Snippets: Train Enthusiast Remembers By-Gone Era

I wrote this article for the Newspaper.

Bob Mason, in the early 1950’s, began his career with the railroad. It was a time when America stood at the summit of the world, according to Winston Churchill. It was the decade that colored TV was introduced, Disneyland opened, the Korean War began, and Truman was president.

Bob started working for the railroad as a RIP track laborer. (Repair in Place) His first job was rather, for a lack of a better term—gross. On a hot August day in Durand Michigan, a burned out bearing had to be replaced. “The freight car was carrying animal intestines, and substance was leaking,” Mason said. As you can imagine, the area around the train car stunk. Bob tossed sand on the slimy substance, so workers could crawl under the train and repair it.

Not all Mason’s jobs did he return home dirty. In Iowa, he became a rodman in the division engineer’s office of the Rock Island Railroad. During a cold winter, ice built up on the Big Sioux River. “We had to dynamite the ice cap before it hit the railroad bridge.” It was a dangerous job and could have ended in disaster. The team had to work fast, and with limited equipment, the task became hazardous. Bob packed the dynamite, and another applied it to the ice. The ice broke, and the bridge remained in tack.

Another job Mason had, also involved danger. Bob was a steam locomotive fireman for three years. Not the kind who puts out fires, but the kind who keeps the fires going. As shown in the picture, Bob is on a 3740 steam locomotive. His job was to maintain steam pressure at 210 psi. If the water got too low in the boiler, an explosion could happen. “Occasionally there were boiler explosions,” Mason said. But thankfully that didn’t occur to the six passengers, 5 man crew, commuter train that Bob maintained.

That commuter train ran for 26 miles with 10 stops. “We had to go full throttle, and slam on the brakes at each stop to keep our schedule,” Mason says.

Bob took another job with the railroad, one not dangerous or so he thought. He became a telegraph operator. “On a subzero night I heard a voice and returned to my telegraph window,” Mason recalls the story. “I’m going to kill you,” a man told him. Bob tried to call the police, but the line was busy. (The first 911 call was February 16, 1968, in Haleyville, Alabama) Fortunate for Mason, a Rail Road Private Detective walked in and arrested the guy.

In the mid 50’s communication radio started to replace the railroad telegraph. “Crews didn’t want the invention because they felt their jobs were threatened,” Mason said.

A lot has changed on the railroad since the 1950’s. Five man crews have become two man crews, and a push is to make it a one man crew. For safety sake, Bob hopes that never happens. In the 50’s working on the railroad was a man’s job, but in the late 70’s women joined the railroad workforce.

Mason keeps his stories alive at the Missouri Valley Model Train Club. They hold meetings every Monday at 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. The public is always welcome. On Thanksgiving Friday, August 25, 2016, the club will have its annual open house at the Clubhouse at 221 West Third Street in historic downtown Yankton. The public is welcome to this event.

View pictures of trains on their website: mvmrc.webs.com

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Randy Tramp

Amazon Review:

It's a military thriller with a heart. Commander Mark Steele has an exciting job in Special Forces. Though it's dangerous, he knows his work is critically important. But that job separates him from his wife and child. When an injury brings him home, his wife is glad to have him back. But other issues cause struggles within the family, leading to distrust and hurt. Steele takes dangerous risks in his new work. The thriller plot thickens, as he seeks to save a life. But can he save his family?

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