Kirby, PA 7/11/12 - The Cumberland Mine Railroad is a one-man operation. On each shift, one locomotive engineer serves as brakeman, conductor, engineer, coal loader, and unloader. Controlling his train by remote control pack (small yellow box), engineer Denny Barrish carefully flood-loads 38 hoppers (silver control panel) with coal destined for overseas ports and southern power plants. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to load the cars. After loading, he will run the train 18 miles to the east to unloaded them at Alicia Harbor, where the coal will be transloaded to a barge to travel down the Monogahela and eventually the Mississippi River. Barrish has worked for the mine for 37 years--34 of them underground as a miner. His job running the railroad these last 3 years is "the best job of [his] life." With a broad smile and a jovial laugh he repeated says, "I love this job!" His enthusiasm for it showed clearly, and his professional care for his tasks was unmistakable. Access to the railroad property was by permission.
