Yostey! This is Bob Yost, yet another Alaskan locomotive engineer with a cat bird grin. In overalls and a striped hat he even dressed the part just for fun (engineers didn't have a required uniform). He's seen here as far south as you can go on the mainline in Alaska, pulled right up to the bumping post at end of track in Seward, having just brought the Coastal Classic passenger train over mountains from Anchorage 111 miles to the north. In his charge here is SD70MA 4328 built by EMD in 2007 and the newest unit on the roster and highest numbered and final delivered MAC in the fleet. Bob was I think the number three seniority engineer on the railroad at the time and he began is railroad career in the 1970s working for the mighty Southern Pacific before falling for the call of the north land like so many before him. Bob was a funny fellow and boy did he love to talk too. Sometimes it seemed like he didn't even want to go home cause he'd just wander over by my office (or Dave's or Bruce's) after marking off for the day and just hang out in the threshold chatting away while we were trying to work. But he wasn't the kind of guy trying to suck up to the bosses (all those names I mentioned had leadership roles in management), he just genuinely wanted to visit and had a childlike enthusiasm about him. It really was kind of endearing which is why I put up with the distraction. That's what I remember most about old Yostey. Oh, and one other thing. He actually owned a steam locomotive which he kept in his garage! No joke....I saw it...he invited me over a few times. It was a little standard gauge 0-4-0 Porter that he was slowly restoring and dreamed of one day firing up. I'm not sure if he ever did or ever will, but he was slowly making it look pretty and it sure seemed to make him happy. I'm not sure he'd like to be called a foamer...but he was one...and it's not an insult. To me it's a term of endearment and lord knows I'm one! This 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 soon in what will be a little series of Alaskan Railroaders. 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 these photos 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 these images help 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! Seward, Alaska
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