HIGHLAND VILLAGE, Texas-In November 1979, I went to work for Burlington Northern as a brakeman in Grand Forks. A native of Georgia, I had just been laid off from International Co-Op (now JR Simplot) only two years after moving to North Dakota.
I was excited about going to work for the railroad and looked forward to a long career.
My wife and children loved Grand Forks, especially our house in Riverside Park. We planned to stay in the neighborhood for years to come.
So, when Trainmaster Billy Cobean called me into his office in March 1980 and told me I was being furloughed, my first question was, "What's a furlough?" I'll never forget what he told me: "A furlough is the railroad term for layoff."
Cobean went on to tell me to apply for railroad unemployment and take some time off. But I couldn't afford to do that, I said. I was willing to work anywhere as long as I could work, I told him.
ADVERTISEMENT
He suggested that I call other divisions to see if they could use me. So, that's just what I did. I spent the next morning calling division points throughout the BN system and finally ended up with Trainmaster Cal Evans in Alliance, Neb.
He told me that they desperately needed brakemen to work the many coal trains and other freight that was moving through Alliance. He also told me that it might be tough to find a place to stay because Alliance was booming.
I asked him if I could sleep in my Chevy van on railroad property, and he replied that I could.
I told him I'd be down as quick as I could.
The next day, my wife and I outfitted our van with curtains, a bed in the back and an icebox. The following morning, I was packed and ready to go. I left at 4 a.m., planning to cover the almost 700 miles in 12 hours so I could arrive in time to meet with Evans that afternoon.
At around 4:30 p.m. that day, I met him, and he greeted me like a long-lost friend. He introduced me to the crew callers and marked me up on the brakemen extra board.
He showed me where to park the van, and told me to get a good night's sleep because "you are going to be busy." That was music to my ears.
Sure enough, at 4 a.m., there was a knock on the van, and a crew caller announced that I had a 5 a.m. train to work to Edgemont, S.D. I was working again!
ADVERTISEMENT
I spent nearly five months in Alliance until I was called back to Grand Forks. When I was called back, Evans tried to convince me to stay in Alliance, but I was ready to go home. Especially when Trainmaster Cobean told me that I should have enough seniority not to get furloughed again.
Six months after returning to Grand Forks, I was furloughed again. This time, I couldn't find work in the BN system, and I ended up going out to the Williston Oil Basin, where I found work as a roughneck on a rig. It was good money, but the work was dangerous and required 12-hour shifts seven days a week.
I was recalled by BN four months later and happy to get off the rig. Some months later, though, I had had enough; and with the reduction of train crews because of the elimination of cabooses, I was able to negotiate a buyout of my union seniority and left the railroad.
Today, I'm an attorney in Texas, but I still look back fondly at my years with the railroad, even the furloughs.It toughened me up, and it makes me appreciate where I'm at today. I even wrote a book after judges and jurors told me how much they enjoyed the railroad stories I told during trials. And I still drive that '76 Chevy van.
So, Herald reader, if you're one of the folks who've recently been furloughed by BNSF, hang in there. Who knows, it could lead to a whole new adventure.
