Ken Lothridge

The author began his railroad career with Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1973. He hired on as a brakeman and two years later took and passed the exam for conductor. This book is a collection of stories about his experiences, and the experiences of some of his colleagues, from the time of his days as a brakeman to the time of his retirement as an Amtrak conductor.

The tradition of the privately published railroad memoir has a long history. Mr. Lothridge’s book is part of that tradition. The book is divided into 14 chapters. As is often the case with efforts of this type there is an unevenness in the editing and proofreading, however, the author more than makes up for this with his ability to tell a good story. What makes the stories even more interesting is that they are about railroading from 1973 to the present. Consequently, while there are the usual interesting descriptions about the first day on the job, covering for a drunken co-worker, and taking the blame for an accident caused by a new trainee, there are numerous accounts of railroading that could only have been written in the context of the late 20th century.

For example Chapter 3 is titled Drug Traffic On Trains. In it the author gives the reader a picture of the efforts of the railroads and law enforcement with respect to combating drug carriers. In addition to a general description of events the author recounts his involvement in dealing with drug traffickers when they were on passenger trains under his care. In Chapter 4 – Rule G – we are given an update with respect to the meaning of that rule which now covers drug abuse. The stories in Chapter 4 are particularly interesting because the author tells us stories about how lax things had become by the mid 1970’s and how the situation has improved since. Chapter 7 – Strange and Crazy – is just that stories about passengers who were strange, crazy, and, in some cases, extremely dangerous. In Chapter 12 – Thieves, we learn about the new definitely 20th Century ways people have developed for stealing from a train and in Chapter 14 – Respect the Railroad Tracks – we have painful descriptions of the new ways people manage to kill themselves. Of particular concern to him, and to us the reader, are the problems associated with headphones and loud music.

From the drunken motorcyclist who cheated death by laying down his bike and sliding underneath a car of a moving train to the white knuckle fear of the impending collision with a gasoline truck whose driver didn’t seem to be paying attention to the events at the railroad crossing, the author has the ability to paint word pictures which hold the readers interest. Mr. Lothridge’s stories are a welcome addition to the genre of first person accounts of railroad life. (Text Length – 142 pages, Total Length 147 pages including glossary and an about the author page.)… (más)