by rj82much
I have been sitting back "listening to the chatter" in fascination. I am learning so much. The icing on the cake is IRN750's comments about my Dad. I had hoped that someone on these forums had remembered him. He said he hated the railroad, but I always knew that wasn't quite true. He once bought a record of steam engine sounds & I watched tears roll from his eyes while listening to it... Hmmmm, hated the railroad? It was in his blood.
In his final days, he did everything he could do to defy the new railroad rules (Conrail?). Safety glasses & hardhat really bugged him. I overheard him telling his friends how he would break them on a daily basis so that he had to work the shift without his safety equipment. I don't recall a bad word for fellow crew members. You all depended on each other, I assume. There was a union rep that he had a lot of respect for, though the name escapes me right now (Maybe Jim?).
The discussion regarding the men standing around chatting along side of the F unit - I would have never analyzed it that way. Fascinating to know that railroaders would never be ignoring a moving train. I just knew that you guys would be able to put some perspective into what ever happened. Neither my Mom nor myself know a lot about Dad's life on the job. He just didn't discuss it often or in detail.
One day when I was older, much after the Glendon wreck, a freight stopped along the Alpha line near where we lived. I think this line may have led to the Green Island bridge in P'burg. It sat there, engines idling for many hours. Dad asked me if I wanted to take a walk down with him to investigate. No-one was around (that we saw). He spent a lot of time explaining about the deisel unit, though, he made sure that we didn't approach too closely. I don't remember the resolution. I just remember how special those few occasions were.
Thank you everyone for the discussion. I'll try to get more information to contribute. IRN, looking forward to your brother's word.
Bob J
In his final days, he did everything he could do to defy the new railroad rules (Conrail?). Safety glasses & hardhat really bugged him. I overheard him telling his friends how he would break them on a daily basis so that he had to work the shift without his safety equipment. I don't recall a bad word for fellow crew members. You all depended on each other, I assume. There was a union rep that he had a lot of respect for, though the name escapes me right now (Maybe Jim?).
The discussion regarding the men standing around chatting along side of the F unit - I would have never analyzed it that way. Fascinating to know that railroaders would never be ignoring a moving train. I just knew that you guys would be able to put some perspective into what ever happened. Neither my Mom nor myself know a lot about Dad's life on the job. He just didn't discuss it often or in detail.
One day when I was older, much after the Glendon wreck, a freight stopped along the Alpha line near where we lived. I think this line may have led to the Green Island bridge in P'burg. It sat there, engines idling for many hours. Dad asked me if I wanted to take a walk down with him to investigate. No-one was around (that we saw). He spent a lot of time explaining about the deisel unit, though, he made sure that we didn't approach too closely. I don't remember the resolution. I just remember how special those few occasions were.
Thank you everyone for the discussion. I'll try to get more information to contribute. IRN, looking forward to your brother's word.
Bob J