Any railroaders left who started in steam?

[Ulrich]

2007 is probably a milestone of sorts...any railroaders who would have started their careers during the transition era ending in 1960 would be retiring now. Anyone here get started in steam?

[BaltACD]

The basic reality is that when Railroad Retirement regulations were changed to permit full retirement at 60 years of age with 30 years service, several years ago....most if not all persons that had worked first hand with steam left then, the reality is that someone who hired in 1960 would now have 47 years service.....there are currently very few employees that have 40 years service, either with one company (and it's decendents) or in the industry.

[Anonymous]

I know this is probably cheating, but there are several folks I know- at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad- who began their carreer with the railroad in their 20's- and are diesel engineers now.  One of them is in his 40's- and one of them is in his 20's.  They liked running their steam locomotive because it was a different challenge for them.  It required a lot more skill on the engineer to smoothly operate- a lot of the instrumentation we take for granted on modern units was not there.  So they had to rely on their senses.

That's not to say that diesel engineers don't rely on sight, sound, and smell in their own way- the guys I spoke with just said that they enjoyed the challenge steam offered them.

I am pretty sure the guys who started out as firemen on main line steam, and became engineers, have long ago retired, or are no longer with us.

[selector]

According to a member of the train crew when I and my wife took in an excursion on the Kamloops Heritage Railway in early October, the hogger on that run, pulled by an ex-CNR Consolidation, was ex-NYC steam and CPR steam/diesel.  CPR was using steam until 1959, IIR, so this gentleman, who very adeptly and alertly prevented a death when we ran into a 5-ton gravel truck at a grade crossing, would have to be nearly 80?  He did a marvelous job at the throttle that day, let me tell you.

[csxengineer98]

i dont know if this counts..but i started in steam on a tourist line befor i hired out with a class 1...

csx engineer 

[Murphy Siding]

i dont know if this counts..but i started in steam on a tourist line befor i hired out with a class 1...

csx engineer 

Sounds good enough for at least an honorable mention.

[Railway Man]

A few years ago there were a few with D&RGW narrow-gauge seniority dates, but I think the last of them has since pulled the pin.  It's getting hard enough just to find anyone who worked for BN and now BNSF that still holds a pre-BN seniority date.  Even stranger, to me at least, is that there are people who have already retired from Amtrak whose seniority date was also Amtrak.

RWM

[Ulrich]

Tourist lines count also...experience is experience...Looking at the global perspective, steam lasted until the mid 70s in Germany and France, and some Asian and African countries   still run steam today.

[coborn35]

At the NSSR, we have an engineer who ran steam on the Great Northern and was an engineer on the BN and BNSF also.

[jeaton]

If you use 1960 as the last year of steam (rather late in the game), there have been 47 years since and with the youngest starting age for employment at 18, a person starting then is now 65. 

If the question is whether any locomotives engineers who ran steam are still working, consider:  It varied between seniority districts but it would take at least a few years firing to get promoted to engineer.  With that you roll back the start date to say 1957 and if you call the end of most steam in or around 1955, you are more likely looking for people that started in the early 1950's.  With that you are looking for someone in their early to mid 70's. 

I'm not surprised to hear of an old steam hogger running engines on a tourist line, and I guess one might find someone 70 or older running on a very small shortline operation.  Class 1s?  Doubtful.

Does the FRA have an age rule for engineers? 

[tomikawaTT]

Mark Newton, a frequent contributor to the Model Railroader portion of these forums, is an Australian who has, as he puts it, a lot of (steam) footplate time.  His pay voucher still says 'driver,' but these days it's MUs.

Chuck

[jeffhergert]

A few years ago there were a few with D&RGW narrow-gauge seniority dates, but I think the last of them has since pulled the pin.  It's getting hard enough just to find anyone who worked for BN and now BNSF that still holds a pre-BN seniority date.  Even stranger, to me at least, is that there are people who have already retired from Amtrak whose seniority date was also Amtrak.

RWM

I know of one ex-DRGW man still on the UP who started in the 1970s at Durango.  Ran an engine the last day the DRGW owned the Durango - Silverton line.

Jeff 

[MidlandPacific]

Amtrak's ranking conductor retired on September 30th - he had 52 years of seniority, which puts his entry date at around 1955.  He was number one on the seniority roster. 

[route_rock]

  Senior guy in Galesburg on the engineers list is in his 70's His ENGINEER date is 63 not sure his firemans date.Also we have a few Q guys left. Not many anymore though.

