boy Scout. I was not your typical scout though; I had hooked up with a few others that had the same warped and demented sense of humor as I. We were not exactly the poster children for scouting. We had a slogan somewhat different than that of the Boy Scouts of America. It went, “On my honor, to do my best, to help girl scouts to get undressed.” Probably explains why the Scouts have never asked me to speak to any of their troops.

Anyway, as a Cub Scout I belonged to a troop that was sponsored by my church. Boys from our church as well as from around the region were part of our group. One of the den mothers who was also a parent of one of my fellow scouts and classmates, was a woman named MaryEthel Swing. She was my den mother for a time. The Swings moved to another town nearby, but not close enough to stay part of our scout troop. Needless to say, we lost contact.

Time passed and when I got older and went to work for the railroad, I saw the name Billy Swing listed on seniority lists and heard his name mentioned frequently. Billy was the Yardmaster at 37th Street Yard in Chicago. The first time I got a chance to meet him and talk with him, I asked if he was the same one who used to be part of our church and if his wife and son were involved in our scout troop. He said he and his family were indeed that very family. So we were able to catch up a bit and he said he would mention me to his wife.

In ensuing conversations with Billy, he told of his wife recalling those days with the scouts and remembering me as a little kid. Of course he didn’t say if she remembered me for being the holy little terror that I was or what, but that she did remember.

So now many years later at this reunion luncheon, Billy comes and gets me and brings me over to see MaryEthel. She knew me right away and we hugged and talked. We joked about the scouting days and I told her that scouting made me what I am today, which again, explains why the BSA has never once asked me to speak or make a presentation to any of their troops. I introduced her to the beautiful bride and they wound up engaged in some lengthy conversation while I was milling about.

A great thing about the beautiful bride is that she can be at ease almost anywhere. She doesn’t need to be hanging onto me when we go to a party or social event. Conversation comes easy to her and she can make friends with just about anybody. At one point while I was off getting us drinks, I was detracted by some of the old gang and didn’t make it back over to her for a bit. When I finally did return, there she was sitting with some of the wives and some of the other railroad women engaged in conversation and carrying on like she has known them for years.

As the afternoon progressed, someone (though I cannot recall who now) went to the podium and made a few remarks about Jimmy “the Clip” McLeod. The Clip was sort of a good will ambassador. Whenever somebody got hurt or sick, there was Jimmy collecting money to send to that individual along with a get well card. He would solicit funds and tell you to “feed the clip”, the money clip he used when collecting. Jimmy was thanked for years of remembering those who were in need while off work.

Being that we are all railroaders, even though many in the room have been long retired, we still have a common bond of sharing good times over a cold beer. So the bartender was kept busy. At one point, even Myron “Monk” Guthrie bought a round of drinks. We all laughed and made it known that Monk was finally picking up a round, which got quite the response.

A little later, Jake Pruitt got up and made some comments. He thanked all of the men and women of the C&EI for being there to teach him and for being the inspiration for him to succeed and be the best he could be. It was quite touching.

Jake and I used to have a gag we did back and forth on the radio whenever we were both at work at the same time. You might recall the characters Bob and Doug McKenzie of television’s, SCTV, the cinema’s Strange Brew, and the record The Great White North Album. Bob and Doug used to open their sketch on SCTV with a bird call. Jake and I used to do this bird call back and forth on the radio. When I saw him, the first thing I did was part of that bird call. Jake immediately responded with the second portion of it, just like on the TV show. Now I haven’t seen Jake in ten years at least. Some things just never change. And in still another bit of what goes around comes around, I used to work with Jake’s wife for a couple of years or so before I started on the railroad.

While we were all very pleased with the turnout, there were a few notable faces missing. Several have passed on. A few of them like Doyce Pittman, Ronnie Hollingsworth and Lester “Sugar” Sloan did not make it to their retirement. They passed before they reached the opportunity to enjoy their golden years. A few others have passed since they have retired and they too, were missed. One of them was Howard Hanna, the man I considered my greatest mentor while I was a Student Engineer.

A few others were unable to attend owing to serious health problems. Bill Woodward, also know as “Woody” or “Wooying” has been setback with some serious problems and thus, was unable to attend. Woody was sorely missed. His quick wit, great sense of humor and very friendly personality would have added still more to this affair. The card I mentioned earlier was signed by all to be sent to him as we all wanted to wish him well.

Bud Pruitt, who was the Terminal Engineer for Maintenance of Way and also the father of Jake, was also unable to attend owing to health problems. And word came just recently of Bud’s passing. We send out our condolences to Jake and his family. May Bud rest in peace.

WC “Woody” Howard was also absent. “Dubbuyuhcee” as I always called him is now in a nursing home. I fired for WC numerous times in my years at the MoPac. Quit the character he was and this made it fun and interesting to work with him.

I took the podium for a moment to thank everybody for attending. Many came from quite the distance including their retirement homes in Florida to attend. Others while still in the Midwest were no longer in the region, so they also had to make a bit of a journey. I thanked Jason Oscar for suggesting the idea of a luncheon reunion and also Peggy Schaeffer for her tireless efforts to put it all together and we gave them all a big hand.

What I didn’t do was to make a nice speech like Jake did to thank all of the folks at this affair for their efforts. I had planned on saving that for this forum.

In the nearly six and a half years I spent at the MoPac, I had the opportunity to learn a tremendous amount about railroading from some tremendous people. I learned something from everybody. In my time there, I used to kid a few of them saying that what I learned from them was what NOT to do in certain situations. Everybody was willing to try to teach me something. They all wanted not only me, but all of the new hires to be able to perform our duties to the best of our abilities and do so safely. They were looking out for us in more ways than we really understood or perhaps appreciated at that time. And for that along with all of the fun and good times we had, I wish to extend my thanks to each and every one of them. To quote a line that Jake Pruitt mentioned in his speech;

“Is it nature, or nurture?”

And so it goes.

Tuch

A couple of post scripts; I will be on vacation this coming week. Today (14th) the beautiful bride and I will celebrate our wedding anniversary; 17 years; in a row. “Whodda thunk it?” I even marked off for the day. When I called the Caller and told her I was marking off she said, "YOU?" Ya, I still don't mark off that much, although I do it far more often than I used to. We did our fun vacation back in February when we went to North Carolina, so it’s going to be a stay close to home one this time. I have plenty to do around here and we are going to do a few day trip events. It is very likely that I will not be cranking out a Hot Times column for this week.

There is another reunion luncheon scheduled for next July, the 29th to be exact. And unless I am dead, I will be there again. Like this year, I'll mark off for it.