B&O Engineer Retires – June 1969

If any of you are railroad fans, here’s something you might find interesting from the pages of the June 13, 1969 Lorain Journal.

It’s a short article about Joseph Mason of Lorain, a locomotive engineer who was retiring after more than 46 years of service with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in Lorain. It’s a pretty incredible milestone, and it was nice that the Journal celebrated it.

According to the article, Mason's career with the B&O began in 1923, and he worked his way up to engineer in 1944. As he notes, “In the early days, firemen shoveled coal for the steam engines and I did a lot of that, too.”

In North America, the transition from steam engine to diesel had begun after World War II. The replacement process continued throughout the 1950s and into the 60s. By the time Mason retired, the changeover was pretty much complete.

The B&O would go through its own changes within a few years after Mason’s retirement. By 1973, the B&O officially became part of the Chessie System; the late 1980s would see its name disappear entirely as it was absorbed by CSX Transportation.

Anyway, it's nice that Mason’s retirement was made memorable with a photo in the Journal, with his grandson and the B&O trainmaster.

Here’s hoping that Mr. Mason enjoyed a long, happy retirement.