Andover Shop--Over the Years

[Ponce de Leon]

A couple of days ago, I mailed an 11X14 print of "Interstate" unit 8105 at Andover to Tom Gurley, a retired NS VP who was the last general manager of the Interstate. The shot was taken a couple of hours after she arrived from Knoxville on train 387. The general foreman was nice enough to allow me to set up my tripod on old "turf" and crank off that shot (Yes, I brought a hard hat, safety glasses, etc., so I was "legal").

Times sure have changed since the "old days." I went back through some of my images taken at that same place---and they're attached. I think the earliest shot is the Interstate RS-3 (1965), and the latest would be about 1974.

This recent heritage unit thing gave me a chance to stop by both Andover and Norton---places I used to haunt a lot in my youth, but rarely visit these days (again, for good reason). I can see how NS has concentrated its mechanical forces at Andover (car shop, some limited locomotive servicing) and what remaining field transportation forces there are at Norton (yardmaster, and some clerks; the yardmaster, by the way, handles Andover, Norton, Carbo and St. Charles). Most of the shifter crews are based at Norton, a few at Andover (where there are also pool crews and pushers on the ex-Southern side), and a few crews at Carbo (interroad units down the former Clinchfield).

There are no clerical positions or anything in the old Andover Tower building---just a crew room I think. That building had replaced an old scale house when I worked there in the late '60s---a very cramped facility with a terminal superintendent, terminal trainmaster, operator, four clerks, ATC and crewmen coming and going constantly (including a full-time yard crew weighing coal and handling all the other chores of keeping the small yard fluid). Of course in those days all waybills were entered by hand, so this was still pretty labor intensive stuff.

Here's a link to one of my shots from that time:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=319971&nseq=11

It's a "new" world out there. There are few cabooses for long shoves, and instead, "utility" brakemen are assigned white SUVs to get switches at mines and other spots. Otherwise, two man crews rule. The contract crew vans are shuttling crews back and forth to recrew points out in the "boonies" almost constantly. Contrast that to the days when a mine run/shifter crew would report for duty---probably M-F--at the same time almost every day. They had an assigned territory, and knew their jobs completely. There were few hard hats, no safety vests, hearing protection, etc. (not bad things, I might add...). There wasn't anything like "three step protection," and train and engine crews were EXPECTED to get on and off moving equipment. Dispatchers issued Form 19 and 31 train orders on "flimsies," and everyone had an approved time piece checked against the Standard Clock. Track men on motor cars, or other track equipment, operated on no authority at all. They had line-ups, but they rolled down the main line and "hoped" they didn't meet a train (the Interstate dispatcher issued train orders to motor cars and track equipment, however---a very unusual practice, even then. Rather than "track time," they were given wait or meet orders, just like the trains.).

Railroading is both the same...and quite different from the "classic" era. I know I'm more old school, of course, but I still enjoy it.

[chipallen16]

Though it's gone, you sure were lucky. I never got to see the era, but old school operations sound so fun to watch. Cool stuff, Ron!

-Chip 

[thpbears]

My family loaded a many of those hoppers in the pics. It sure is nice to see how it looked back then. I guess change is good in some cases and bad in others. I kinda lean toward the older days myself. These are some nice pics and contain a wealth of historical value.

[Badhorse79]

History class that I can Dig... thanks for sharing Teach. And keep the lessons coming.