Local engineers look back at their days at the throttle

NEWBURYPORT - Wilbur Rogers never had to go to the mountains to see the fall foliage. He used to say he had the best view of the changing colors from the front cab of the train as he shuttled passengers back and forth to Boston.

For eight years, Rogers was behind the throttle of the Newburyport train as its engineer. It was an assignment he had to build up seniority to get, and enjoyed before the train made its last stop at the station here on March 31, 1976.

"I waited a long time to get the Newburyport job," said the 79-year-old Newburyport native who now lives in Newbury. "It was awful nice to be near home. It was a beautiful ride all the way to Salem."

But Rogers sought the job for reasons beyond convenience and aesthetics. The Newburyport run conjured up bittersweet memories of his father.

Rogers' dad, Hanson, loved the railroad, and worked on the trains for 41 years, often serving as engineer on the runs in and out of Newburyport. It was natural for his son to follow in his tracks.

Wilbur Rogers joined the old Boston & Maine as a fireman in September 1941, and would occasionally draw an assignment working alongside his dad. The two just so happened to be paired together the March 1944 day that the elder Rogers suffered a fatal heart attack while operating the steam engine. Wilbur Rogers, then 26, had to take over and bring the train to a halt.

The loss of his father didn't tarnish Rogers' interest in the railroad. He went on to become an engineer in 1954, assume the Newburyport run, and work on the rails for almost 40 years before retiring in 1979.

"Trains didn't hum like they do today," he said, referring to the modern tracks that are all smoothly welded together. "The old railroad trains went along on the tracks clickety, clickety, clickety, click."

While passenger service on the Newburyport rails ended in 1976, freight trains continued running over the tracks for several more years.

Roger Dardinski of Newburyport was among the crew that took what was perhaps the final train ride over the old Newburyport rail bed. His group was assigned to retrieve the boxcars at the end of the rail line and take them back to Boston. He recalls rail fans lining up all along the tracks taking pictures as the train chugged through Newburyport one last time.

Dardinski, who has worked on the rails for the MBTA for 30 years, the last 20 as an engineer, was disappointed to see rail service to Newburyport end in 1976.

But he understood why. Ridership had dropped to about 20 commuters, working professionals from Newburyport, West Newbury and southern New Hampshire who would board the day's one remaining scheduled run in and out of Boston.

Like the rest of the local community, he's been an anxious spectator watching the tracks return to the city. He eventually hopes to see a late-night train out of Boston as well as Sunday service added to the Newburyport schedule, which he believes would make it more attractive to passengers.

"Newburyport's a different community now," he said. "It's much more affluent. The city's been fixed up. I think more people are interested in the train now.

But unless Dardinski switches his schedule, he isn't likely to be operating the new Newburyport run. He currently works afternoons and nights by choice, primarily on runs from Boston to Ipswich, Rockport and Haverhill.

But his wife, Karen, intends to take the train to her art classes in Boston. He hopes others will hop aboard the next time they're heading into the city as well. The ride over the Parker and Rowley rivers, he said, is a scenic, relaxing trip.

Rogers has ridden the train as a passenger only once since he retired. He's more into restoring old wooden boats these days. But he suspects he may be among the riders trying out the Newburyport train again.

"They spent an awful lot of money to get it back," said Rogers. "I really hope people use it. It's a great way to travel."

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