Last Call at Division Street
Today, April 15, 1982, is a somber day for Bruce Sharpe. This is the last Conrail freight on the Utica Branch before operations are taken over by the NYS&W. The local has spent the morning clearing out empties from customers at Sherburne and Norwich and is now underway for Binghamton as seen at Division Street crossing in Norwich.
Headman Bruce has made his way from the fireman's side of the Conrail geep to the walkway to get one last look out at Division Street. Two houses down on the left is his brother Danny's home.
Bruce has been through here hundreds of times, and every time he passes here he makes sure he is on the east side of the train or the caboose or locomotive end platforms. In the DL&W and Erie Lackawanna days just about every train from the Norwich local to NE74 would slow here as Danny and sometimes his father Walt, a retired EL conductor, would be out on the porch enjoying what upstate New York has to offer and they would make their way to the track to hand up offerings to the crew and Bruce. Sometimes notes, sandwiches, and most importantly, Rule G violation refreshments. In today's world, and even when this shot was taken, this type of thing has become totally unacceptable. But from the mid 70's prior, a train without a six pack was like a train without a throttle. I was at this crossing one day in the summer of 75'. Bruce was conductor and had the engineer bring the train to a halt. There he invited me aboard EL C876 and we sped off for Oxford to do some switching. I was just 10 years old and this would be my first ride in a hack. What a different perspective than the locomotive. Quiet, relaxing, oh, and a much better view! Bruce gave me the VIP tour and even let me blow the back up whistle on the rear platform as we rolled through the Chenango Valley. I always knew Bruce as the brakeman who rode a runaway boxcar down Paris Hill trying to stop it from disaster and broke his back when it finally crashed. This was the first day that I really got to know him and is the memory I have most of him.
This photo, less than seven years after that ride to Oxford, would be the last time I would see him. I believe he went south to the RF&P, eventually CSX and retired in North Carolina.
On Tuesday, December 6, 2016, Bruce passed on at the age of 73 at is home in North Carolina taking another piece of Utica line railroad history along with him. RIP, Bruce.
Last Call at Division Street
Today, April 15, 1982, is a somber day for Bruce Sharpe. This is the last Conrail freight on the Utica Branch before operations are taken over by the NYS&W. The local has spent the morning clearing out empties from customers at Sherburne and Norwich and is now underway for Binghamton as seen at Division Street crossing in Norwich.
Headman Bruce has made his way from the fireman's side of the Conrail geep to the walkway to get one last look out at Division Street. Two houses down on the left is his brother Danny's home.
Bruce has been through here hundreds of times, and every time he passes here he makes sure he is on the east side of the train or the caboose or locomotive end platforms. In the DL&W and Erie Lackawanna days just about every train from the Norwich local to NE74 would slow here as Danny and sometimes his father Walt, a retired EL conductor, would be out on the porch enjoying what upstate New York has to offer and they would make their way to the track to hand up offerings to the crew and Bruce. Sometimes notes, sandwiches, and most importantly, Rule G violation refreshments. In today's world, and even when this shot was taken, this type of thing has become totally unacceptable. But from the mid 70's prior, a train without a six pack was like a train without a throttle. I was at this crossing one day in the summer of 75'. Bruce was conductor and had the engineer bring the train to a halt. There he invited me aboard EL C876 and we sped off for Oxford to do some switching. I was just 10 years old and this would be my first ride in a hack. What a different perspective than the locomotive. Quiet, relaxing, oh, and a much better view! Bruce gave me the VIP tour and even let me blow the back up whistle on the rear platform as we rolled through the Chenango Valley. I always knew Bruce as the brakeman who rode a runaway boxcar down Paris Hill trying to stop it from disaster and broke his back when it finally crashed. This was the first day that I really got to know him and is the memory I have most of him.
This photo, less than seven years after that ride to Oxford, would be the last time I would see him. I believe he went south to the RF&P, eventually CSX and retired in North Carolina.
On Tuesday, December 6, 2016, Bruce passed on at the age of 73 at is home in North Carolina taking another piece of Utica line railroad history along with him. RIP, Bruce.