Alaskan Railroaders Of The Finest Kind While not as close up and intimate of a portrait as others in this series I still want to add this and recognize by name these gentlemen. The 1400 afternoon Anchorage yard job is trundling up the APU spur track approaching North Sitka Street to go pull some scrap loads from CEI. Riding 'the footboards' of ARR 1552 are conductor Ted Lombard on the engineers side and brakeman Rick Rapuzzi on the fireman's. In the seat guiding the rugged little end cab EMD is Raschad Galimba. Of the three I'd say I knew Teddy the best from his time as one of our peer trainers. He was part of a crew that dedicated themselves to training new hire brakeman each season. I'll never forget working with him and others (Kenny, Ian, Erik and more) out at the yard on Fort Richardson. The care and thoughtfulness they put into their program and their attention to detail and the 'real world' aspects of railroading one could expect to encounter really impressed me. Coming from a background at NS and UP I can unequivocally state that the Alaska Railroad (at least back then) has THE best new hire training program thanks to the likes of men like Ted. Anyway, that's what I remember most. Well that and his non confrontational manner and soft spoken voice with a hint of a Midwestern accent. He always had the look of an Alaskan trapper with that signature beard you can see here and while he looked the part of an Alaskan railroader thru and thru it was no act...he was the real deal! Unfortunately I don't have any distinct memory of Rick other than that he was another one that never caused me any trouble and stayed out of the limelight. I inquired of him yesterday when digging out this photo and was dismayed to learn of his passing a half dozen years or more ago right after his retirement at the young age of 58. So speak his name with me, would you, so we can keep another good railroader alive in our memory. Lastly is Raschad, another soft spoken man that will be remembered for two things. One, his absolute enormous size! Not fat, mind you, just a really big man of Pacific Islander descent he was a true gentle giant. Always helpful, always on time and as competent an engineer as they come. I don't thing ever once saw him without that boonie hat on (look in the cab and you'll see it!) and that's the other thing I remembered about him and how I knew exactly who was in the seat even without notes and more than a dozen years later. I'm not sure if he served in Vietnam and I never asked, but I know he was a vet. I wish I had a few more stories about these me, and I know some of you here must. So please share in the comments if you've had the pleasure of knowing or working with any of them. This little ongoing series is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while. Though, sadly I admit that I never took enough of these types of photographs, but those few that I do have deserve to be edited and shared in an album of their own, so look for more now and then. I had the absolute pleasure to work with the finest and most dedicated group of railroaders in all the land for six wonderful years from 2007 to 2013. It was the greatest honor of my life to lead these men and women as we worked as a team to grow service and become more efficient all while doing it safely in some of the harshest conditions to be found anywhere. And as the smiles in the photos in this album will attest, we strove to have FUN while doing it. As in all jobs, there were bad days and frustrating times and personal conflicts that arise in any organization. But more than anywhere I have ever worked in more than two decades now, there was truly an esprit de corps on the Alaska Railroad and the pride these fine folks felt about their chose career was palpable day in and day out. I hope this image helps show you a tiny glimpse into that wonderful world that was once my family and my home. So raise a glass to the finest railroaders I’ve ever known! Anchorage, Alaska |
