‘m not an engineer or dispatcher; I play them at my model train club.

Like factory work, like small shops, the modern world has pushed railroad engineering from its glory days into an un-fun, by-the-book, management-conflicting job (like everything else). I know that from my computer programming career – I went from doing entire projects freehand down to daily reporting and dull methodologies in the span of my forty years. And, like Charles H. Geletzke Jr, I’m glad I was there for the waning days of it, and now I’m glad I’m out.

But enough about our world. The author of this work has been writing for several railroad publications for some time, simply relating stories of the road, things that he saw happen (or side-stories by others who had their own tales). It’s very well written, not flowery or clever but blunt storytelling, as if you and Charles were sharing coffee in some line-side beanery. Great stories, great tales, great fun.

I really liked the one where a carload of teens stop on the tracks, forcing him to put his train into emergency (full braking, with a chance of derailment and wreck). As soon as he’s in full application, they punch the gas and fly off, throwing the bird back at him. Later, the conductor comes up from the caboose when they get to their terminus and asks why the full braking, he explained what had happened. At that point, the conductor tells him how many times that happens and that you should never, never go into emergency for something like that. Further, you only go into emergency when “the fenders fly off”. In other words, don’t stop unless you actually hit them.

But plenty of tales about running under train orders and train warrants on the Grand Trunk Western, of switching cars at industries in the middle of a snowy night, of clueless management, of miss-managed railroads, of great operators and lazy ones. It’s all there, fun little vignettes of a long and interesting life.

One thing’s for sure, and it hasn’t changed, it’s tough work. You are away from your families much of the time, it’s dangerous, long hours and little reward.

Sometimes I wonder if I should have looked into it. The road less traveled.

Then again, I’m running trains at the club tonight. It will be about 37 degrees outside.But it will be warm and cozy with the pals. So there is that.

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