After corresponding with Erik last fall about this article, and reading it this week, I am as pleased as can be that this unsung portion of steam railroading has received coverage in Trains. Reading Erik’s article can only help other young people make the decision to enter into this field, we can use all that we can get.

Still, other young steam mechanics may feel left out due to the limited length of Erik’s article, and the behind the scenes nature of the repair and overhaul side of this industry. To them I say don’t worry about it. Your supervisors know and appreciate all of the hard and dirty work that you do. In time you will come into your own among your peers. To paraphrase what Ben Affleck said in the movie “Good Will Hunting”, “Tomorrow you’ll wake up, and you’ll be fifty.” Truer words were never spoken, and time flies in this business. I think about my twenty eight years as a steam engine mechanic, and I just shake my head. I would have guessed five or seven.

I would like to mention one outstanding young man who has earned recognition. Note his bold approach, which got him in the door. His ability is what allowed him to stay.

I have had the pleasure of working with Erich Armpriester for several years. Erich called me one day to say he had put in an application, and was wondering when his interview would be. I explained that due to our low turnover, openings at the Rail Road are rather rare, to which he responded, “But you don’t understand, I just graduated high school and enrolled in an associate degree machine work program so I can work as a machinist at the Strasburg Rail Road for my entire career.” There is only one way to respond to a statement like that, “Oh… I’ll see what I can do.” He started working summers, and going to college each fall until he graduated, and has been here ever since, and a more steady man you’ll never find. Erich also helps out at the WK&S, where he has been since before he started at Strasburg.

I’d also like to personally thank Erik Ledbetter for inflicting the legendary Trains curse on us. Just as David Gunn appeared in Trains shortly before being fired by Amtrak, Erik checked in with us to ask about our “young guns”, and we set him up to interview the brightest rising star in our mechanical department, 26 years old, already supervising, and being groomed to be an industry leader when us “old heads” are gone. Wouldn’t you know it, two weeks after Erik’s interview, this fellow tendered his resignation, sighting personal and family obligations that are forcing him to move away, major bummer. Thanks a lot Erik, but then again, it was a very good article.

Strasburg Rail Road

I think the problem here is that some people are getting their feelings hurt by the Young Guns Trains article. I know first hand that there are quite a few members of the younger generation stepping up to the plate in steam restoration. What we need to remember is that purpose of the article was to illustrate the fact that there are younger members getting involved and that steam will be in good hands for the future. The individuals mentioned were simply examples and was by no means an all inclusive list.

Having said all of that, I am curious as to how the individuals in the article were picked. I can think of several that I feel definiately should have made it in, especially Jason Johnson who started at a very young age and by his mid-20's was leading one of the largest steam programs in the U.S. (OC). There is also one individual in the article (I'm not naming names) who simply should not have been included and his short bio was a misrepresentation of facts. I don't mean to discredit this person and I must give him credit for everything he does and he holds a lot of potential, but putting him in the same ranks as the others in the article was probably a mistake IMHO. But again, I must thank each and every person in the article plus the many others in every age range who put in the effort to keep these things alive.

Perhaps I'm biased but I must agree with Mr. Mackey that the biggest void in the article was the omission of Jason Johnson. While Jason is no longer involved full time in steam operations, his impact and accomplishments cannot be ignored. In my opinion, his departure was a tremendous loss to the potential of the Ohio Central Steam Department.

While I am older and had been involved in the tourist rail industry (on a part time basis) long before many of these "Young Guns", I freely admit I learned more from Jason, John Rimmasch and Mike Manwiller than any of the old guard I ever worked with before.

The current generation of steam railroaders are just as dedicated as the first generation. John touched on something in the article about him that is too common in this industry and that is how many of the older generation treated the younger ones. Hey, everyone has to pay their dues, but when you get someone eager to learn and willing to work don’t squelch it, nurture that excitement. Don’t ruin it by giving them the crap jobs all of the time.

I don’t mean to embarrass him, but one of the things I admired about Jason was his ability to weed out the bad while nurturing the want to in those that had the passion for working on steam. My favorite example is lapping; you take a guy who wants to learn and he will get something out of it. It’s a great entry level job, it’s easy but it is simply tedious but it has to be done. You can weed out the “warm water” rail fans real quick.

