Letter
Good Day Allen,
First off, thank you for the many years of the Bull Sheet - many thanks!
We actually met several times, the first being in 1999 at Miller Tower. My dad and I were train-watching and saw you, and you graciously invited us into the tower. It was a great thrill for me. I got to sit in a B&O folding chair.
My grandfather was Lewis Frank Heiner, a B&O employee for 47 years, between 1923 and 1970. I believe you hired on in 1970. My dad, Lewis Heiner, worked as a civil draftsman for the B&O for several years before being laid off. He worked briefly on the Cumberland Yard upgrade. His brother (my uncle), Bruce Heiner, worked in the finance department, retiring from the B&O and going to work for Amtrak before retiring again. My great-grandfather was an engineer for the Western Maryland, running coal trains between Cherry Run and Port Covington between 1916 and 1933.
As for me, I worked briefly as a freight conductor out of Brunswick. I believe you operated the shuttle service for the train crews.
My dad has since passed, and my son and daughter, who used to enjoy train-watching, have grown up. I still try to get out when I can. It's just not the same - so many memories with my grandfather, dad and kids!
I hope you are doing well. Hancock and Miller are sure empty locales without those towers. A tangible piece of history removed and their appearance now leaves no trace of the towers and the operators who staffed them. I believe the last we actually spoke, you resided in the Baltimore area. I grew up in Baltimore County, Arbutus, and my wife in Catonsville. I spent many a day with my dad in the Relay/St. Denis area around the Thomas Viaduct.
Take care, and again thank you for providing those wonderful railroad memories!
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Later he wrote:
My wife and I currently live in Hedgesville, a stone's throw from Cumbo Yard. We can distinctly hear the trains and horns prominently. Love that sound! I still enjoy going over and train-watch there, and checking out where W Tower once stood. My son lives right next to Cumbo, and his neighbor still has the original B&O tool shed on his property. I still get to Hancock and Cherry Run as much as possible.
It's nice to see work progressing on the Martinsburg Roundhouse project - and ironically on the History Channel special 'The World Wars,' the roundhouse and complex grounds were featured prominently.
The allure and draw of the trains will never go away. I'm thankful for the times with my dad and kids. My grandfather was track supervisor from Cherry Run to Mexico Farms. My dad remembers many a day spending time with him in HO Tower. His office was in the rear of Hancock (Brosious) station. I had the pleasure a couple times of being in HO when I worked with CSX as a freight conductor. We'd take the LD774 out of Pearson Yard to Hancock and the sand mine, and after weighing the cars, we'd take the tickets up into HO. My dad said right before my grandfather retired in 1970, he took me for a ride down the Berkeley Springs spur from the station to HO in his B&O truck. Wish I could remember (I was 5)!
I think the most unique story is my grandfather lived in Cherry Run. This would have to be pre-1933, as my great-grandfather left the Western Maryland in 1933. My great-grandfather would make a distinct sound on his train whistle which signaled my grandfather (his son) to come to the Cherry Run interchange and pick him up after a day's trek from Port Covington.
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