Photographer- Unknown- from my personal collection. 35mm Kodachrome original slide.
Frank Collins, with his trademark cigarette, turns on the air operated bell on N&W 'J' Class 611 as she prepares to leave Simpson Yard in Jacksonville, FL enroute for a round trip to Valdosta, GA. This was the second such trip of the weekend, with two more scheduled for the following weekend. Frank Collins started on N&W as a fireman in 1947. He made engineer in November 1954, he operated Class 'J's' regularly on the Radford Division from 1954 until 1958. In 1969 he was promoted to Division Road Foreman of engines on the Scioto, Pittsburgh, Muncie, and Radford Divisions and in 1970 the Norfolk Division. In June of 1986 he was promoted to System Road Foreman of Engines-Steam for NS Corp, permanently assigned to the Steam Program.
Photo albums dedicated to the Men, and Women that keep the Railroad running around the clock 365 days a year. From Dispatcher to Track Gangs, these are the people that make the railroad moves!
