Life of a Railroad Boomer: James H. Johnson

Stockton, California: Early 2005

Booming and articulate, witty and persuasive, intelligent and communicative, one could easily mistake Engineer James H. Johnson for the general manager of a railroad. And while certainly capable, the polished and conservatively dressed Jim avoids supervisory positions like the plague.

A fourth-generation railroader and native Californian, Jim hired out with the Southern Pacific as a fireman right out of high school in 1961. Toiling in train service positions, his career saw promotions to conductor and engineer and – in typical boomer fashion - transcended tenures at numerous railroads: Southern Pacific, Santa Fe, Western Pacific, and Union Pacific. Jaded with the large railroad mentality, Jim departed Union Pacific in 1990 and has since been an extra board engineer for short line railroads Napa Valley, Sierra, and California Northern.

Jim left the industry a few times during the last 43 years to further his education and pursue careers in law enforcement and teaching, but he simply could not resist the lure of the rails.

“Like a mistress in the night, railroading kept calling my name,” he admitted.

And while not number one as far as seniority is concerned, chronologically Jim – known alternately as “Pops” - is the oldest and most respected man on California Northern’s engineer roster.

Railroaders are idiosyncratic and Jim proves no exception. He will only work in an immaculate engine cab and periodically butts heads with union brothers that do not live up to his elevated standard of cleanliness. Jim dresses appropriately and expects others to follow suit. Gadgetry is his bailiwick: Digital cameras, palm pilot, Internet access, and cell phones are all kept practically within arm’s reach. A tireless and resourceful jack-of-all-trades, Jim moonlights as a wedding and school photographer.

In more serious moments, Jim extols time and again, “I’m blessed,” and he uses the phrase to describe more than family and faith. An engineer on one of the trains involved in a nationally publicized accident on the Western Pacific near Fremont, California, in 1980, Jim survived with a broken back, leading to excruciating pain and two years of paralyzing convalescence. His conductor and brakeman perished.

“At the time, I believed that I should have, too,” he shared after a pensive moment.

And like many of his brethren, Jim suffered from family separation issues and chronic bouts of alcoholism when out on the road for Western Pacific.

“I was drinking a bottle of beer in the shower on the 1979 day that my first wife walked out on me,” he said. “That was my last drop.”

Much to his liking, Jim is now comfortably settled in a modest home in an established Stockton, California, neighborhood and no longer deals with the disorienting feeling of not knowing when he will work next or the transient nature of railroading out of a suitcase.

Jim has two families separated by time and little else. “My ex-wife lives in Modesto (California) and we have become friends; in fact, she often spends Christmas at my home.” Two now Generation X aged daughters from this first union live nearby and blessed Jim with three grandchildren apiece.

He met his present wife Robbie via a blind date in 1983 and their loving marriage has yielded two active children: Josh, 10; Jamie, 12.

Now 61, when asked if he will ever retire, a twinkle comes to Jim’s eyes and he humorously quips: “If I leave, who will be left to stir the pot? And besides, I love this shit.”

Author’s note: Jim retired from the railroad on June 30, 2006, and is today a self-avowed Mr. Mom.