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Welcome to the Contributing Page!!
Outlined below is a
little info about the webmaster, as well as tips on how to contact me.
Feel free to contact me with feedback on the site at: sharris@mdde.com
Please send any contributions, news or pictures to the same address.
Leave your name, e-mail address, and a description of any picture/s.
I will get back to you as soon as possible. Proper credit will be
given if
material is used. Remember that this is a Delmarva oriented site
so
anything outside the shore can not be used. E-mail me with any other
questions.
(Retiree stories shared with permission from those involved)
Some might call me the local guru around here, but I won't take that honor from the others that deserve the same title. There really aren't that many fans here, and the local group we form is kind of neat. While some call the peninsula boring, it actually provides much entertainment. There is always action somewhere here, and the great mainline and local diversity is much enjoyed. Anyway, enough about that.
I started seriously fanning the shore around 1996, though I had always been an avid train nut. Throughout my childhood I was known to take off down the street, as I could view the WPDE-01 returning from Pocomoke on the corner. I also went to kindergarten and pre-school at Tiny Tot, a school in town that is located adjacent to the Perdue Branch (Willards Industrial Track), and who's children are known well by the train crews. Every day I would wait for the WPDE-07 to come by, and catching them both ways was a bonus. Though I had no idea of train symbols, or even engine types then, it was always the thing that made my day. It could be said that Conrail directly fueled my love of trains to the level it has become. After writing them a letter telling them how much I loved their company, I received a 30x18-inch package in the mail filled with all kinds of Conrail information and pictures. To this day, I can't believe that they sent me all of the stuff that they did, but this intrigued me quite a bit. After that, I could always be found running around with my little engine book looking up every number I saw, and memorizing the roster that appeared in front of my eyes whenever I had a spare moment. It was at that point that I started to recognize the huge power we had here. While the GP38-2's dominated the WPDE-07 then (circa 1993-1994), the DE-01 sported a set of SD's at all times! While I remember when they finally took the SD's away, I got used to the geeps of Delmarva and I expressed that in my Tribute to the Geeps Feature. At this time I was still in elementary school, and while it was sometimes hard, I always managed to view the locals working off of the playground. It took me a week of riding the bus in third grade to figure out that all trains going through Salisbury weren't going to the same place, and that the trains I saw going by Tiny Tot weren't going by my house. Once I solved this Perdue Branch mystery I was set to go. It took me a while to explain this to my parents, but they got it, and were actually shocked by my deciphering of this information. I would constantly see the WPDE-07 working the siding in Salisbury, and I will admit to leaving class quite a few times to walk outside and see the locals blast north or south, though school staff believed I was en route to the rest room. I couldn't hear the horns, but the rumbling of the floor usually gave it away as to when a movement was coming. If only I had kept track of all that I saw in those days.......
Jumping into middle school, I was ushered into mainline adventures with a trip to Altoona, PA. You can imagine what it was like trying to get me to leave that city, and I have returned numerous times since. The helper SD40-2's struggling for their life on the rear of each train was what really got me. Well, actually it might not have been that. Maybe it was the fact that this Delmarva boy had seen as many trains in two days in Altoona as he ever had in his life on Delmarva! Whatever it was, I was done for now, totally hooked. Coming back to the shore was a little bit sad, but I have learned to appreciate what I have, and I don't often complain of not having 80 trains a day in my backyard.
