Model trains running around the base of a family’s Christmas tree were common in American homes in the 1950’s and 60’s. That was the case in Dwight Browning’s home as well. However, it wasn’t as common for one of those model trains to spark an interest that leads to a 40-year career in railroading.
“I got a Lionel train to run around the tree for Christmas when I was a child. Ever since then, I was fascinated,” says Dwight, Birmingham Terminal Railroad engineer.
Dwight started out in 1976 as a fireman on steam locomotives for Norfolk Southern (NS), but got bumped from that position later that year. He was out of railroading from 1976-1982, but it was still on his mind. Dwight started working for a company that did boiler and machinery inspections and became an American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) certified inspector.
“I did that because I liked steam engines,” Dwight said. “I figured I could get qualified to inspect boilers and use that to see what I could figure out on these old engines and help restore them.”
He went back to the NS steam division in 1982 working as a fireman again. The fireman is in charges of tending the fire that creates the steam. Dwight says there were a lot of hot days keeping those steamers going, and that he wanted to do more.
“We had this old guy, you’d have to take the pry bar and pry him out of the seat in order the get to run the thing,” Dwight said. “After he left, there was a younger fella who took over and he’d let you run the engines a lot more often than the old head would. I tried to run every chance I got.”
Dwight hired on with the Birmingham Southern Railroad (BS) on April 17, 1989. His wife had seen an ad in the local paper requesting anyone with engineer experience, which Dwight had. He’d qualified in 1981 with the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM). The TVRM is a tourist line running steam and diesel passenger trains on a 40 mph main line near Chattanooga, Tenn. He stayed with the BS until Watco took over operations in 2012 and renamed it the Birmingham Terminal Railway (BHRR).
“Watco was nice enough to hire me and keep me on when they bought the Birmingham Southern. I had just bought a house, and didn’t want to have to move or start over at the bottom,” Dwight said. “They let me keep my vacation too.”
Dwight’s wife has been an important part of his career. She even adjusts her schedule to match his, so when he was working nights, she’d stay up and do her housework at night.
“She used to listen to the scanner at home and was tickled to hear where the trains were. Some of the guys started calling her The Trainmaster. I’d come in and they’d ask me, ‘How’s the trainmaster doing today?’ She’s a good wife,” Dwight said. “We hung the same shift together and she supported me entirely.”
BHRR trainmaster Rodger Isbell says the couple shares a lot in common, and one of those things is a passion for railroading.
“He’ll tell her about what they’re doing, and she can understand it like she was out there running an engine. He’d call her during breaks and say, ‘We put in this much fuel, this much oil, this much sand,’ and she’d document it,” Isbell said. “She took care of home, and he took care of the railroad.”
Isbell says it’s Dwight’s attention to detail and knowledge about those details that make him a great railroader.
“He knows his way around an engine, and not just the mechanical part. He knows all the rules, the federal regulations, and when he runs an engine, he runs it like he owned it,” said Isbell. “I had him as an engineer when I was on the ground conducting. When I was riding with Dwight, I knew that I was in good hands because I knew he’d be on his game.”
That attention to detail and awareness showed in 2016 when Dwight spotted a broken rail at the Port Birmingham Terminal. A ball had broken off from the weld and the rail had moved over. Dwight managed to see that and stopped the train before it derailed.
“We could have had a lot of equipment on the ground from that. He was paying attention, saw it, and turned something that could have been bad into a near miss,” Isbell said.
BHRR general manager David Tarwater says one of the biggest benefits of Dwight and his experience is that he’s eager to share it.
“His experience and being able to share that as a peer trainer has really helped the BHRR a lot. We send a lot of our new engineers out with Dwight for at least two or three weeks to learn the ins and outs because he can answer any questions they might have,” Tarwater said.
Dwight credits his time inspecting boilers as what taught him to look at everything, and that eye for problems is just another way to keep Team Members safe.
“I’m trying to keep an eye out for everything, even other engines that aren’t mine. I’m glassing at them as we go by to make sure I don’t see anything falling off them or anything’s broken,” Dwight said. “I mainly want to make sure no one gets in trouble and that they don’t get hurt out here. Watch out for everybody, that’s my motto.”
Fortunately for Watco and the BHRR, Dwight plans to stick around for a while. He’ll have his 30 years in 2019, but it’s not easy for a lifelong railroader to leave, especially when they enjoy it as much as Dwight does.
“I’ve always liked railroading since I was a kid and since I got involved with the steam train in 1976, it’s never got out of me. They always say trains and railroading gets in your blood,” Dwight said. “I hate to say goodbye, but at a certain time, I guess you have to pull the cut lever and roll on down the track.”
Here you can see Dwight explaining his role on one the NS’s steam engines in the 1980’s.