According to a press release from the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in North Judson, they will be hosting a book signing event with author William O’Neal (Neal) Stringer.
The event will take place on Saturday, May 31st from 10am to noon Central Time. Stringer’s book, Railroad Stories from the EJ&E and Other Stories, will be available for purchase in the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum depot prior to the signing. The non-fiction book follows the experiences of a local Northwest Indiana railroader.
The Elgin, Joliet, and Eastern Railway (EJ&E or “The J”) was a belt line around Chicago and ran between Gary, IN, and Waukegan, IL, working closely with the steel industry. It offered other freight services in the area as well. Passenger service was offered only in its early years.
Neal grew up in Hobart and started at the EJ&E in February of 1970 in the signal department. Neal transferred to transportation in October of 1976, and retired on disability in March of 2003 at the age of 57 as a locomotive engineer.
Neal states:
“Railroad Stories describes my start on the EJ&E Railroad, from the very beginning, and it includes all my trials and tribulations. The heart of the book is in the 150 stories of events and employees within the EJ&E Railroad. The cover picture depicts a Red Wing Blackbird, sitting on my hand, inside the cab of a moving locomotive. This was a very special moment for both of us. I worked with numerous men at EJ&E over my 33 years, and you could best describe them as “Railroad Characters.” You would have to work 100 different jobs in your lifetime to meet such a diverse array of people. According to one reader, ‘The book is a good read and will provide insight into what is really going on with the crews and the work that they do. If you were not there on the inside to appreciate how things played out, you can read this book and get all that special inside information.’”
