M&StL Employees
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If you have any photos or other information relating to former M&StL
employees please contribute to this page.
You can send email to mstlemployee@eldora.net
Many former M&StL employees have signed the
guestbook.
Take a look and be sure to sign it if you are a former employee or
relative of one.
Note to visitors looking for
genealogical information:
I don't have any genealogical information....but I do offer this helpful
information. I encourage you to do five things.
1. Join the M&StL Yahoo! group. Many former employees belong to the list and might remember the person you are trying to find out about. At the very least you will learn quite a bit about the M&StL. Who knows, you might become a fan if you aren't one already. This railroad has a very interesting history.
1. Then visit The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board and Genealogical Information and look at everything on this page. There are many helpful links at the bottom of the page that you may miss if the $21 research fee scares you off and don't read all of the way to the bottom of the page. After you find something out please email your information so I can add it to this page.
3. Read the entries in the guestbook page of this site. Many former M&StL employees and relatives have taken time to sign it. After you take a look be sure to sign it if you are a former employee or relative of one.
4. Read and contribute to the rest of this page. I will add your request to this page. Click here to email your information.
5. Use the search box on the home page to search this site for a last name. Many names are scattered throughout the 250+ pages of this site. Remember that when you sign the guestbook or add something to the employee page that someone using the search box on the home page can find your information also. Also by adding a name to these pages the name can be found by many of the large Internet search engines like Google and ixquick (my favorite). This site is designed to be easily indexed by the big search engines. If you need a website designed I can help. Visit my Internet design and hosting business MainStreet3 Internet at www.mainstreet3.com.
Employees of the Cedar Lake Shops Mpls. 4/8/41 - Lyndon
Groth collection
To see a larger version of the picture shown above click here. Please let me know if you can identify anyone in the picture. I'll find a prize for the first person who can come up with some names.
M.J. "John" Reitan - Last Cheif Dispatcher on the M&StL
Click here to see pictures and notes from Paul Dinoto M&StL conductor.
Senority List of Freight
Brakemen Dists. 1-4 1959
Senority List of Freight
Conductors Dists. 1-4 1958
Senority List of Working Foremen
Dists. 1-4 1959
Senority Lists Passenger Dists. 1-4
1959
My father, Clarence Henry (Heinie) Heinecke, was an M&StL employee from the age of 15, in 1920, until the acquisition of the railroad by C&NW, where he continued working until he retired in 1970, at age 65. He started working as an office boy in the Minneapolis office in 1920, after his father died from pneumonia. He was the oldest of 6 brothers and went to work to help support the family. I think he was given work at the M&StL because his father, Fred Heinecke, had worked as a station agent since about 1904. Clarence took accounting courses and ultimately became a Traveling Auditor in the 1930's and 1940's. We lived in south Minneapolis during this time. When the new office building was built on Franklin Avenue in 1951, Clarence became a Supervisor in Accounting. In 1955 he was sent to the IBM Training Center in Schenectady, New York, and was the first employee to be trained on the new IBM accounting system. He Supervised that Department at the Minneapolis Office until 1960 when he was moved to Chicago to work there for the C&NW until retirement. Clarence was a lifetime employee and enjoyed his work. He was an avid outdoorsman and a determined competitor at indoor games. In retirement, Clarence lived in Glen Lake, with his wife Gwen, until his death in 1994. Richard Heinecke 10/14/2004
What a great site!. I believe my great grandfather is the Tim Keohen mentioned in a newspaper article posted on this site from the January 21, 1897 Chaska Valley Herald ("Tim Keohen, the efficient section boss of the M&St.L road, had his hand full keeping the track free from snow blockades last Sunday and Monday. Tim is a hustler however and keeps ahead of the weather bureau.") If anyone has more information about Tim Keohen who worked for the M & St. L RR in the late 1890s to early 1900s, please let me know! Thanks, Ginny Orndorff gorndorff@evolgen.com
My Grandfather, Arthur Ray "Pat" Patrick, worked for the M&St.L railroad for over 50 years. Although I never met him, I have several wonderful pictures of him with the trains. If anyone out there remembers my Grandfather, I would love to hear from you. I have already heard many colorfull stories about him, so you are not going to surprise me. You can contact me at clilly @ costco.com and my name is Colleen. Thanks! Colleen Patrick-Lilly - Snohomish, Washington - or needly64 @ aol.com - submitted: 03/22/2004
Hi...my grandfather, Eber Hoover, worked for M & St L in Kanawha during the early 1900's... probably around 1920-ish. He worked for this company for 33 years. Cheryle Hoover Davis ceile33@msn.com
Minnesota newspaper articles from Eden Prairie, Minneapolis, Chaska and surrounding areas.
