On my father's side of the family, I had two relatives who worked for the Missouri Pacific for many years.
My father's uncle (my great-uncle) began working for the Missouri Pacific here in Arkansas during the 1930's. My great-uncle was born and raised in Oklahoma. He was married with three kids and couldn't find a steady job in Oklahoma. So when he heard that the Missouri Pacific was hiring, he came to Arkansas and got hired as a brakeman. He worked as a brakeman for two or three years and then transferred to a locomotive mechanic job in the railroad shops here in North Little Rock because he got tired of all the traveling and spending so much time on the road away from his family. Also, my great-uncle hated having to go north during the winter because it was so cold sometimes. I remember him complaining to me how cold it was in Kansas City during the winter. When he started working at the shops, the railroad had mostly steam locomotives. When they converted to diesel locomotives after World War Two, my great-uncle learned how to work on them and repair them. My great-uncle continued to work at the railroad shops until he retired.
His oldest child, a boy, followed in his father's footsteps and became a locomotive mechanic also. My cousin worked as a locomotive mechanic at the railroad shops here in North Little Rock until he retired also.
Both of them are dead and gone now.
Last edited by fauxcelt on Sun Jun 21, 2009 9:36 am, edited 1 time in total.