By Doug Riddell, Railway Age Magazine; July 16, 2018
The late Louis W. Menk once said that locomotive engineers were “nothing more than glorified truck drivers.” Those words stuck in my head throughout my 35-year railroad career—mostly spent as a locomotive engineer. To be quite honest, the thought of them angered me every time I climbed into the cab of my locomotive. I was determined to prove him wrong—to be the best damn engineer in the world. 
To be placed in proper context, Menk spoke those words as chief executive of Burlington Northern, at a time when labor and management had locked horns in contentious national contract negotiations. Yet even in today’s technologically advanced world of railroading, I sense the same regard for the men and women who place their hands on the throttles of the machines that move America’s railroads: “Aw, come on. How hard can it be?”
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