By Christopher M. Cano
DULUTH, Ga. | One afternoon while visiting the Southeastern Railway Museum a member of the gatehouse staff approached who handed me a small slip of paper and suggested I apply to be a volunteer. At that point, I didn’t have much to do so I thought it would be a good opportunity to be productive and get some experience.
Cano dressed for conducting. Provided.
Once accepted to be a volunteer, I began volunteering at the Park Train (now the Duluth, Southern and Coastline Railroad) in December. I got qualified as a conductor pretty quickly, the Park Train was sent to the shop for seasonal maintenance. I was part of a team of several people who helped transport 900. I decided to broaden and generalize what I could do at the museum. Anywhere I saw someone needing help, I’d try and swoop in to give them a hand.
I’d help with exhibit maintenance, learn how to open and close the museum, dabble in the archives, and work as a safety on the historic train. In February, I’d dip my toes in the shop with my first projects, helping to repair the backhoe and learning how to apply a decal on a locomotive. I then learned how to operate the backhoe and flattened a plot for Duluth Fall Festival trailers. I learned a lot about many things in a small amount of time.
Soon March came and several conductors thought I was ready to get qualified. I was a little shy at first, after all I was just some kid in architecture school at Kennesaw who knew nothing about railroad operations. But I took a qualification run. A couple days after my 21st birthday, I was qualified to conduct on a train. And soon, four months and a lot of training later, I was qualified to operate a train with passengers.
At some point, I believe everyone dreams about operating a locomotive. To actually have the opportunity to sit behind the control stand is an enormous responsibility and an immensely gratifying feeling, one of which I will always appreciate and never take for granted.
Around the same time, I was interested in the science of the railroad and how specifically tracks work. I was introduced to our track supervisor and began learning and taking notes during his weekly inspections. Soon I had more experience on the railroad than I had with any other work and I enjoyed it. After deliberation and research, I decided that I wanted to spend the next phase of my life working on the railroad.
I applied to intercity service on Amtrak, and many smaller regional and commuter services such as in Pennsylvania and New Jersey Transit. I heard back from the company that operates Massachusetts Bay Area Transit Commuter Rail in Boston (Keolis), and I flew up for an interview. Next thing I knew, I have a new career thanks to the experience I earned volunteering for the Southeastern Railway Museum. My first day on the job is January 6. I found an apartment in Watertown, across the Charles River west of Cambridge.
It cannot be overstated how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to volunteer at the Southeastern Railway Museum. Thank you ever so much to Chuck Miller, Bill Pearce, Allen Rider, Stephen Warner, Steve Storey, Andrew Durden, Randy Minter, Chuck Hardt, Bill Bickley, Ken Greenwood, Greg Wells, John Bacon, Glen Landsberg, Ora Ball, Micah Watkins, Dave Koch, Gary Cullen, and Ryan Bornstein, and everyone else who taught and supported me (in no particular order).
Stay safe and keep rolling on.
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