There are some great guys in this younger generation and while I don’t know all of them, the ones I do know I am proud to be associated with and call my friends (too many to list here). While I enjoyed the steam time but I always looked forward to the camaraderie more than anything else.

There are some great guys from the first generation such as Rich Melvin, Doyle McCormick and others who nurtured those with the passion and desire for steam. But there are many more who stomped out those embers in others. How many in that middle generation never had the opportunity to meet their potential because they were not given the opportunity? I can name many who had the desire but their youthful ambition was not respected by the “old guard” who didn’t respect or appreciate them because they were threatened by their potential. Yes and even today, some black clouds of politics still hover over certain organizations.

So if I may give some advice to the younger generations, remember from whence you came and have empathy for those in the generations following you. The baton will soon be your responsibility to pass on to the next up and coming generation of ‘younger guns’. Take note everyone and know that you read it here first that one of the stars of the next generation is already starting to rise and his name is Mike Muldowney.

Greg Schultz
Columbus

Well.

My day was going so well, why did I click on this thread?

I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Kelly Lynch. I'm looking forward to it.

But I do have the good fortune to know Erik Ledbetter and Jim Wrinn - quite well. And make no mistake - when "S. A. Worthington" questions Kelly's bona fides, he also questions the judgement and professionalism of Erik and Jim. Both take their work seriously, and I trust their judgement.

As for Mr. Worthington, Ross Rowland and Howard Pincus said it very well. I will only say that it's a small person, indeed, who attacks anonymously.

Kelly, if these are the quality of your detractors, that only adds to my respect for you.

Erik, Jim - my compliments on a fine article, and a fine issue. 'Tis a shame that such petty jealousy is your reward.

JAC

Hey, Kelly, for you, it was the least I could do. :-)

Dear S.A.--

any questions about the article you want to send to me back-channel, by PM or e-mail, I will gladly try to answer.

It goes without saying that I, not any of my interview subjects, am solely responsible for the text, so feel free to direct questions or concerns to me.

Without permission, I started a summer internship program (at Angel Long's suggestion) when I was in charge (yeah, right) in Savannah. If I had asked permission, it wouldn't have been forthcoming, the exec director was Mr. Worst Case Scenario, and I can't even imagine the disasters he might have imagined. By the time he found out, we were up and running, and he was committed whether or not he wanted to be.

6 college age students came to work. I didn't request resume's, CVs, anything but show up willing to work at this rate (about $2 more than Burger King) and we will try you out. Probably a stupid approach, but it worked.

5 of the 6 stayed for the duration. The sixth was 18, and away from home for the first time in a bizarre town, and has since matured in the industry very gracefully.

Of the remaining 5, 4 are still in railroad preservation or related fields. Some are in this thread. Everybody got their hands dirty, did some repetitive tedious crap, and some fun stuff. LOTS of work got done. Not everybody was happy all the time, but what better a real-life introduction. You can't be concerned about popularity and still get things done sometimes.

I call 4 out of 6 a victory for the cause. I'd have settled for any one.

OK, so I got badly reamed and had to be a human shield between my kids and the organization, but it will no doubt prove to have been worth all the BS in the long run as these talented and committed young people grow in the industry, and carry it on into the future.

Don't be afraid to provide opportunities, and give interested young people a chance to dig in deep. You might addict some for life, get some jobs done, and, worst comes to worst, all they can do is fire you after all.

dave

Wow, Dave, great!!! Now some questions--- where and how did you "solicit" these people? Was it through a historic preservation or history program at one of more colleges? Did the recruits know what they were applying for? Or was it more a matter of $2 more than flipping burgers was the attraction?

Seems to me you hit a bunch of home runs, right out of the park---4 out of 6 still in the biz?? Nice score.

Let's see...successful summer intern program, lots of work got accomplished, 4 more people were "made" (yes, like the Sopranos!!) in the preservation biz, and you had to "run interference"???? What's not to like about what you did????

I believe that was Mr. Vago.

Sounds good, Dave, if you don't mind taking one for the team.
Question is, what about the 'L word'-not the TV series-but liability ?

