What two CSX and one NS engineer from NY do on their weekend off..

They drive up to Canada to watch trains at Bayview Junction, of course. My 10 year old son and I had the good fortune to meet these three gentlemen today at Bayview Junction. One has to like people who are THAT interested in railroads…

And on top of it all, the eldest of the group got his start with Erie Lackawanna in 1967! I wonder how many of those guys are still around and working… We had a good discussion…what surprised me the most was that he was not at all negative… I was half expecting him to go off on a tangent about how great the old days were compared to now, but he didn’t do that. He did say the old days were more fun…and that the rules today are very restrictive…alot of the stuff we’ve read here on the forums. But he wasn’t jaded or bitter and spoke positively about the job and CSX. The whole time I was thinking that someone should be recording what he says…because in a few short years no one will ever be able to hear firsthand accounts of what it was like to work on a railroad in the 60s and 70s. Man, what a day!

Sick individuals. Just sick.

Was pretty interesting to hear them talk amongst themselves too…had some commentaries on the passing trains that I guess only a railroader would pickup on…i.e. how the engine was being handled/mishandled etc…

BTW…the EL man stated his starting wages in 1967 were… $24.95…a day.