When I finished high school, I got a job on the railroad for ten weeks before I started Teacher's College. The pay was a dollar an hour. So I received $40.00 a week and worked for 10 weeks so that was exactly $400.00. My whole year of Teacher's College cost $700.00.
I was on the section gang which was a crew of 2 -4 who looked after about 7 to 8 miles of track. We inspected the whole section every morning. We did all kinds of maintenance . I liked the work as it was outdoors and physical.
It was in the days before diesel locomotives were used. Steam engines pulled the trains. There were two passenger trains a day and 3 or 4 freights a day.
There was a routine when trains went by. We usually new what time the trains were due and would be off the tracks waiting. We had to look at all wheels as the train rolled by.
One day after lunch we were doing what was called trimming. The west passenger train went by shortly after lunch. All of a sudden I heard the boss yelling at me and waving for me to look the other way. The passenger train was coming. It was very close! Maybe 300 meters. I stepped off the tracks and it wasn't very many seconds that the train went by. By this time it was whistling to attract my attention.
That was a close one and has stayed with me all my life. It was just too close.
Steam engines coming toward you were fairly quiet. Particularly the large locomotives that pulled passenger trains. Passenger trains travelled at a high speed.
The three other crew members had to stop and collect their thoughts for a few minutes after this close one. The boss wasn't happy with me and he let me know it. I still think of how I disappointed the crew as far as safety was concerned.
That would definitely be a sobering event. I didn't realize steam locomotives would be significantly quieter. Glad you made it out alive!
ReplyDeletethe fast ones were quiet. You could hear the old freights.
DeleteWhat a story Red! I had no idea you ever worked on the railroad. I know you love ships, but sure didn’t know about trains. Well, maybe you don’t love trains after that kind of experience. How many more stories like this do you have to share? Wow. Thanks Red. John
ReplyDeleteI think that's it John . There a blogger near you who sometimes features trains, Awesome photos.
DeleteIt wasn't just you...the whole team should have been looking out for each other and it doesn't sound as if they were!
ReplyDeletethey were watching. they just thought I would be watching too.
DeleteA lesson learned. We have electric trains, powered from overhead wires, passing through my village. We have a couple of rights of way which cross the lines and it's best not to go that way at all on a foggy day.
ReplyDeleteOur trains are diesel electric. They are noisy.
DeleteOh my gosh, what a close call! I remember the old steam engines. Never gave a thought to how quiet they were. All I used to hear was their noisy whistle as they came into the station. Glad you are here to tell the tale.
ReplyDeletethe fast engines were quiet . If you were ahead of the train the sound was slow to get to you.
DeleteA friend of mine used to say "A miss is as good as a mile."
ReplyDeleteYou didn't let them down because you got off the track. I bet there were some very scared crew members though
The crew was very, very shaken up crew members.
DeleteOh my, that sounds too close. Take care, have a wonderful week ahead.
ReplyDeleteThat was a close call.
ReplyDeleteWay too close!
DeleteThat is scary! Glad you lived to tell the tale!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, that was a close one, Red. It wasn't your time yet, I guess...
ReplyDeleteIt's a shock I won't forget.
DeleteI'm surprised you could not feel the vibration of the behemoth!
ReplyDeleteJust the other day, I told Tim that one thing that I will miss when we move is the trains. I love to hear the trains, especially at night. William has a wooden train whistle. Tim said, "I'll blow that for you a couple times a day just to make you feel better." Smarty pants.
If you're ahead of the train you don't hear much.
DeleteThat sure was a very close call. Glad your boss yelled to get your attention.
ReplyDeleteYes, and could he yell.
DeleteSuch a close call. A great reminder for the rest of your life!
ReplyDeleteIt's something I'll never forget.
DeleteScary...just like in that movie...the one with the boys walking down the tracks. It was good wages for you Red!
ReplyDeleteAll kinds of people walk down the tracks. The diesels today are easier to hear.
DeleteRailroad workers still have incredibly dangerous jobs, and this is why. It's too easy to become distracted or get lost in your own thoughts with fatal consequences!
ReplyDeleteThat's what happened to me. The task didn't require any thinking so I thought about something else.
DeleteMy dad ran a grain elevator and I used to hang out there. When I got a little older, but no wiser, I used to hitch rides on the box cars from the elevator down to the depot, perhaps a quarter of a mile or so. I don't think my dad ever knew.
ReplyDeleteThere were many things Dad's never knew. I remember elevators. They were a major part of the villages.
DeleteSo easily done. There were 2 teenage girls killed in the UK a few years ago when they walked behind a train that had stopped in the station, unaware there was an express coming in the opposite direction. Awful.
ReplyDeleteYou can't be vigilant enough.
DeleteWhew! That's too spooky. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteI never told my folks.
DeleteWow. I knew a young man killed by a train running illegally. Glad you are alive.
ReplyDeleteThat would be sad.
DeleteThat is definitely a memory to last a life time.
ReplyDeleteIt just wasn't your time yet 😀 You had a lot of good years and great experiences still to live. I am blessed to be a small part of your life!
ReplyDeleteEven reading the story make one shiver Red
ReplyDeleteAlthough it was within seconds but it makes the situation more intense and serious only
I think it's hard to find one who did not make mistake at beginning of his job though
What a scary story. I'm glad you were not hit by a train. I worked for a railroad company for several months between college and Air Force, but it was an indoor job. I was a steno-typist in the office. During my brief tenure I learned railroad abbreviations for lines that don't even exist any more.
ReplyDelete