A look at a railroad conductor retiring after thirty years, after-the-jump ...
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I travel on Amtrak 3-4x/year to visit family/friends in the NY area down the Connecticut River from the Vermont/New Hampshire region, since 1987. This particular train (The Vermonter) originates in northwestern Vermont — with hopes of someday restoring its origin in Montreal, Québec — and going to Washington, D.C. … operating daily in each direction.
And while the crews change and have their own schedules: over the years, in the first leg of the journey (between northern Vermont and Springfield, Massachusetts) one conductor I saw more often than any other was Mike Kujala. He was authoritative, and had to announce in 2008 that a pedestrian was killed walking on the tracks and that alternate buses would need to be utilized.
Yet he was friendly and made sure to announce all stops with time to spare. He also would kibitz with people (time permitting).
For travel at holiday weekends, I often use business class (more storage capacity and near the café car) where he would often have on his section to oversee. Over the years, it grew so that when he came to collect tickets, we would visually recognize each other (with a head nod). Yet it was not until 2011 — when Amtrak finally abandoned most traditional paper punch-tickets to move to scanning — that he would have a manifest that told him when someone boarded in business class. So he would enter and say, “Hi, Ed”- and that’s when we truly bonded.
There were other conductors I came to know — Jim Leatherman transferred to Pennsylvania service, and Harry is a cut-up of the first magnitude — yet it was always Mike I hoped to see … and more-often-than-not, he was there.
Until now.
This past Friday was his last day on the job — retiring on his 60th birthday with over thirty years of service, plus having just married the weekend before. And as word spread, many along the line made a point of offering congratulations.
Growing up on Long Island, NY, it was not unusual to hear of a conductor getting a cake from passengers on the LIRR commuter train … after all, one often saw the same crew 5 days/week annually. For someone you likely saw far less often … this will tell you how much of a presence Mike had.
The day before, I went to one of the smaller, less busy stations on the line (Bellows Falls, Vermont) to wish him the best. He called my name right upon seeing me and we had a chance to briefly chat as he was helping passengers disembark (with all of their luggage) and help-on new passengers. I promised him that I would stay-on Harry’s case from hereon (which he laughed at) and we bid goodbye. Before that, he did say he would ride the rails on occasion to help with training of new employees.
The stop after that — the welcoming crew was on hand to wish him well.
The next morning: one final photo at the southbound origin (St. Albans, Vermont) with his new wife Kim on hand for his last trip.
At the next stop of Essex Junction (near Vermont’s largest city of Burlington), the local ABC affiliate was on hand to film a short segment for their broadcast.
Approaching the crew change at Springfield, Massachusetts — where he has lived nearby for many years — holding his conductor’s “grip” as it is known in the trade.
Mike indicated that he is moving to the Vermonter’s northernmost origin point (St. Albans) as Kim is from the area. So even though he’s leaving the job … the railroad is an integral part of a town with less than 7,000 population.
Here is that short TV segment.
All the best in retirement, Mike. And while there are many worthy railroad songs, I’ll always have a soft spot for this.
Now, on to Top Comments:
From Besamé:
In the diary by Barley Wine about the governor of Florida failing in Job One - I nominate all the replies to my own comment. I really appreciated the personal experiences and knowledge people shared that gives me a better understanding of how emergency measures are handled (or not) pre-hurricane.
And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........
In the diary by mastergardener2k about the resignation of Ben Sasse (R-NE) to assume the post of University of Florida president — tjlord updates readers on Nebraska state law, while florida person laments what has happened to the Florida university system and Huskers suspects who the new appointee might be (due to term limits).
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TOP PHOTOSOctober 5th, 2022
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