The following story is from the June 22 Galesburg Register Mail. I am
sure this group will find it interesting.
GALESBURG -
At noon next Sunday, the final day of Railroad Days, a 99-year-old chain
and fob, which is intended to attach to a pocket watch and has had five
owners, will be donated to the Galesburg Railroad Museum.
"It is such an honor to receive the chain and fob," said Jim Clayton,
director of the museum. "It is a special thing to get in the museum."
In 1910, a conductor from Galesburg, whose name has been lost in
history, and was one of the early members of the Brotherhood of Railroad
Trainmen, purchased the chain and fob and decided to pass it from one
railroad man to another upon retirement.
The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen was a result of a meeting of
trainmen in the Galesburg area, and was a forerunner of the United
Transportation Union, which was formed in 1969.
When the unknown conductor retired, Joe Brown, a conductor from
Galesburg, received the chain and fob.
In 1950, Brown gave the chain and fob to Ralph Wolfe.
Wolfe began working for the railroad in April 1926, and was stationed in
Galesburg for most of his career. He held onto the chain and fob for 18
years.
In August 1968, he gave it to Cal Evans, who was stationed in Galesburg
and worked for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.
"When I received the chain and fob it gave me pride," Evans said. "It
was some recognition from a man who had seniority and knowledge and
worked for the railroad for 40 years. Receiving the chain and fob meant
you knew your craft."
In 1977, Evans left Galesburg for Tacoma, Wash., where he worked for 18
months. He then went on to work in Alliance, Neb., for five years and
Memphis, Tenn., for six.
Throughout his travels, Evans only used the chain and fob a few times
when he worked on passenger trains.
"The chain and fob was for when I wore my uniform," he said. "It is
important for trains to be on time and people in those days all carried
pocket watches that met federal standards. Daily, you would make sure
your watch had the proper time and you had to have them when you went to
work."
After having the chain and fob for 22 years, Evans gave it to William
Smith, in Memphis, on Aug. 31, 1990.
"I had worked with William and thought he was one of the most
knowledgeable guys I had worked with so I thought he would appreciate
it," Evans said.
Evans was right.
"When Cal gave me the chain and fob it meant so much to me," Smith said.
"At the time, his son-in-law worked for the railroad and he gave it to
me instead, so it is pretty special."
Smith's railroad service began in 1970 in Memphis with the St. Louis-San
Francisco Railway. He continued to work in Memphis until 1996 when he
transferred to Winslow, Ariz. After 18 months in Winslow, he transferred
to Kansas City, Mo., and worked there for 11 months. From Kansas City,
Smith transferred to Fort Madison, Iowa, and worked there for two years.
In 2000, he went back to Memphis.
Over the years, Smith never used the chain and fob.
"I just kept it for safekeeping," he said. "I had it framed. It is an
interesting piece of railroad history. The fob is really unique. It is a
knight's helmet. The visor on the helmet raises up and down and the fob
has the Brotherhood of Trainmen insignia on it."
Smith, who lives 40 miles east of Memphis in Moscow, Tenn., and is
retired from BNSF, did not give the chain and fob to another railroad
man when he retired.
So he talked with Evans about the future of the chain and fob.
"I mentioned to William that the chain and fob originated in Galesburg,"
Evans said. "I had been to the Galesburg Railroad Museum when I worked
in Fort Madison and we both felt that was a good place for it if we were
not going to pass it on."
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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