(The following story by Joel Banner Baird appeared on the News Leader website on February 21.)
STAUNTON, Va. — It’s like auto repairs, but the tools are bigger. Jack Sanford suited up in grease-stained Tyvek coveralls and put his full weight against a stubborn, softball-sized bolt.
Replacing the locomotive’s wheel flange lubricator would take more than just a few dozen kicks on the wrench. But without judicious applications of graphite, the wheels would wear unevenly.
“You’ll basically have the larger wheel trying to move faster than the smaller wheel,” he said.
Sanford is a freelance railroad mechanic.
“I’m living out of my truck right now, but I own a house in South Carolina,” he said. “My wife threw me out.”
This week he tended to Engine No. 40 at the Shenandoah Valley Railroad yard on Commerce Street.
Sanford came to railroading by way of a radio station in Connecticut (where he was born) and a motorcycle dealership (specializing in Jawa, a Czech brand that never really caught on).
In April, he’ll have logged 30 years tending to steam and diesel-electric engines.
“I’ve worked in Covington, up in West Virginia in Ridgely, Durbin, Elkins — all over,” he said.
Sanford has his ear to the rail, so to speak. He speaks approvingly of the investment in the C&O Flats in Staunton.
He’s up on the latest upgrades to the downtown depot in Elkins.
“The new excursion line there is going to open with a 1946 Cadillac with rail wheels mounted on it,” he said.
Sanford applied some lubricant to the nut and bolt joint and gave it a break. He climbed up on the locomotive, opened one of the engine panels and peered in.
“A little more oil than I’d like to see in there,” he said.
A Honda pulled into the office’s parking lot. Ben True hopped out and introduced himself as the operations manager for SVRR.
“But I’m also an engineer, a conductor and the jack of all trades,” he said. Sanford helped him unload some metal signs from the Honda’s trunk, then walked back to the locomotive.
True stayed in the office. He had a half-hour of paperwork to do before hauling a couple of empty tank cars to Verona.
He was joined by Nathan Simmons, SVRR’s only full-time conductor, who filled out an operations report, a car movement report, a haz-mat placement report and a switch-position-awareness form.
Paul Shirey, a part-time railroad volunteer who lives in Staunton, sat in one of the three comfortable chairs.
He said he was soaking in the atmosphere — something he said his wife probably wouldn’t understand.
“The less said about me the better,” he said.
True begged to differ.
“He’s good for morale,” said the engineer.