[Chugman]

Do you have any real railroaders in your family tree?

My mother's side of the family was all railroaders. Her dad, my grandfather, was a life-long railroader. He started with the Minneapolis & St. Louis as a young boy as his dad worked there also. He worked for the RR his entire life and retired as a Roadmaster for the C&NW. The stories he told I couldn't get enough of. He lived a 100 miles away and I only saw him on special occasions. He lived a very hard life, but to me was an exciting one. He retired with his RR pension and lived in a small, mobile home that he parked on M&StL RR property in a small town in north central Iowa. When we would visit him and a mainline train would go by, the trailer shook. He rolled his own cigarettes, drank Hamm's Beer out of 2 liter bottles, and was what many would call a "man's man."

His two sons both worked for the railroad as did all of his brothers. My mom said I had RR blood in me.

Who else has railroaders in your family?

Art

 

[Lehigh74]

An uncle on my dad’s side worked for PRR. I don’t know if he ever worked on the trains. He worked at HQ in Philly. He was none too pleased that I had an NYC Geep on my layout. On my mother’s side, I had an uncle and grandfather that worked for the Budd Company. I’m a big fan of RDCs and I sometimes wonder if they had a hand in their construction.

 

[jay jay]

One of my mother's uncles was an engineer for the Canadian National and Grand Trunk in the 1930s-1940s. My mother used to go over to the local station (Chicago Lawn-63rd Street) to say hello to him when he was on a run to Chicago. He lived in Port Huron, MI.

 

[BrokeCurmudgeon]

Santa Fe all the way! Uncle a "Hogshead", grandfather a machinist and father was assigned to work on railroad after he returned from Europe during WWII because of his Santa Fe affiliations..

 

[Severn]

yes but pre 20th century largely.

 

[Norton]

Grandfather on my Father's side worked for the New York Central though he passed away when I was very young. My grandmother had a lifetime pass and would pick me up take me to her home with her on the Central. I remember being disappointed that I never saw steam on that ride. Only in recent years did I learn pretty much all steam was moved west of Cleveland by 1950 before I was taking these trips in the '50s.

Pete

 

[Spence]

My better half’s grandpa worked for the Providence & Worcester RR.

 

[Big Jim]

I am third generation N&W/NS.

 

[Krieglok]

I had great uncles and great a grandfather who worked for the Pennsy, mainly in the area of Emporium PA on the Buffalo and Washington and the Main Line to Erie. They were brakemen and track guys. The brakemen were mainly farmers who worked for the PRR when things there got busy. My one great uncle was a track supervisor out of Corry PA into the 1950’s...

Tom

The railroad gene skipped a couple generations until I started in the early 1980’s...

 

[mntbkrguy]

My grandfather worked on the NY subways and then on the Erie lackawanna DC commuter lines.

He was even in the top secret control center under grand central at it's peak.

https://untappedcities.com/2016/04/...2-basement-deep-under-grand-central-terminal/


Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[Millstonemike]

My grandfather worked on the NY subways and then on the Erie lackawanna DC commuter lines.

He was even in the top secret control center under grand central at it's peak.

https://untappedcities.com/2016/04/...2-basement-deep-under-grand-central-terminal/


Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

I remember reading that article on the secret control room.

I vaguely recall an article about unexpected tunnel finds under GCS a few years back. Perhaps unearth during the restoration effort. Or maybe another NYC locale, not sure at all.

 

[ERIE610]

ALL IN THE FAMILY

My Grandfather on my Dad's side worked for KCS, My father worked for the KCS pre war and a short time afterwards until he went to work for Mobil Oil in their tank car repair shop in Kansas City, Kansas. My Dad's brother was diehard Union Pacific & RR Union rep/trouble shooter. His wife was a secretary for the Santa Fe for a while. An Aunt on my Mother's side was married to another KCS employee.

LATER

 

[seayakbill]

Grandfather and uncles worked for the Northern Pacific RR in Washington & Montana many decades ago.

Bill

 

[mntbkrguy]

I remember reading that article on the secret control room.



I vaguely recall an article about unexpected tunnel finds under GCS a few years back. Perhaps unearth during the restoration effort. Or maybe another NYC locale, not sure at all.

My dad says he remembers, as a small child, going to work with his dad and having to be really careful stepping over one of the rails. He also remembers being in that room with all the old switches and guages. He said it was as if he was in dr Frankenstein's laboratory.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[Chugman]

My grandfather worked on the NY subways and then on the Erie lackawanna DC commuter lines.

He was even in the top secret control center under grand central at it's peak.

https://untappedcities.com/2016/04/...2-basement-deep-under-grand-central-terminal/


Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

I also have seen a show about Grand Central that was fascinating, but I don't remember much about it. That whole area is very interesting and has a wealth of history. If you are like me, I sure wish my grandfather was still around so I could learn more. I wasn't smart enough to realize that I wouldn't have this opportunity forever and didn't take advantage as much as I should have. Too busy with a young family and everything that goes with that I guess.

Art

 

[TripleO]

Grandad worked for Santa Fe out of Topeka for awhile. They hauled him and a Mexican fellow out in the middle of nowhere to work. They lived in a converted box car during the week, coming back to Topeka at weeks end. Mexican could only speak Spanish and Grandad could only speak German. Must have been an interesting time. Lots of Volga Germans worked for railroads in Kansas and Chicago area. Most worked to get money to get back into farming but some spent their entire working life with the railroads

 

[beachhead2]

My uncle worked for MKT for 35 years, roughly 1965-2000 (briefly UP at the end). His office was in the old Missouri Pacific building in St. Louis.

 

[Krieglok]

I remember reading that article on the secret control room.

I vaguely recall an article about unexpected tunnel finds under GCS a few years back. Perhaps unearth during the restoration effort. Or maybe another NYC locale, not sure at all.

There was a “dynamo” room a few floors down from the lower level. It was only accessible by a certain elevator. They converted commercial power to the voltage used for the third rail operation and the electrical grid for GCT.

A friend of mine, went to work there after he was discharged from the USMC during WW2. He was a bit surprised when he the elevator doors opened at the dynamo room level and he was challenged/met by a US Army guard with a M1903A3 rifle.

He worked there for 15 years for the NYC before he quit and opened an ice cream store...

Tom

 

[Krieglok]

My uncle worked for MKT for 35 years, roughly 1965-2000 (briefly UP at the end). His office was in the old Missouri Pacific building in St. Louis.

Amazing the amount of capital the railroads had to be able to build buildings like this. That while paying millions in property taxes through out the nation on land and structures...

Tom

 

[beachhead2]

Amazing the amount of capital the railroads had to be able to build buildings like this. That while paying millions in property taxes through out the nation on land and structures...

Tom

Amen. Still one of my favorite buildings in STL. It was built in 1926-28 and it has tons of art-deco style which I really like. Union Pacific sold the building in 2003 when they moved everything to Omaha. The developer who bought it built a parking garage next door and turned the building into retail at street level, some office space, and luxury apartments on the upper floors. He had good base to start with! Check out the picture of the lobby.