What happened to me next has changed my life forever, and I will never forget it. While railfanning Delmar Yard one day, I was introduced to three very wonderful railroaders. Norris, Frank, and Matte, now all retired, were the first true railroad friends I would know. After finding out my name, it became a ritual for Norris to call me on the radio whenever he was headed my way. You see, back in those days, the WPDE-07 did all of the work between Delmar and Pocomoke, so they often came by my stomping grounds at CROWN. I will never forget the first time he called me. While doing my homework on Wednesday November 13th, 1996, the scanner suddenly blared with the words, "I don't see you Scott. Where are you Scott?" Still in shock, I ran upstairs to tell my mother, who abruptly ended her telephone call to usher me to the tracks. We caught the train heading south through Fruitland with GP38-2 8041 leading the charge long-hood forward elephant-style with an SD40-2 and a 62-car train!! For one who had never seen them up to speed on the secondary, this seemed like they were doing 100mph! While Norris blew for the crossings in town, Frank and Matte turned to me, opened the window, and gave me a huge wave and a couple of smiles, as well as a few flashes of the lantern to make sure that I saw them while they both hung partially out of the window. Seconds later I heard Norris on the scanner, "We probably won't be back tonight Scott. We'll catch you tomorrow." Funny thing how I remember that night like it just happened.
So that's where it all started, and to date I have not one complaint. Over the next two years, my love for the hobby changed from the machines to the people. Norris or Frank would leave me a message on my tape recording of what time they came by CROWN, and would sometimes note how many cars they had. This made it seem like I had seen them go by, and was a sense of comfort while I went weeks between sightings. I write about the following with permission from the retirees. Rather quickly, Norris introduced me to the engine cab, and I spent many a cold winter night riding around Salisbury or the yard in Delmar. Still today, the best nights of high school have been the ones spent in the cab with the gentlemen that became like family members to me. Even while they switched Suburban Propane for five minutes, that was enough time to allow me up in the cab, and I tried my best to catch up on what was going on and tell the guys anything that I had been waiting to tell them.
After that, it became routine for Norris to let me ride for long periods of time in the cab. My mother would give me the cell phone, and I would call her when we were just about back to the yard, or done switching, so she could come pick me up. I recall the best nap of my life one day up at Allen's Milling while waiting for a brake test to be done. I took hint of Norris' napping that I should do the same, so I leaned the seat back, propped my feet up, and let the warm sun hit me as the cab heater kept me nicely warm. What a great feeling that was, and I was disappointed when the conductor came back on the radio and the nap was over. When NS came along, the cab rides promptly ended, as with their crew observation tactics, you could never be certain if they were watching. I was, however, able to share in Norris' last day. It was even harder to believe then as it is now, that those were the last hours that he would be working. As he came into Delmar for the last time, I was witness to one of the most awesome things I have ever heard. Blowing the horn one last time for his family in Delmar, he blew for what was just about half of the length of Delmar Yard. I don't know how I stayed unemotional then, but I think it was because of the smile that I could see on his face knowing he was finally retiring. It was just like any other time when he tied up. I said what I always said to him, "Another job well done." He always replied with a smile, "Yeah, that's right!" September 30th has just been a bad day for me, as too many of my friends have retired on this day. The amazing DE-07 trio that I once knew all left the rails in successive years on this date, with Matte going in '97, Frank in '98, and then Norris in '99.
Part of living on Delmarva is putting up with the same engines and sometimes even cars all of the time. While this might get old, the people is what makes the experience. Every school night, or even day off, became an adventure to see those who had become my good friends. While taking care of homework, I would always be anticipating a call on the radio from Norris, or even Frank, as Matte had been sent north to Harrington at this time. I'll admit to thoroughly enjoying the 70+ car trains of grain season, as well as seeing Norris working an 83-car loaded coal train with one GP38. But that wasn't the reason why I kept finding myself riding over to the tracks in the dark and cold of winter to see the usual GP38 and five cars. I would often come home freezing cold and numb in the hands, barely able to hold the handle bars or brakes on my bike. While this was only the case when I couldn't find a ride to the tracks, it occurred more and more frequently my first winter of high school. My college-age brother would call me crazy, but I could easily answer his question of why I would do it time after time. I admit that it was a truly lonely feeling next to the tracks at night while I waited a couple minutes for them to come around the turn. There is barely a darker and emptier place on earth at night. But slowly and surely, at the City of Salisbury mandated speed of 10mph, the headlight would come closer. When that engine cab rolled by, the friendly smile and a few words from my friends would warm a sole so much that the cold didn't exist. I used to do the same in the scorching heat of summer, despite Norris often telling me to stay in because it was too hot. There were also those many times when I would soak myself to the bone in the rain, often having to peel off my clothes when I got home. Norris would usually just shake his head and laugh, while Frank would always jokingly yell at me for being out there in the rain. Either way, it was always worth the ride to see what they would say. So the answer to the question of why I rode over there time after time was that the hobby had become more than machines to me, and since then it always has been. One has to realize sometime that the best part of railroading isn't the entertainment of the machines, it's the hours with the people of the industry who not only provide that entertainment, but provide a higher form as well, both in the friendships, as well as the stories and information that they share.
