Travelling by train as much about the journey as the destination
Published Tuesday August 4th, 2009
MCADAM - The breaks hissed sharply, bringing the train's thunderous roll to a stop as conductor Gary Graham hopped onto the station's deck.
One by one, he welcomed those inside to their destination in McAdam, but he said it was the journey on the train that truly marked the occasion.
"This is very important, especially for younger people who only see this on TV or in pictures," he said of the trip from Harvey that kicked off the New Brunswick Day celebration upon arrival in McAdam.
"Taking the train itself is an altogether different experience because it's such a unique atmosphere."
After working as a conductor and engineer for 38 years, that atmosphere has grown familiar for Graham. And he said it doesn't take much at times to sour it.
"You see a lot of instances of people trying to beat the train or kids standing on the track," he said. "They don't realize how terrifying that game of chicken can be. Your heart goes right up in your throat."
Graham said most trains, with more than two kilometres of cars behind them, take eight to 10 football fields to come to a stop to keep from killing anyone on the track.
Bob Dixon, the train's engineer Monday afternoon, agreed that such dangers have always plagued every kilometre of track across the country.
"Paying attention toward safety is a big aspect of the job now, and there's a lot of stress," said Dixon, who has worked on the railroad since 1970.
But he said that edginess keeps him on his toes. And even though he's guided many trains down the same tracks over and over again, the path is never the same.
"It's never the same twice; you're doing a different job every day," he said. "One day you're an engineer, the next you might be tinkering on the engine itself. I think the people of McAdam understand that, because it's always been a railroad town."
Roy Conwell said he knows that notion well. As a teenager, he worked as a break man in the McAdam train yard 56 years ago.
He said a trip down the tracks offered his generation more freedom than the open road could ever provide.
"You got a pass for working there, so in the summer time I travelled to Toronto and Windsor easily, I never would have had those chances otherwise in such a small town," Conwell said.
McAdam women would head to Montreal for a day of shopping as nonchalantly as taking a similar trip to Fredericton today, he said.
"You didn't have to worry about a thing, except sitting and enjoying the view," he said as he gazed up at the bright-green engine.
"That whistle brings back a lot of memories."
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You wrote "Roy Conwell said he knows that notion well. As a teenager, he worked as a break man in the McAdam train yard 56 years ago."
Actually, he worked as a BRAKE man on the trains, they never employed a man to break the equipment.