There is some good advice here, and no arguments. Yet.

Red Wing boots are excellent and pricey. Dunham used to make good boots, but appear to not do so anymore. Corcoran, Chippewa and Carolina are fine boots. Danner boots are popular in the military, but I have never owned a pair. Timberland has some nice looking boots, as do Carhartt and Caterpillar. Probably none of them made in the U.S.

Any boot is a compromise. I will not reveal how many I have, but I have far more shoes and boots than She Who Must Be Obeyed. Yes, I am a shoe whore. I also have a lot of gloves.

I try not to wear the same pair two days in a row. That gives them time to dry out from foot moisture. I treat all my boots with a leather conditioner/waterproofing upon purchase, and put on some polish. The polish will deflect some scuffs that would otherwise damage the leather. The goal is to have the sole wear out with the uppers still in excellent condition. Then the boot can be resoled. Not that I have ever done that, but my Red Wings may go to the shoemaker to avoid having to pay $200 for a new pair.

For train service I use low cut steel toed shoes that can be polished to look nice. Just don't wear white socks, although I have seen photos of conductors wearing white socks with their black shoes and uniform.

For track work or anything heavy I wear boots with metatarsal protection. They can be a little uncomfortable.

I have three pairs of insulated boots for winter. Buy some toe warmers or foot warmers, and get some good socks.

Non-waterproof boots can be made waterproof with the right treatment. Sno-seal and Oberhaufers come to mind. I was standing in 2-3 inches of water wearing non-waterproof Red Wings and no moisture got in.

Logger boots with the high heel have poor traction. I slipped twice last winter wearing a pair, and injured my rotator cuff the second time grabbing a railing to avoid falling off a locomotive. Bought a new pair of winter insulated boots with a normal heel for this season. I also replaced the non-skid on the locomotive in question!

On the other hand, wedge sole boots with no heel are not so good on ladders or railings. I like having a heel when on a ladder.

My oldest pair of steel toe boots is a cheap off brand from a Dexter Shoe Outlet store. I cannot seem to wear them out mowing the lawn or working around the house. However, after several hours my feet begin to hurt.

Visit a Red Wing store and see what they can do for you. They will at least measure your feet, and one will be bigger than the other.

Red Wing also has more widths available than most manufacturers. If you have an average width foot (D) almost every boot maker will meet your needs. If you have a wide foot, look at Red Wing, Dunham and a few others.

Not all Red Wing shoes are made in the U.S. Ask. Red Wing also owns Irish Setter.

Brian in Maine

The Red Wing Stores sell several lines -- the USA made Red Wing and the foreign made "WORX". And "Irish Setter"

I like my USA Red Wings. Best shoes and boots that I've had.

Check out the website for more information http://www.redwingshoes.com/

Good sartorial point being made a few posts back.

Gloves & socks.

American made: still a few good work socks being made here.

Gloves: it looks like the imports rule & everyone seems to have the "mechanics" style which is not good for trackwork etc.

Thoughts? Or should this be split off onto another thread??

It's hard to go wrong with Red Wing. I've worn them for longer than I care to say, have one pair that was overhauled and still going strong. They stand behind their product.

Red Wing wins! I'm off to a local outlet later this week or next to get fitted.

From my past experience, there's nothing worse than having to stand or walk all day in cheap, ill-fitting shoes or boots.

My boot, for the last quarter of a century on the railroad has been a Carolina 9" Logger.



From the Carolina website:



These boots are uninsulated, as that's how I roll. They hold up very well out on track, so long as you don't kick ballast away from the rail with your toe when pulling spikes (trackmen that value their boots generally know this). I get about 2 years of hard use out of a pair before they get resoled... It depends on the load of work and conditions.

The heel will not be knocked off and accommodates the stirrup of a covered hopper just as well as a ballast fork or cinder shovel.

I know there is the whole Red Wing "mystique"... I never bought into that. Expect to pay around $150 for Carolinas that are made in USA.

Rod Whitehead

P.S. If you need metatarsal guard type boots, they have those as well. Models 505 & 508 are Made in USA.

