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Interstate Railroad Memories of an Appalachian Short Line SIGNED Hard Cover
Interstate Railroad by Ed Wolfe Signed
Memories of an Appalachian Short Line
Hard Cover
192 pages Indexed
Copyright 2003 FIRST PRINTING
165 black & white photos and maps
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements 2
Table of Contents 3
Introduction 4
Owen Anderson 5
Les Blevins 20
Jack Long 36
Henry "Hank" Stuart, Jr. 43
Merle "M. D." Watts 140
Ben Williams, Jr. 148
Hugh Wolfe 157
Index 190
INTRODUCTION
As fans of a particular railroad or railroads, our primary focus of interest is typically on the motive power and/or rolling stock. However, without people to operate this machinery, it would be nothing more than cold, inanimate pieces of equipment. The equipment is only what allows the railroad to function. The employees make up the heart and soul of a railroad and give each line an identity and character of its own. As such, perhaps the most lasting tribute to the character of an individual railroad are the employee's personal recollections.
A major portion of the two prior volumes of the Interstate trilogy (The Interstate Railroad - History of an Appalachian Coal Road; Old Line Graphics, 1994 and Appalachian Coal Hauler - The Interstate Railroad's Mine Runs and Coal Trains; TLC Publishing, 2002) focused on the road's history, motive power, rolling stock and tipple/coke oven operations. Significant portions of both volumes contained dad's, Hugh Wolfe's, recollections of the Interstate. However, there were several hundred other persons employed by the IRR. All of these employees also have stories to tell. Unfortunately, very few employees, particularly those from the steam and steam-to-diesel transition periods of the 1940s and 1950s, remain to tell their stories.
This volume presents recollections of six additional Interstate employees: Owen Anderson, Les Blevins, Jack Long, Henry "Hank" Stuart, Jr., Merle "M. D." Watts and Ben Williams, Jr. Additional recollections of dad, Hugh Wolfe, are also included. It should be emphasized that although my name appears as the author of this third volume, I'm really no more than the messenger. This work was authored by the 200 years combined experience of these seven contributors on the Interstate.
By far, the bulk of the recollections in this volume are those of Henry "Hank" Stuart, Jr. Mr. Stuart's recollections are of particular importance as they express a management viewpoint and primarily address three areas. First, Hank's experiences yield a view of the program that management trainees were exposed to in order to learn the "nuts and bolts" of railway operations from entry level positions upward. Second, the planning and reasoning behind many of the changes (use of radios, dieselization, sale to Southern) that occurred on the Interstate in the 1950s into the early 1960s are addressed. Third, Mr. Stuart's experiences after the purchase of the Interstate by the Southern recount initial efforts to "Southernize" the Interstate.
A sizable group of recollections are those of Owen Anderson. Owen's thoughts are particularly valuable in that they extend back to the early 1920s. Many of his recollections relate to the Interstate's passenger service along with the care and use of the Interstate's president's car, IRR No. 100/101.
If some recollections provide conflicting views, remember that each person's recollection/interpretation is based on their particular point of view and background. One person's recollection is not necessarily "right" and the other "wrong". A particular event was just viewed/interpreted differently based on that person's background and/or knowledge of events.
Although numerous photos are included, in some places, these photos are not necessarily related to the surrounding text. They are included to provide additional photographic coverage of the Interstate and/ or of the various operations served by the IRR. Unfortunately, the quantity of photographs related to the Interstate is quite limited. A few photographs used in the prior two Interstate volumes were used again to illustrate a particular point; other views are quite similar to those used previously. By far, the most extensive photographic coverage of the line was provided in the two initial volumes on the Interstate.
Ed Wolfe June 2003
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