   Doug Riddell talked about how the guys down south lasted into their 70's and up till they either died off or pulled the pin.

  Oh and I have Steam time! Been working for Silver Creek and Stephenson since 3 or 4 years now. I also have some Doodlebug whiskers lol and some Narrow gauge time at Midwest Threshers.I still want to run a wood burner ( done coal and oil)and do like Dan Rnager and work Steam after I get vested in RRB. I would love to work the Great Smoky Mountains or Steamtown, or even the narrow gauge out west or EBT.But I wont hold my breath right now

 

[mackb4]

  

   There is a gentleman who is in his mid 70's that I work with in Portsmouth Ohio who worked on the steamers for the N&W.He has many stories about running the steam engines.

   He was on a regular I.D. run from Portsmouth,Ohio to Bluefield,WVa until about 6 weeks ago.He now is Engineer on a local that works 6 days a week.

  I know of two others on the NS's senority roster,one in Va. and another up north that have senority dates of 1957 and 1958.

  The fellow in Portsmouth has over 50 years senority with the N&W/NS.

  Something odd about the fellows who live in Ohio and Va. .They both have the same last names (spelled the same),but are not related .

[ValleyX]

I don't know of anyone working who was an engineer on steam, other than the aforementioned folks like the museum/tourist lines or the D&RGW narrow gauge.  The others would have fired steam locomotives and maybe ran them but I doubt they were promoted engineers working as engineers.

[Lyon_Wonder]

Tourist lines count also...experience is experience...Looking at the global perspective, steam lasted until the mid 70s in Germany and France, and some Asian and African countries  still run steam today.

 And China used steam for mainline freight and passenger service until a few short years ago.

[Rustyrex]

We actually had an engineer on the UP retire after 50 years of service about two months ago, and a conductor, who's hire date is 1959, and still working. 

[cprted]

According to a member of the train crew when I and my wife took in an excursion on the Kamloops Heritage Railway in early October, the hogger on that run, pulled by an ex-CNR Consolidation, was ex-NYC steam and CPR steam/diesel.  CPR was using steam until 1959, IIR, so this gentleman, who very adeptly and alertly prevented a death when we ran into a 5-ton gravel truck at a grade crossing, would have to be nearly 80?  He did a marvelous job at the throttle that day, let me tell you.

I don't know exactly how old Gene is, but 80 would be a pretty safe bet. Great guy, very knowledgeable. He doesn't do many of the longer trips anymore, mostly works on the one hour rides. He comes down to Summerland periodically to check up on us, when he has a few days off from the KHR.

There are also a number of veterans of the BC Rail steam program still in active service on CN and other roads. BCR ran daily steam trips from 1974 to 2001. I think ex-CPR 2860 still holds the honour of being the last steam locomotive in North America in regular scheduled service on a Class 1.

[SR1457]

I started with sr in 1949, was sixteen., still steam, inman yards atlanta, ga.thats when we had iron men and wooden boxcars. 45/50 cars was long train.yall have a good day..

[mackb4]

     Something funny about that last post

[selector]

According to a member of the train crew when I and my wife took in an excursion on the Kamloops Heritage Railway in early October, the hogger on that run, pulled by an ex-CNR Consolidation, was ex-NYC steam and CPR steam/diesel.  CPR was using steam until 1959, IIR, so this gentleman, who very adeptly and alertly prevented a death when we ran into a 5-ton gravel truck at a grade crossing, would have to be nearly 80?  He did a marvelous job at the throttle that day, let me tell you.

I don't know exactly how old Gene is, but 80 would be a pretty safe bet. Great guy, very knowledgeable. He doesn't do many of the longer trips anymore, mostly works on the one hour rides. He comes down to Summerland periodically to check up on us, when he has a few days off from the KHR.

There are also a number of veterans of the BC Rail steam program still in active service on CN and other roads. BCR ran daily steam trips from 1974 to 2001. I think ex-CPR 2860 still holds the honour of being the last steam locomotive in North America in regular scheduled service on a Class 1.

Hmm.  I had assumed that it was Gene on that run, according to a fellow who is active in the Port Alberni cell and who volunteers occasionally for Kamloops, but it now seems that either he was not, or had ceded the right hand seat to another hogger for the return trip.  I have a return email from the Society saying that it was Gordon who was at the throttle during our crossing accident.