(The following story by Mary Poletti appeared on the Quincy Herald-Whig website on June 10, 2010.)
HANNIBAL, Mo. — In a once-in-a-lifetime honor, a railroad signal in downtown Hannibal is now known by the name of a longtime Norfolk Southern Railroad employee.
The Norfolk Southern and Burlington Northern railroad control signal, long known as BNSF Connection, was dedicated as W F Swan Connection in a riverfront ceremony Wednesday morning. The crossing’s new namesake, Fred Swan, died suddenly in March at age 61 after more than 40 years as the Hannibal railroad bridge operator for Norfolk Southern.
Railroad staff say it is extremely rare, perhaps even unprecedented, for a signal to be named after an employee.
“I was speaking with our local PR guy about it, and he said in his 30 years with the railroad, he’s never heard of anything like it,” said Norfolk Southern engineer Bill Crisp, who led co-workers in petitioning the railroad for the honor weeks after Swan’s death. “Big corporations don’t normally do stuff like that for employees.”
But George Camille, Norfolk Southern’s assistant vice president for state government relations, said honoring Swan was “an easy decision” given Swan’s role as chairman of the local safety committee. It serves as “a reminder that we want to work safe and return home safe,” Camille said.
Swan’s stepdaughter, Kathy Womack, marveled at the cooperation that led to the signal’s renaming.
“The hard thing was to have both railroads (Norfolk Southern and Burlington Northern) come together,” Womack said. “We were amazed.”
The ceremony included a variety of tributes to Fred Swan. The Mark Twain Riverboat, full of tourists, tooted its horn in tribute to Swan as it sailed by the ceremony site.
Later, after the new W F Swan Connection sign had been unveiled, the ceremonial first train chugged past the renamed signal and a hush fell over the dozens of people gathered next to the tracks, broken only by the locomotive’s shrill whistle.
Swan’s widow, LeNora, frequently wiped away tears as Norfolk Southern officials and former co-workers of Swan’s shared humorous and touching stories of their friend.
“Fred was like a rock along this river,” reliable and professional, said Bob Wright, division engineer for Norfolk Southern’s Illinois Division. “Fred always had a cup of coffee and a kind word and could put a smile on your face.”
The ceremony touched on other aspects of Swan’s life, such as his involvement with Hannibal’s First Church of the Nazarene and his deep love of family.
“Railroading is a family affair,” Crisp said. “Railroaders are family.”
After accepting a plaque in memory of her late husband, a tearful LeNora Swan said the railroad was Swan’s life.
“Fred was so fortunate to have a job where he looked forward to getting up and going to work,” she said. “Thank you, railroad, for being what you were to Fred and to me.”