NWIRPS People

"A life long railfan, I started off with a Lionel toy train and parents who would stop at every set of railroad tracks here in NW Indiana as I would hope a train would pass for my viewing. My Dad would take me with him on Tuesdays during the summer months to pick up his paycheck at Youngstown Steel. On our way there, Dad would pass thru every busy grade crossing and stop at any rail yard to let me watch the trains. What should have been a 15 minute trip to the mill's paymaster, was for me a two hour tour of the railroads. I got to throw a switch on the Monon, go for a cab ride on the Indiana Harbor Belt thru Gibson Yard and on the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern from Griffith to Hartsdale.

Not to mention many vacations with stops where I could see trains. Often times when we would go to the Hammond Civic Center, I would want to go early so I could visit 624 as she sat alone guarding the Erie rail yard, just out of sight of her home, the Nickel Plate, which had by then become Norfolk and Western and now Norfolk Southern. I had wished some day that I could go for a cab ride on 624.

"I never had a chance! I was born into a railroading family who worked for the C&O out of the Peru, Indiana, yard. My father was a pipe fitter/plumber working in the round-house in Peru while one grandfather was a train engineer and another uncle was a passenger train conductor. I was in the cab of locomotives just as soon as I learned how to walk and by the age of 4 years old I thought "Damn-diesel" was the right term for modern rail power units. I can still remember Dad taking me inside one of the new diesel locomotives that was in the roundhouse for servicing when he went to pick up his last paycheck before starting work at Bendix in South Bend.

Now I am an old military veteran with a BS in Broadcasting, a Master's degree in History and a second Master's in Library Science. I work in the Suzanne G. Long Local History Room of the Hammond Public Library and I occasionally write books of an historical nature. I am a member of the Hammond Historical Society and currently serve as second vice-president. Also, I currently am and have been for the last four years a member of the Historic Preservation Commission for the City of Hammond and for three years have been a board member of the Calumet Heritage Project."

"I've always had a "thing" about trains. I grew up in the Calumet Section of East Chicago, Indiana surrounded by the IHB's Kankakee Line and the EJ&E's Shearson line to the BP refinery. I had Lionel, American Flyer and HO trains at one point or another during my youth, and my late Uncle Joe was a fireman for the New York Central Railroad.

I always wondered why there was an empty area in the middle of my neighborhood, and it wasn't until my Uncle told me that it was from the South Shore Line on its' approach to street running on Chicago Ave., that I became fascinated with that Railroad.

I joined C.E.R.A (Member #4966) and the Shore Line Interurban Historical Society (Member #27) and became a Contributing Editor for the Shore Lines Magazine First and Fastest. I've had a few feature articles printed back in the late 1980's, most of the issues are out of print. I also contributed financially to the restoration effort of Pere Marquette 1225.

The pressures of having a job, and other life commitments forced me to put a lot of my railroad dealings on a back-burner. I did, however, take notice of 624 and in the early 1990's had the engine inspected and it was found to be in decent shape internally. No water had invaded it...a very good thing, indeed!

Now I'm retired with 35 years service as a Letter Carrier for the United States Postal Service, and I can focus more at the current task at hand: Restoration of the equipment and providing the City of Hammond with a first-class Railroad Museum we can all enjoy."

My name is Paul Swetlik. I grew up in south Chicago Illinois, I was born in 1955, right in the midst of passenger rail service at its best. I now reside in Crown Point Indiana and yes, I do work for a RR. I am a carman for the Indiana Harbor Belt railroad, been at it for several years now. I did work for the steel industry, was a welder in the weld shop. If the industry hadn't fell apart when I began at 18, I would have been retired now. My love for the trains came at an early age, my Grandfather used to take me to Englewood station to watch the trains come and go.

I do collect Lionel trains and have a running layout. I also collect RR memorabilia of all sorts which I have set up on display. Also nothing really rare, just a nice display of the trains and RR collectables together. My door is always open ( when I have the time ) for a look see. I am not an expert in any of this stuff, but I may be able to answer some questions about my display. I met Mr. Heggi several years ago at a train store we used to buy from which has since closed. Not only does he like the trains and RR items, Kevin is in my opinion quite the historian."