http://www.dailyherald.com/multimedia/?category=9&type=video&item=143
Great story !
I know how he feels when he said “Time flies, and at the end you wonder where it went”
Ain’t that the truth! I will be married for 35 years this June 23 and it seems just like yesterday when I watched my bride walk down the aisle towards me that Saturday morning. I have worked for four companies since college and this one for almost 14 years now and I also feel like it was yesterday when I walked into the lobby of our headquarters building in Wisconsin to start my first day…wow, does time ever fly. Semi-related…I can recall vividly that time seemed to crawl when I was a kid waiting for my driving learners permit to show up in the mail, but NOW time is our enemy, or sure seems like it…doesn’t it?
The most happy day in the life of a railroader is when they 'pull the pin". I have 15 yrs to go. Can hardly wait till the day comes.
Today’s Northwest Indiana Times had a cover story on a gentleman at the Union Tank Car plant in East Chicago who will be losing his job with the plant’s shutdown at the end of the month.
He has been working there since 1955 and had no plans to retire.
I really respect people who have that kind of work ethic and the ability to stay with one company for that long.
ed
Amen to that. I remember my dear departed Grandmother thought I was nuts to leave my firsts job out of college for a better one. I had ten years with that company and received a 30% increase in salary with that move, but Grandma thought I should be loyal to the company as they had given me a living for those ten years. I have been with four companies since college and know that that record is way the heck below average for career changes these days. The days of staying with a company as long as the fellow mentioned above went away with pensions.
Congratulations on 35 years with Mrs. Eolafan, Jim! We’ll beat you by just a little. Pat and I will celebrate 35 years on Monday, on the road. I think the folks at work are anxious to have me out of there, but I have over a year to go before I’m eligible to retire, and I just might stay on to keep the place in good hands. It used to seem like forever before I got off the bottom of the list, but I can’t believe how quickly I got to the top! Time is strange–eight hours can drag on forever, butaweekendcangobyjustlikethat.
One thing interested me about the (excellent!) coverage of this engineer’s last day. In spite of the shots of passengers greeting him at Ogilvie Transportation Center, I wonder how many of the people riding behind him ever really knew him. On those trains, the engineer is probably the most unseen member of the crew (even at the platform, thanks to the left-handed running, he’s always on the far side of the cab). It had to feel good, though, to have brought millions of people into town safely over his career.
That was an excellent report.
The whole retirement thing really sneaks up on you in a hurry. I figure maybe 12-15 more years, which seems like quite a while, but when I think back 12-15 years ago and that was NOT that long ago.
ed
CONGRATS RIGHT BACK AT 'YA CARL…AND TO MRS. CARL AS WELL.
Yikes ! 47 years at the same job? and no layoffs, or unemployment checks, this sounds like something from the late 40’s or early 50’s generation. I’m sure he will be the last group to enjoy an uninterrupted working career, nowadays a long service at your job may invovle 8-10 years if you are lucky and you can forget about a pension or benefits, it’s a new world out there, no wonder this article made front page news. But what a great job steering a train. good luck.
Went to a funeral for a man i knew who worked 43 years for the railroad as a trackman. No that is a long time to work the track gang.