From 1979 to 1999 (with a few years out of the paid workforce to stay at home full-time caring for my sons from 1993 to 1996), I worked at a railway. I was mostly in office work, then management, but in the late 90s when I returned, administrative positions were disappearing to cutbacks, and I took whatever positions became open. Toward the end of my time there I worked in train operations, primarily as a rail traffic controller. That was a very interesting job and a bit nerve-wracking; the federally-mandated training program had an exam passing grade of 95%. I found the shift work hard to adapt to.
I also spent time in the railway station as a youngster, since my father worked for the railway, too. I had a lot of exciting roles in my career and learned a lot of new things, including running the organization’s annual employee charitable giving campaign, six times, raising over three-quarters of a million dollars (CAD).
Railways still fascinate me.
I imagine a band coming on stage to the sounds of this song; seems perfect as a show opener, especially for a country, folk or bluegrass show. I first heard it some years back on late-night CBC radio. (In recent years I would record the programs Afterdark and Night Shift, listen to them the next day, and then delete the file. I then moved on to live radio; BBC and KEXP.) The track also reminds me of my career, “working on the railway.”
Now you know a little about why this is my song of the day for today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy.
Here’s a clever video from the Maple Mountain Sunburst Triolian Orchestra’s YouTube channel:
For more songs, please visit https://songoftheday.ca
