Getting Off on the Right Foot
This anonymous fellow, despite resembling Archie Bunker, is my new hero for sensible competence. His tolerance for falling is awesome. This is definitely not one of those exercises in boredom.
Should I ever become a hobo and take to riding the rails, I will owe any success to him.
Comments
Anonymous? Watch the credits! His name is Glen Roper.
From the You Tube comments of the movie:
"The man in this film Is Mr. Glen Roper. He worked on the Union Pacific railroad in many capacities over the years. He had done some stunt work in movies (I don't know which ones) and had also on occasion performed as a professional wrestler as the "Masked Marvel". I met Mr. Roper in Los Angeles when I went to inquire about employment on the U.P. and he was in the personnel office at that time (Oct.1973) and I hired out as a laborer in Maintenance of Way. In 1974 I went into engine service and Mr. Roper was giving the rules classes to us. He had worked in train service for many years. He was very knowledgeable of many aspects of railroading. Those old heads from that generation were a bunch of tough , hard working people. They were an interesting bunch and I was glad to have had the opportunity to learn from them." -- James Krause
This seems to be made from a videotape of of an old 16mm film. The old rule of thumb is that you lose at least 20% of quality when changing formats, so that explains the quality of the film. Really cool, though.
From the You Tube comments of the movie:
"The man in this film Is Mr. Glen Roper. He worked on the Union Pacific railroad in many capacities over the years. He had done some stunt work in movies (I don't know which ones) and had also on occasion performed as a professional wrestler as the "Masked Marvel". I met Mr. Roper in Los Angeles when I went to inquire about employment on the U.P. and he was in the personnel office at that time (Oct.1973) and I hired out as a laborer in Maintenance of Way. In 1974 I went into engine service and Mr. Roper was giving the rules classes to us. He had worked in train service for many years. He was very knowledgeable of many aspects of railroading. Those old heads from that generation were a bunch of tough , hard working people. They were an interesting bunch and I was glad to have had the opportunity to learn from them." -- James Krause
This seems to be made from a videotape of of an old 16mm film. The old rule of thumb is that you lose at least 20% of quality when changing formats, so that explains the quality of the film. Really cool, though.
Posted by mjbird on 06/27/15 at 09:09 AM
Don't fool around on trains or train tracks for that matter. About 5 seconds made the difference between my mom having 3 daughters or 1 daughter years ago when my little sister's foot got stuck in the rails with a train coming. I managed to get her loose but it was a near thing and I wouldn't have left her no matter what.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 06/27/15 at 09:13 AM
MJBIRD--my bad, in neglecting to spot Glen Roper's name. Thanks for remedying that lack. I have to agree with the commenter: what a cool dude!
Posted by Paul on 06/27/15 at 10:19 AM
I'll wager health and safety regulations would not allow train workers to do all that work around moving trains these days. Just one misstep and you're toast. I've learned that in my jurisdiction, workers are not to work off of ladders anymore. They have to use scaffoldings. Half the painting and construction work I used to do would be illegal now. I was lucky, but not everyone was.
Pretty good Archie Bunker, by the way.
Pretty good Archie Bunker, by the way.
Posted by Harvey on 06/27/15 at 04:12 PM
Used to ride the trains to get uptown in Burbank growing up. The loaded cars near our apartment so it was easy to get on. Getting off was a bit trickier. Not stepping as shown in the video, you had to jump off in just the right spot where the only patch of grass was. Countless times we had to jump onto the rocks. Good times to save 30 minutes of walking.
Posted by Gary Foster on 06/29/15 at 12:22 PM
THEY loaded cars. Brilliant proof read.
Posted by Gary Foster on 06/29/15 at 12:24 PM
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Category: PSA’s | Trains and Other Vehicles on Rails | 1970s