N&W Steam Engineers

[NW Mailing List]

Trains magazine, IIRC, had an editorial a year or two ago that noted how most of the reminiscences published about the steam era had been written in recent years by firemen. That's because they're largely the ones still left around and in good enough shape to remeber the distant past and write. A hogger who was 30 when N&W ran the last steam in regular service would be 77 this year. I'd imagine most would be in their '80s or further at this point.

If a road dieselized earlier, the situation is even more severe. The steam-era guys I worked with on the 1522 are in their mid-80's now and many have passed on to their great reward.

That's why groups like the N&WHS are important -- to try and record and preserve as many memories and mementos as possible. Think about what some RR widow tosses in the trash each day ...

In the interim, dig out some of the '50s Trains magazines that featured the N&W or get the DVD "Operation Fast Freight" for a taste of what it was like to sit on the right-hand seat. IIRC, "N&W: Giant of Steam" has a reprinted N&W company mag description of a freight run. For a reasonable facsimile, get the video "Runnin' that New River Train", much of which is filmed in the cab of NKP 765.




Andre Jackson and/or Lisa Burrows
Life is short; update your anti-virus software
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: NW Mailing List 
  To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org 
  Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 1:30 PM
  Subject: N&W Steam Engineers


  This note is from an NS employee at Yardo - regarding old steam engineers.



  Hi everyone, workin for NS out of Hagerstown, MD. I can tell you anyone that had run steam has long since retired. The oldest person on the roster, his seniority date is in 1966 and they both are looking forward to retirement. We don't see anyone from that era at the retirement parties anymore. My only suggestion is to contact members of the Cave family out of Shenandoah, they been around since the beginning it seems.


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