J L Talks About Going To Work For The Railroad

J L remembers going to work for the railroad. He made $4.48 for an 8-hour day. It was considered VERY GOOD money. He started out just as one of the gang. He purchased a railroad watch and was given a job of taking care of orders and knowing when trains were coming by so he could schedule the other workers. He then started doing the electrical work of moving and installing signals. He built the battery boxes and the batteries to operate the signals. He gives a quick engineering lesson on how the signals actually worked.

J L and his half-brother both worked for the railroad, but never saw each other on the job. You basically lived in a special boxcar wherever you were working at the time.

J L Byars 09/02/1916 – 03/23/2008
Doris Grant Byars 08/05/1922 – 10/04/2010
Married 10/25/1941

Original video recorded in Ballinger Texas in November 2006.