Many of you know that I railfan the Housatonic Railroad, a short line that roughly follows the Housatonic River and operates from a connection with CSX at Pittsfield, MA to Danbury, CT, where I work, and a branch East to Derby, CT.
The local job, NX-11, usually is working Danbury around the same time I take lunch, so I often see them switch while I’m out. Occasionally, my job will take me to other places along the line. Years ago, when I first started chasing them, they would refer to me on the radio as Johnny Railfan. At the time, they intended this to be a derogatory term. Once they made a comment during radio chatter something like ‘ya think Johnny Railfan would buy us a coffee or somethin’ - To their surprise, a few weeks later, I met them at one of the industries they switch with coffee for everyone in the crew. I let them know that my name was Jon, and I started signing posts on the Housatonic Email List as Johnny Railfan. Attitudes changed a bit after that.
A year or so later, I was feeling rather generous at Christmas, and picked up a 6 pack of beer for each member of the 4 man crew and chased them to where they tie down so I could give it to them after they were off-duty. As a result of that gesture, friendships were made and a few months later I was invited up into the cab while they did a little switching.
Railroad schedules changed, crews changed, and my job changed a bit, so I didn’t see the same guys very often over the last year or so. When the economy caused car loadings to go down, 1 train was annulled and the local job went back on my lunch schedule. Crews changed again recently and one of the guys that did ground work on our earlier encounters is now the engineer. His first comment on the radio was 'Hey Johnny - where you been?" Since then when he sees me he’ll blow the horn, wave and say hello over the radio.
Today I had a chance meeting with the train as I was headed out to lunch. I watched them do a gravity run-around to change directions, and then chased them further North than I usually do. I was waiting at the station in Brookfield, CT when the train came into view. They always run under 10 MPH through this stretch, but they seemed to be going very slow. I was quite surprised when the engine stopped directly in front of me, the window opened, and one of the crew members waved me over.
Once I got close, they asked if I wanted to go on a run with them. I thought they meant now, and I had no way to get back to my car since they were not coming back. They meant another day, and offered me a phone number and instructions to call when I can meet them at a junction where I can ride the Eastbound out-and back job. We’re talking a couple of hours here with work at two locations. I’ve got some personal time coming around the holiday and can’t wait!
