ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW

E. C. Honath

Working as Rodman Missouri Division During 1951 Flood

Russell: You first started working for the railroad I understand in 1951

Honath: That is correct.

Russell: What was your first job assignment at that time?

Honath: I was a Rodman on the Missouri Division at Marceline Mo. At the Santa Fe Division Headquarters there.

Russell: What type of work did you do at that time?

Honath: Mostly we did drainage surveys, renewal bridges s also set stakes in those days for surfacing and alignment and general engineering work. 51 was the year of the big flood so we did a lot of flood work.
Russell: What type of flood damage did you have in the 1951 flood?

Honath: Argentine was not part of the Missouri Division but it was completely inundated and the second district segment Marciline to Kansas City was damaged with wash outs mainly between the Grand River and Sibley even including some damage up to Congo.

Russell: Were these side washes?

Honath: No the enbakement and structures were washed out around Henrieta and Floyed. In fact both sidings at Henrieta had trains on them and the trains were turned over in the wash outs the crooked river between Harden and Henrieta the approaches were extensively damaged in fact the fills were built back with rock. I latter had occasion to be involved with flooding in that area in 1965 as Division Engineer in and we put so much rock in the fill adjacent to the crooked river that the water went though the fill but the fill was not lost. It was by far to my knowledge the greatest damage the Santa Fe ever had from flood damage. The flood damage that year extended all the way from Colorado to about the middle of Missouri.

Russell: That very interesting! How did the survey crews in that period of time get around the Division.

Honath: In the wintertime there were five three man crews in the summertime 7. The additional people were used to cover the surfacing programs.

Russell: I mean as far as transport did you use automobiles or were you on track cars.

Honath: No we were on motor cars. They had motor cars at various locations and when we would go out on the road we would ride a train. They had local trains that stopped everywhere and for instance we had motor cars at Marceilne, Henrieta and Shopton. If we were working some place we would leave them out and we would transport our selves back and forth on the motor cars and trains.

Russell: In other words you would take the train to the motor car and the motor car to your work.

Honath: Right. Or we take the motor car if it was close to were we lived.

Russell: It must have been interesting riding the motor car.

Honath: Yes! In those days that was double track automatic block territory in fact their were some steam engines operating. You worked on a motor car line up It's not like today when you get time and limits. There was no such thing as time and limits. There was a morning line up and if you got by an open station a noon line up.

Russell: Just looked for the smoke and watch your line up.

Honath: Diesels did not smoke that much, but yes you had to watch out for trains, Yes!

Transcribed in altered from for the Web By Russell Crump