Trains – October 2019

ON NOV. 7, 1955, I HIRED OUT with the Chi-
cago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific, best
known as the Milwaukee Road, when I was
19 years old. It was a simpler time to learn
railroading in Chicago, but laid a foundation
that served me well for the next 42 years.
In those days, new hires had to take
three student trips without pay. After the
third trip the crew caller informed me of

my first assignment: a midnight job at Hal-

stead Street Yard. I had not acquired my

own switch lamp, so the yard foreman let

me use one. I stood by a switch most of the

night pulling pins. The kind man, Neil

Murphy was standing by a barrel with a fire

going; every once in a while, he would

throw the toggle switch between 1 and 2

tracks. The yard foreman handled the rest.

Finally, the sun came up, and we had fin-

ished setting the freight house.

At Galewood Yard, crews used to ride

the cars being switched to slow them down.

There was one light on the lead and a shan-

ty with a coal stove for warmth. We used

hand signals during daylight hours and at

night used the switch lamp to relay signals

to the engineer and head-end crew. Radio

was still many years ahead.

I worked with a Greek hoghead by the

name of Pete Nikeus. He called me “Putch-

ka” and the handle stayed with me. One day

we were working with engineer Hosea

Jiminez making a delivery on terminal road

Indiana Harbor Belt. Pete suggested we pre-

pare a sign marking “Putchka Junction.” So,

we were stopped at the Illinois Central

junction and nailed it to a post. Later, a for-

eign line crew stopped and phoned the IHB

dispatcher. He asked them where they were.

The crew answered Putchka Junction. A few

days later the sign disappeared.

When working with Peter on another

trip over the IHB, our speed was 30 mph.

All of a sudden, the caboose’s rear end start-

ed to jump and gyrate. I immediately

grabbed the conductor’s valve and dumped

the air, bringing the train to a quick stop. I

looked back and spotted a door laying on

the rail. The door had fallen off a car next to

the caboose and somehow worked its way

between the trucks of the caboose. The IHB

dispatcher thought I was joking when I told

him what happened.

I can remember many fellow railroaders

with colorful nicknames: Slingshot Joe,

Konhehee Joe, Tulips Burnoth, Praise the

Lord Johnson, Shaky Stockwell O’Hara, Un-

cle Judd Matthews, Burgeyes Nerve, Dirty

Neck Petersen, and Hard Head Johnson.

Many railroaders were killed or maimed

during my tour of duty. I was fortunate not

to be seriously injured, suffering just a few

scrapes and bruises.

During my time on the rails, the com-

pany transitioned from the Milwaukee

Road to Soo Line and finally Canadian

Pacific. I retired as a conductor at Bensen-

ville Yard in May 1998 at No. 1 on the

seniority list, compared with 289 when I

hired out.

RICHARD W. WAGNER resides near

Chicago. This is his first Trains byline.

TrainsMag.com 51

Milwaukee Road 2-8-2 No. 327 rolls south on the Indiana Harbor Belt at La Grange, Ill., in

December 1950, bound for Terre Haute, Ind., on a line that the author worked. Robert Milner

Chicago’s Galewood Yard supported numer-
ous rail-served industries on the city’s west
side. The author worked there during his
43-year career. Two photos, Milwaukee Road

A distinctly Milwaukee Road ribside steel

caboose shows off new paint after a 1960s

reconditioning. At the time, the road rostered

456 such cars, built in its Milwaukee shops.