Gayle TenBrink
The following excerpt is from a “Reflections” piece authored by Gayle TenBrink, formerly of Trinity Rail, that appeared in Issue 2 of the 2020 edition of Coal Transporter.
“It was during my Trinity years that the NCTA became an important part of my professional circle. My tenure with the group doesn’t reach as far back as that of some other old-timers (and I can’t believe that I’ve just put myself in that category!) I heard stories of the B.C. (Before Canter) days, but never experienced them. There weren’t many women at the conferences when I first attended—something that has certainly changed over the years. At one fall conference about 20 years ago, I recall talking with a small group of men at a reception. A colleague said jokingly that he was going to have to scold his wife for having forgotten to pack his tie pin! Then another man in the group asked me if I left meals ready in the fridge for my family when I traveled. Wait a minute here, I told myself … a man has someone pack for him, while I’m expected to have dinner on the table even though I’m 1,200 miles away from home? I need a wife!”
Bruce Miller Tribute
On Track has been publishing recollections about NCTA’s history during this – the organization’s 50th anniversary year. The following excerpt is from a “Reflections” piece on Bruce Miller, formerly of Enserco Energy, that appeared in Issue 2 of the 2013 edition of Coal Transporter.
“Every time I think of Bruce, I get a smile on my face. His smiles were contagious and so was his cheerful demeanor,” recounts Amy Goodman, Manager of Production Fuels for City Utilities of Springfield. “Bruce was always such a gentleman and extremely kind-hearted, always placing others first. I remember a time in Colorado Springs at the Broadmoor’s Golden Bee when a group of NCTA ladies, including myself, were waiting to get in. The Golden Bee only allows a certain number of people to occupy the establishment at any given time, so we had to wait until others left before we could enter. We were standing outside the doors when Bruce spotted us from inside. Without skipping a beat, he got all the patrons to chant with him, ‘Let them in!! … Let them in!! … Let them in!!’ Bruce was always the life of the party and liked by everyone. He was witty too. I remember when I first met his wife, Danette. I told them that I was terrible with remembering names, but Bruce had a solution for that! He said, ‘Just remember, you bring da pole and I’ll bring Danette.’ Needless to say, her name was never forgotten! I hope to live my life with as much enthusiasm as Bruce lived his. He is missed, but will never be forgotten.”
1984 Meeting
The following anecdote was related by Otis Knapp, formerly of Sun Oil Company, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary meeting of the (then) Western Coal Transportation Association in 1984:
“The real reason for forming this association was basically that people such as Bob Steele, myself, Joe Dewey, and Duncan Gillies—all petroleum people—found ourselves overnight in the midst of a major energy crisis in the United States and being handed the responsibility of giving advice and expertise on the movement of the coal. We knew it was black and that was about it! We needed an umbrella group where we could pick the brains of people such as those with AMAX. We had various and sundry associations that we belonged to, but none of them covered what we really needed. So that was the reason for the formulation of this association: the fact that those of us in the petroleum business were handed the responsibility we knew nothing about. We were seeking answers and seeking help. It is gratifying and heartwarming to me to see how this group has grown in the last 10 years. I certainly look forward to looking back 10 years from now and seeing what it looks like by then.”
1987 Annual Meeting
Here’s an account from NCTA’s 1987 Annual Meeting, which: “kicked off with a star-studded panel of Railroaders: Darius Gaskins, Jr., President & CEO, Burlington Northern RR, William Holtman, Chairman and President, Denver & Rio Grande Western RR, Denman McNear, Chairman, President & CEO, Southern Pacific Transportation Co., Michael Walsh, Chairman, Union Pacific RR, and James Wolfe, Chairman, President & CEO, CNW Corp. That is quite an honor to get that many railroad executives all in one room. The panel was moderated by Joseph Dewey, Director of Transportation with Kerr McGee. You can imagine leading a panel of five powerful leaders might be a little stressful, but on top of that deciding the speaking order. Mr. DeWey wanted to be fair to all the distinguished guests so he did what any good moderator would do. He made himself a cup of tea in his Union Pacific mug and put all the names in his CSX coffee mug and drew names!”
