Home My 1963 Work Schedule My Interlocking Tower Site Van Loon Ivanhoe Griffith

Wishes and Regrets I wish I had not waited 50 years to document my best summer job as a lot of details have been lost. Fortunately I saved all my notes to jog my memory. Without the notes I never would have attempted this project. I regret that I never took photos inside and outside of EJ&E towers (except BART) and the trains passing them. I did own an inexpensive camera but to a college kid on a tight budget, the cost of purchasing and developing film was a deterrent. Besides, there was the mentality that towers would be around "forever." In hindsight, how stupid! With regard to photos, there are lots of them on the internet, including all of the J towers I worked. I have an extensive list of links at the bottom of my Interlocking Tower Site. Another source of photos is to type "EJ&E towers" in a Google search and then click on Images. I regret that I did not keep a record of train movements at all towers but at least I did with some of them. I saved a number of train orders acquired during break in and displayed some of them here but, for reasons I can't explain, I never saved any that I wrote on the job. Really dumb! ... and some final thoughts I fully expect there may be some questions about what I've written -or- not written. I will try my best to answer questions but be forewarned the answer may be, "I don't remember." My notes are often sparse, especially when viewed over 50 years later. I suspect that if I clearly understood something during break in, I didn't bother to write it down. Also, if anybody reading this has worked EJ&E towers and can fill in missing information or correct what I've written, please let me know. I have no problem correcting errors or adding to, deleting, or clarifying what I've written. There's no question in my mind that this was my best summer job ever. Sure, there were a few things I could have and should have done differently, but overall it was a success. To paraphrase Joseph Santucci, noted train engineer and author, "A day on the railroad was a success if (a) nothing got wrecked, (b) nobody got hurt, and best of all (c) nobody got fired." In August it was time to notify Chief Dispatcher Morse that I would be returning to school. In response the Chief mailed this message to my home. Most satisfying was that last line: SHOULD YOU DESIRE WORK NEXT SUMMER I WOULD BE GLAD TO EMPLOY YOU.

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