Right here I would like to stop and thank my parents, without whom I would have had no chance to gain the experiences that I have lived with this hobby. I can't count all of the times that I was ushered just a mile from my house to the tracks so that I could see my friends go by. I know they are glad I have a car to transport myself with now, but I am sure my mother misses all of my frantic cell phone calls. That's right, it seemed for a while there that every time Norris called me she had just left work. I would then proceed to call her, usually saying, "They're approaching CROWN!!" I don't remember even one time where she said she wouldn't rush home to take me over there, or better yet chase them down wherever they happened to be. For that I am most thankful, as every one of those moments was truly special. Later I took it to myself to ride over with a lantern leading my way at night when a ride was not available. They never really approved of this, but they tolerated it because they understood that there was likely no stopping me. We also have done a good deal of chasing, and I know that the Delmarva crews became familiar with the ole' van. Most of them actually thought it comical of how I used to bargain and plead for her to go just a little bit farther for something else that I wanted to see. My father on the other hand, seemed to get all of the extra chases. While he typically didn't handle "Crown duty," he accompanied me on most of what he likes to call my "Phantom Train Chases." These included numerous Sunday trips to Delmar to chase grain extras that I believed were there. Also in that batch were trips to Harrington for various odds and ends of Conrail's roster, and one all the way to Porter, DE, (99 miles one way) in the snow so that I could fulfill my dream of seeing the SD80MAC's. I guess I had a 50% success rate, though I have learned from mistakes. Trust me, it's a long ride home from Harrington when you have wasted two hours of your parents' time for something that wasn't there. Despite all of this, there is no way to repay my parents for all that they have done, or all of the moments between here and Altoona where they have put up with waiting for that final train, or that seemingly lost crew. All I can do is say thanks.
Throughout the summer of 1999, I truly enjoyed "The Thoroughbred." Who would complain about big six axles where all you knew was four, and 100-car trains leaving Delmar almost every evening? I saw a few of these 100-car jobs, as an outlawed WPHA-21 would be taken north to Harrington in the mid-day heat. Sometimes I was limited on where we could go due to the heat, but it eventually became so normal that my mother was willing to overlook it. After receiving my driver's license in September, I was finally able to see all of the places that I had wanted to, or so I thought. My parents quickly put the leash on, and I was limited to anywhere between Delmar and Pocomoke. After telling them that I had gone to see Norris the first day of having my license, they looked at me as if I was crazy, and explained that "just because you have license doesn't mean you can go anywhere." I explained that I had stayed in Salisbury, and this cooled them down a bit. I waited until the second day I had my license before I went to Delmar. Slowly but surely, I've expanded my driving across the country, even as far as Minnesota in the Summer of 2005.
In the last few years since college started, I have not only begun actually working for a railroad company full time in the summers, but have expanded my driving and railfanning worlds vastly. Yet no matter what I see, I can always remember back to my teenage years in Salisbury when I learned what railroading was about: the people. Sadly, reminders of those days continue to leave, as the course of Norris, Frank, and Matte has been followed by retirees such as engineer Ed "Red Dog" Downs and conductor Jerry Rementer, guys who had so many years left to work when I started watching trains here that I never thought of the day when they wouldn't be there. It has been my pleasure to share in some of their last hours on the railroad, and to each of them I wish the best retired life free of the weather, grime, and work hours of the railroad.
That's my story
so far. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you trackside!!