Flash from the 2006 Past
This fond memory was offered by NCTA President Emily Regis: “In 2006 the NCTA Spring Conference was held at the Silverado Resort in Napa Valley. I was one of the lucky invitees for Trinity Rail’s wine tasting tour put together by our good friend and former NCTA Board member, Gayle Tenbrink. Gayle procured two limousines for the trip up to wine country, one was a normal limousine while the other was a ‘Hummer Limo.’ You can guess which one I picked, the Hummer Limo. This was a luxury ride with leather couch-style seating, awesome sound system, ambiance lighting, and plush carpet. Things were pretty quiet on the way up the mountain into wine country, but after a few stops and sipping and tasting our way around the Napa Valley, everyone started to relax and my husband, Linas, started telling a few jokes. As the limos made their way up and down the winding narrow roads of wine country, we were laughing ourselves silly and slipping and sliding around on those leather couches. At one point, one of the limos got kind of stuck trying to turn around in a narrow driveway. More hilarity ensued. I wish I could remember some of the jokes Linas was telling that day, but I think we will just have to revisit the wine country in another Hummer Limo for a re-enactment. A great time was had by all. Thanks Gayle and Trinity Rail!”
“Emerging Troubles in the Coal Transportation Supply Chain” was the title of a 2006 NCTA magazine article that surveyed utilities on the capacity to serve some 140 coal plants that were then proposed for construction. “Some of the results are encouraging as selected utilities are taking action to meet their future coal handling needs,” the survey summary stated. “These utilities are upgrading facilities, purchasing equipment, improving cycle times, and leveraging performance measures to monitor performance. However, many results are troubling. Utilities report car shortages, outdated equipment and facilities, maintenance problems, slow process times, and limited use of performance measures. Utilities also indicate little focus on addressing those issues, shortages of capital to address them, and little teamwork with supply chain participants to address problems together.”
2006 Tuscan Arizona Conference
“Reporting on NCTA’s Spring Conference in 2006, the editor of Coal Transporter magazine noted that “the wine was fine” in Napa Valley, but pleaded for “some common sense on energy issues within the state legislature of California.” Plus: “Who in the world scheduled the O&M Conference in Tucson in June? The old thermometer hit 105⁰! That was convenient for the chefs at the cookout; they just threw the steaks on a section of the sidewalk and listened to them sizzle.”
NCTA Spring Meeting in Park City, Utah
This fond memory was offered by NCTA Board Member John Mayer: “Jim Campbell (Peabody CoalSales) comes across as a non-assuming nice guy from the Midwest, but if you were at an NCTA Spring Meeting in Park City, Utah, you were treated to a side of Jim most do not know. I do not recall the details of the social event or who the entertainer was. Possibly dueling bands? But at some point in the evening, the band offered to let anyone play the drums. One of the NCTA attendees played a bit. When he was done, up stands Jim Campbell and he takes the sticks. He proceeded to play the drums like a rock star. He played a few songs and then ripped into a drum solo. The band paused while he shredded the cans and the audience was in awe. It was a mike drop moment before mike drops became a thing. Turns out Jim had some history of arriving at concerts and stepping in to fill the drummer’s seat impromptu.”
NCTA Spring Meeting Jeep Tour
Here’s one more fond memory offered by NCTA Board Member John Mayer: “Vaughn Mavers, like all the Peabody CoalSales reps, is an expert customer relationship builder always on the lookout for fun activities. At an NCTA Spring Conference at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, he organized a Jeep tour for attendees eager to experience the Rocky Mountains up close and personal. The weather was typical for Colorado that time of year: Some sunshine, some fog, some snow, some sleet, some rain, all in the same day. The guides brought extra heavy coats and wool blankets. We hit icy fog not far out of the Broadmoor. The road up the mountain was ice covered and slick. We would get to an overlook and the guide would say: “Normally you can see Kansas from here.” But all we saw was fog. We pulled off the “road” just below the tree line to take a goat path into the mountain. The snow was feet deep. The trail was rutted, rocky and slick. The jeeps struggled to get traction and several times had to back up and try a different line to make forward progress. At the top, we declined an offer to “get out and look around” and our guides were not a bit surprised. On the way back we asked the driver if this was typical. He responded: “Hell no.!” The driver said that he had never been on the mountain this early in the season and he thought we might get stuck and freeze to death. But everyone returned to base camp at the Broadmoor safely!”
