R i d e t r a i n!
t
h
isequalized, ground fog developed, and the
station platform, the engine steps and its
handrails, all became unexpectedly slippery.
This was the situation one morning as I
waited my turn to board northbound No. 4
along with veteran engineer Raymond
Weaver and fireman Andy LeGrand. The
inbound crew had failed to slow the train
down sufficiently. I was sure that an embar-
rassing stop would be needed; no one could
get up on that locomotive at that speed.
To my amazement, Weaver, almost 70
years old and nearing retirement gripped
the grab irons and swung himself up with
the greatest of ease. LeGrand, 36, took a
couple of running steps, but still managed
to climb aboard. However, I, age 26, focused
on the train’s speed, allowed the railings to
slip through my hands. My feet came out
from beneath me, and I landed on my face,
luckily away from the side of movement,
which was halted so that I could get aboard.
I was expecting a lecture, or at least a
snicker once we were moving again, but
Weaver, one of the finest gentlemen of rail-
roading, was more concerned that I might
be hurt. LeGrand saw to it that I had ice-
soaked paper towels to ease the pain. Weav-
er, who is probably past the century mark,
would be as agile and in as good physical
shape today as he was then. LeGrand sadly
died a few years ago from cancer.
Me? I’m 69, a retired engineer, over-
weight from spending too much time at the
throttle and too little time in the gym. Were
they still around, Weaver and LeGrand
could probably mount a moving train today,
while I’d likely still fall flat on my face. 2
DOUG RIDDELL is a former Trains col-
umnist, retired Amtrak engineer, and compa-
ny photographer. He is the author of two
recent Auto Train books, published by the
Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Rail-
road Historical Society. His son Ryan is an
Amtrak Auto Train engineer.
TrainsMag.com 49Southbound Auto-Train No. 3 passes Seaboard
System’s Collier Yard in Petersburg, Va., in
April 1981. Flagman Richard Stankiewitz rides
the caboose platform. Doug Riddell
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