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Local man remembers the age of steam as tough, demandingBy Cathy HannonValley Bureau ChiefJohn McGrath, 83, a former fireman on the Black Diamond passenger train and engineer for the Susquehanna-New York Railroad, recalls his days working with the railroads with a sense of pride.“Railroading was hard work,” said McGrath. “It was something that gave you a challenge every day. I’m glad to be part of the railroad when I think back, but I wonder how I got through it sometimes.”McGrath says he served a total of 32 years working on railroads. He served approximately five years on the Susquehanna-New York Railroad and 27 years on the Lehigh Valley Railroad. He started working on the railroad in 1938 and retired in1970. ■■ A- ;C - '“I first worked on a carpenter gang for the Susquehanna-New York Railroad,” McGrath said. “I started doing road service, working as an engineer and then as a hand fireman. My hand fireman job was shoveling coal into the train’s engine. Then I wound up at the Lehigh Valley Railroad.”At the Lehigh Valley Railroad, McGrath worked as a fireman on steam engines, most notably the Black Diamond. He was a member of the crew that took the Black Diamond on its last passenger run in1955- r-\ - jt '' ^ :McGrath praised the design ofiY\** Rla/lr niamcinH anH nthor ctaammmm - \“The steam engine all had stokers that were blasted with steam,” McGrath said. “I liked working on steam trains instead of the ones you shoveled coal into or the diesel engines. Working on steam engines was dirty, but there was a thrill to it. There was always something to do. Steam engines offered something more. They felt like something alive, something ready togo.”After the passenger trains were gone, McGrath worked on freight trains. Work on the steam engines was easier than shoveling coal intothp pncrint^ McGrath said“Working on hand fired engines was rough,” McGrath said. “It was hard work. It could kill a man. On the steam engines, you had to feel the engines out. It was a challenge. One day your train could run good and the brakes would work great. The next day you could wreck a train doing the same thing. You had to keep the engine running right. If you were working with a good engineer, it was enjoyable work.”McGrath presently lives in Towanda, in the same place where he lived while he worked on the Lehigh Valley Railroad in Sayre.(See Rail,12A)John McGrath, 83, retired and living in Towanda, recalls his days of being a fireman on the famous Black Diamond steam passenger train. (Review Photo By Cathy Hannon)
Newspaper Details
The Daily Review
Towanda, Pennsylvania, US
Sun, Oct 16, 1988
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Indiana U.
PA, USA 29 Aug 2021
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