NCTA 2000’s Train Tour
This memory of an earlier dinner train excursion was recounted by former NCTA Executive Director Tom Canter: “In the early 2000s, the O&M Committee had a conference in Durango, Colorado, and we were able to charter the Durango & Silverton Train for an evening dinner ride up the mountain on the way to the Cascade Wye. The deal was we would go up to the Wye, unload the train that was catered by the hotel we were staying at, have dinner at the Cascade up in the mountains, and then come back in the night. It just happened to be a full moon, and so the adventure began. We chartered the entire train and had about 130 folks. We filled the train up, had a strolling minstrel on the train, and away we went. About 30 minutes into the ride, we ran out of beverages on our train, so we stopped the scheduled train coming down the mountain on its return and we let them unload all the beverages from that train on to our train. (As you can imagine, most of it was the alcoholic beverages.) And up we continued. It was a great ride on the narrow-gauge railroad as you look over the canyons. We stopped at the Cascade Wye and people were talking and having pre-dinner drinks. Then we were told to walk around the other side of the train and there was dinner, all set up. We all sang a verse of “America the Beautiful” and it was a wonderful moment. While going back down the mountain, the full moon made everything mystical. You could see the Animas River way down in the canyon in the moonlight, and there was very little light in the cars. It was such a mystical and wonderful experience that the railroad instituted a monthly full-moon ride after our initial ride, which they continued for several years.”
Durango, Colorado Recollections
On Track’s last issue noted how this year’s NCTA Tennessee Valley Railroad dinner train experience recalled a similar dinner train outing in the early 2000s on the Durango & Silverton Railroad in Durango, Colorado. The Durango & Silverton holds a special place in NCTA lore. Former NCTA Executive Director Tom Canter recalled how O&M Conference attendees were invited to tour the railroad’s repair shops in the early 2000s. The shops were maintained very much like they were in the 19th century, including an old forging shop. NCTA attendees also viewed a vintage steam locomotive roundhouse turntable. (It’s like a lazy Susan on which a locomotive would go in one end and go toward the center of the radius and stay there, and the lazy Susan would rotate and the locomotive would be positioned to go back on a track.) NCTA’s O&M Conference returned to Durango in August 2020 and enjoyed another visit to the Durango & Silverton shops. That conference – one of the first in-person events held during the height of the COVID pandemic – featured masks and social distancing as part of the tour.
Emily Regis First NCTA Meeting
NCTA President Emily Regis recalled the first NCTA conference she attended. It was held in Denver in September 2000. She was there by herself and didn’t know anyone. At one of the receptions, she chatted with a man who gave her his business card. It was Ray Bachinsky of GE Rail. “We were in the market for a railcar lease and Ray talked me into looking at a like-kind exchange of our old steel Ortner bottom dump cars for new aluminum cars. Ray came out to see me in Arizona and became one of my best friends in the industry. He introduced me to Johnstown America (now Freightcar America), and the next thing I knew we were building new aluminum rapid discharge cars at the Johnstown, Pa., facility. We also needed a maintenance program for the new cars, and that is how I got to meet Gayle TenBrink of Trinity Rail. We still have the cars. And while I’ve lost track of Ray, Gayle is still a great friend of mine. All thanks to NCTA.”
2005 NCTA Meeting
NCTA President Emily Regis recalled a 2005 NCTA Spring meeting held at the Rancho Bernardo Inn, a historic property in the hills by San Diego, California: “Mark Schwirtz, my boss at AEPCO at the time attended the conference with me. Mark loved sailing and took this opportunity to rent a boat during one of the free afternoons. Needing a crew for this adventure, he drafted my husband Linas, me, and friends Leslie Thorn and John Hull from Rio Tinto. It was a cool and windy day and none of us had the clothes for spending the day out on the water, but we all put on whatever had and took off out of the San Diego Harbor in a rented sailboat. The water was choppy and before long I started to feel a little seasick. Mark could see what was going on and gave me the helm. He told me to keep my eye on the horizon as I steered the boat and said this would help me from getting sick. He then gave orders to Linas, Leslie and John on handling the ropes and sails. Coming back into the harbor we all decided we were hungry. Captain Mark knew where to go and docked the boat at a restaurant by the shore where we had a wonderful seafood dinner. I will always remember this great day out on the water with friends and a great boss who mentored me in my job and showed me how to sail and beat seasickness. Keeping your eye on the horizon when things aren’t feeling so great has also been a great piece of advice I’ve carried with me ever since.”