Every night, they would bring in 2 to 5 locomotives for their periodic inspections. Locomotives had to be inspected after every so many hours of operation. I want to say 1000 hours, but I’m not sure. As electrician’s we were in charge of finding “shorts” in the engines. We had this measurement box with two cables with clips (like you use to jump a car). We had a dozen or so places in the engine that we had to test and if everything tested out OK, the engine was released and it went on it’s way. But, most of the time, water would get into parts of the engine and short out the electrical circuits. When we measured a short, we had to find it, fix it and then make sure the measurement passed before the engine was allowed to leave.
It was a fun job. I really enjoyed it. There were nights when there was nothing to do and there were nights when we were busy the whole time. I especially liked finding the shorts. It was like a mystery that had to be solved. there was a routine you went through and sometimes it worked and sometimes, it didn’t. A person could make a name for himself (among the electricians) for being able to find the shorts the fastest. I was pretty good at it because I have always been able to think logically.
Since it was union job, we were given an hour for lunch every night. Quite often, since I never got enough sleep, working nights, I would go up in the cab of a locomotive, sit in the captain’s chair and take a nap for a 1/2 hour or so. Since the engine’s were never shut off, they ran the entire time they were in the house, you had a constant roar to listen to. I learned to sleep through that and the constant shaking of the engine. Later I could sleep through just about anything. (Not so today).
I was a journeyman electrician, but I worked for a man who was an expert electrician. He had worked for the railroad for his entire life and he was paid the exact same amount I was. This was because of the union. His name was Al Henderson and when it wasn’t busy, he and I would sit out on the loading dock behind the building and watch the night and talk. He was a Seventy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I had heard of Brigham Young and Joseph Smith in school, but I knew nothing about the church. He and I would sit and talk about all kinds of things. We talked about life and religion and the job and just about anything else. We became really good friends.
Next: I find the Church
Dad