Angel put the word out through an informal internet group of young railroad preservation people. They have their own bloody bush telegraph, as an Aussie friend of mine would say. Ask a couple of your young guns to start spreading the word and see who shows up. Us old bastards don't know just how small the world has become.

I paid more than what the local college kids were making in other fields to assure I wouldn't risk losing any for a couple lousy bucks an hour. I might not have had to, but they had to pay for housing and I wanted to do the best I could within budgetary constraints to assure they didn't starve.

Jason? Dago Vago was involved for not only the summer, but stayed and worked at the site for two more years. He is now involved in industrial preservation, and has worked at Cass also. BTW, Jason was a fine host when I took the kids to Southeastern Ry Museum on a field trip, as were Jim Wrinn and Richard Morse at Spencer. I managed to hijack Jason a few months later, hope he will forgive me for it some day.

Liability? in this case, covered under the citys umbrella policy. Everybody's situation is different, you gotta solve that one for yourself.

What would I have done differently? I'd have coopted another staff person to help with management of multiple jobs and multiple days. I'd have worked out a more formal housing and credit program with a local college or trade school, so I could have helped further with basic costs of living and provided some academic reward as well.

I don't think the reward was financial for the kids, but more experiential. Realistically, money is neded to pay for basics, and hopefully, put a bit in the bank for the next years tuition and books.

My low key Zen-like approach to job structure, and management style by curmudgeonly autocrat walking around, worked better with some than others. I am not sure I would change that, or consider dealing with different managers to be as valid a life lesson and any skill applied in the project. If your other staff guy has another management style, even better! They didn't bust their butts for me or in spite of me, but for the experience and the job done, which is as it should be.

dave

Thanks Tex, but I never asked to be forgiven either - as I had done nothing to be forgiven about. I'd do it again anytime.

Any day you can get some good work done is good - if you can also annoy an impedimentary bureaucrat in the process, so much the better!

dave

I haven't visited the board for some time - work you know? Anyway, I receive a phone call from TJ the other day asking if I had picked up the May issue of TRAINS magazine and seen the article on the "Young Guns of Steam". Then he proceeds to tell me that a mutual friend of ours, Greg Udolph had posted thread to the board in reference to some people who were overlooked so I decided to take a look.

I read the thread, then stopped after work and picked up a copy of the May issue to read it for myself – BONUS what a great article on the WP&Y, been there twice!

Anyway, I’ve been reading the references to SA Worthington’s post and to be honest, I didn’t see what the big problem was and really didn’t think it was out of line to be honest. I have no idea who SA is, but I do know Kelly Lynch, I met him while I was volunteering at the OC; but that's another story (and not a slam).

Anyway, I consider myself a pretty objective fellow, so I re-read the Trains piece on Kelly then re-read the posts by SA Worthington. If SA Worthington is correct and he ”has” spent a fair amount of time in New Haven and had never met Mr. Lynch, I can see where his questions could be sincere. Consider this, and again, I’m trying to look at this objectively.

If SA Worthington was a regular at the FWRHS and

If SA Worthington had never met Mr. Lynch in ALL of those many visits and time spent there – isn’t it possible that when he read that Mr. Lynch was a “Rising Star in the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society” that he would be curious as to how he missed him?

This was not meant to flame anyone or cause any trouble, I just looked at this objectively and thought I would comment.

Where do I leave my 2 cents?

First, let's get the quote correct:



I've spent quite a bit of time in steam shops in my life, both as a worker and a visitor. I think it's quite possible that someone engaged in work doesn't disengage to introduce himself to a visitor. (Worthington seems to be saying, 'I don't do any work, I just drop by to look.')

Had you visited Bill Purdie's steam shop in the 1970s or 1980s, you probably would not have met Bill Purdie unless you went looking for him. You probably wouldn't have met Greg, or Bob, or Bill, or Mark, or Jim, or any of the regular workers. They were inside a boiler, or hunched over a lathe, putting a locomotive together. They weren't playing hostess.

No, Greg, I can only assume one motivation for Worthington's posts: petty jealousy. Sort of like the posts from "Saturated_Steam" - you wouldn't know anything about the posts from "Saturated_Steam," would you Greg? I wonder if the IP address on those posts match yours . . .