Yes.........And I will never buy anything else if I can help it. I know several train service employees around here have them. Not heard any complaints.

Gloves and Socks continued.

I am happy with socks generally. Smartwool, Acorn Fleece, Carhartt, Wolverine and Thorlo make some good socks. Think about thin wicking liner socks inside heavier socks. In warmer weather there are some nice wicking socks designed for steel toe boots made by Thorlo and others.

But gloves are another story. I keep buying them and have not found the ideal cold weather glove yet. I simply cannot do very much with gloves on, whether they be big and fluffy or insulated mechanics gloves. I am always taking them off to do things.

The worst is doing passenger service during Polar Express. You stand outside in the cold and have to handle tickets to direct passengers to the correct car. I am always taking one glove off and stuffing it in my pocket. Perhaps I should go back to the elastic cord with clips run through the sleeves of my jacket as was done in my youth.

Doing heavy work is easier since you can wear heavy gloves. I could care less whether I can use gloves on a touch sensitive screen. You can't use your cell phone when on train or engine service so who cares.

I am one of the few people who always has gloves with them year round. Couplers are greasy and I hate grease or oil on my hands. I typically use the cheapest leather gauntlet gloves I can find and throw them out when they get too dirty. However, my favorites are Hi-Vis orange Kinco gloves with reflective tape. $8 to $12 a pair. You can easily see my hand signals!

Pig and goat skin gloves are excellent in wet weather. They do not get stiff when they dry like cowhide gloves.

I strongly recommend using glove clips to hold your gloves on your belt. You never lose them that way. I like Glove Guard, but there are other brands. I have two, one that hooks on a belt, and another that has a clip that can fasten to anything (belt loops, jacket pocket flags, radio shoulder strap, etc.)

On Monday I was watching a trainman couple my engine to the train. White shirt, black trousers, and no gloves. I am in the engine wearing jeans and a chambray shirt with gloves. He had to go wash his hands - I did not.

Brian in Maine

I have been wearing Red Wing boots for 30 years. About 10 years ago I switched to the 2406, which has a long-lasting oil resistant sole. Previously I had had a problem with the soles coming apart from working in the inspection pit and other oily environments. The 2406 sole lasts the life of the boot - about 3 years for me before you expose a steel toe (if you are on your knees a lot) but the boots are still good for non-OSHA/ non traction situations beyond that. Still Made in USA.

I use red wings and have not had single issue with them. They last me 3 years a pair. I pay about $190 but it's well worth it.

Hello

I really like Justin boots very good for long walks of trains on the mainline.

http://www.justinoriginalworkboots.com/

I also have a couple of pairs of red wings they are great also.

Chris

I totally agree about the Red Wings, the US made ones are great. A few years ago when I had to start wearing orthotics I asked the Podiatrist for work boot recommendations, while he was normally hesitant to recommend shoe brands, he did say that he considered Red Wings to be the only work boot maker who takes foot dynamics seriously. I also really like my local Canadian boot maker Viberg, http://workboot.com/ these are very expensive but have been my daily boot for over two years now, and have a great "old timey" look. If you have any foot problems you really don't want to cheap out on footwear.

P. Hosford

I picked up a pair of Red Wing 2233s from a Red Wing retail location near my office. They had to pull this off of their industrial sales truck. The computerized measuring of my feet was interesting, they recommended a wider size than I normally would have gotten.

Wearing the boots around the office to break them in today. So far so good.

I need a pair of black boots and may get some Danner black boots as a comparison, as I've heard good things from non-rail service employees about them.

By the way, Red Wing has a sale until the end of the month, $20 off a pair of boots. Look to their website for the coupon.

That is consistent with recommendations from our local Red Wing distributor as well. The EH rated steel toe boots they have provided me over the years have usually been two "letters" wider than my usual shoe size.

Two other Red Wing boots I would recommend for specific uses are the SD (Static Dissipative) rated 6662 protective toe chukka boot if you have to work on computers or electronics, and its companion 8662 soft toe SD boot if you just want a really nice comfortable low boot for general use. Both of these models are US made with very soft leather and are comfortable like wearing slippers.

PC