C&LC-MIGN Ties

[AARR]

Posted by Alex Huff on 12/6/2014, 11:25 pm, in reply to "C&LC ties to the MN"

By the time MIGN started on 4/1/76, the C&LC in Michigan was dead. Mark Campbell and I had both worked for the C&LC, so we knew the four men in train service, engineers Jim Dewitt and Ed Seeley, conductors (and spare engineers) Stan Bogen and Joe Rogers. All four came to work for MIGN. Because of the C&LC bankruptcy, Chairman Cliff Lenten and Pres/GM/dining car cook Howard Noble were politically toxic in Lansing. It was made clear to Mark and I that we couldn't hire them, as it would appear MIGN was C&LC in sheep's clothing. Some years later Cliff did work for MIGN, primarily doing track inspection and marking ties for replacement. Howard never worked for MIGN. We hired three of the PC's residual section men, the foreman in Cadillac and the two man section in Kalkaska. A key hire was Glen Ashley, Cadillac's freight agent. We were not required to pay anyone their previous rate of pay. My recollection is that under the law setting up Conrail, anyone working for a predecessor company with ten years seniority was guaranteed a pay check until retirement at age 65. I also believe that they could not be forced to move out of their seniority district. I could be wrong on that. Two that did not come to work were the carman at Cadillac, Robbie Robinson, as I recall, and the crossing signal maintainer based in Cadillac. I believe both drew rocking chair money. I don't recall when, but somewhere down the road, Congress rewrote the law, abolishing "Jobs (or at least paychecks) for life". There were two more section men on the south end who were young and elected to go to work for Conrail.

Other key people with railroad experience, included Paul Valverde, roadmaster and hell on wheels when it came to getting a day's work out of the largely college kids we hired for the summer tie gang. Later, Wade Plummer, ex-PRR and then Herb Strieby, a WWII vet with experience on the CB&Q all the way back to 201A Winton Diesels were the rairoads' Master Mechanic. Mike Wood, the first MM, had Navy experience with EMD Diesels and was freshly back from an 18 month tour in Saudi Arabia as a private contractor. Although retired, we were able to pick Stan Bogen's father's brain about the crossing signals, as he had installed most of them as a maintainer on the PRR.

I was no longer with MIGN when TSBY replaced it south of Petoskey. Glen Ashley went to TSBY early, Stan Bogen, now an engineer, switched over toward the end. TSBY I believe needed only one man at the Cadillac enginehouse. He was ex-MIGN. There were also one or two signal maintainers who crossed over. There may have been others which I didn't know about.

[MIGN-Todd]

On the other page, mention was made of Bud Zosso moving over to the TSBY. I knew Bud pretty good when I was a young lad along with Ted Donmeyer and Tom Meredith. They gave me my first cab ride in any locomotive- MIGN GP9 #1603. Had rides in all the Geeps. Spent even more time with them when the Cherry Blossom Special ran as I was one of the fellows who cleaned the cars interiors after every trip. How are they doing if anyone knows? I miss those days.....

[Raildudes dad]

The MIGN cop went to the TSBY IIRC. Can't think of his name, probably will come to me in a day or 3

[Standard Railfan]

The MIGN cop went to the TSBY IIRC. Can't think of his name, probably will come to me in a day or 3

Stevens comes to mind.

[Raildudes dad]

Chuck Stevens