Robert K Grabenbauer worked for the M & St L from approx 1949 to 1962. Robert was my father and has passed away several years ago. These are some of the towns and approx dates I remember as a kid. Our family was from Marshalltown, Ia and most of my relatives worked for the Railroad. One of the first depots my dad was at was Liscomb, Ia from 1950-51. Morning Sun, Ia from 1951-52. Searboro, Ia from 1953-58 and last station was Aberdeen, SD from 1959 to 1962. After that dad left the RR when the CNW bought the M & St L. I now live in Minneapolis and would like to get a map of the rail lines in both directions from mpls to SD and Mpls to St. Louis. Jim Grabenbauer jimanddee @ charter.net 5/25/2003
Hello! My father, Russell T. Connollyand my grandfather Patrick Connollywere both engineers on the M&St.L. My father worked from approx.1946 until 1960 when he was injured and retired at 45. My grandfather died in 1966 at 80 so I imagine he stoped working in about 1950-51. I know my father fired for him after WWII so some time after 1945. My dad ran passenger specials for executives of the railroad, a Mr. Devans in particular. Mr. Devans grandson and I went to high school together in Mpls. 1973-76. When my father passed away in 1997, a gentleman who had worked with my father came to his wake. Said he had been a fireman for my dad, and had a few "times" with him. Love to hear back from you with any info you may have... Sincerely, John Connolly p.s. I am sure my grandfather is in the 1941 Cedar Lake photo, but I cannot pick him out as of yet.
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5/23/2002 from Wayne Reed
My older brother worked on the Bridge Gang on the Rock Island RR and one of the jobs he was on was enlarging the turn table at the round house. During WWII a section of the round house was used to store food goods. Cases of canned good, sacks of corn and such. A lot of us teenagers from that era worked there unloading and loading box cars with the food goods. I lived in Manly form 1934 to 1947 at which time I went into the Navy.
My dad, James Reed, worked for the M&StL. He was section foreman and had the Manly to Mason City section. I am not sure how long he worked for the M&StL, but he was transferred from Gifford to Manly in 1934 and retired in the late 50's. I have a picture of him and his crew on the motor car in front of the tool house on Hiway 9. If you get to Manly again, you should go to the library and see if they still have the video tape that Perry Webb made from some old 8 mm film that a guy made of Manly, if they do you might be interested in checking it out. Wayne A. Reed
This picture is a combined group of M&St.L section crews. I am not
sure of where it was taken. I have two copies of this picture and on the
back of one my Dad had written a note to his Mom and Dad. The date he
wrote on it was April 19, 1945. He mentioned that they were at the wreck
at Sheffield and they worked all night Wednesday, 20 cars in the ditch,
bad one. I have a picture of an M&St.L
wreck that I am sending you also, could be the same one that he
mentioned. Wayne Reed
Click here to see a photo of Engineer Dave Thomas on the Sam Cook Website
Click here to see a photo of Engineer Dan Kisor on the Sam Cook Website
9/29/2002 My great grandfather, Henry Hague, worked as a car inspector for the MSTL, and my mother told me he was killed in a railroad accident. How can I find information on the accident. He gave the MSTL as his employer in the 1920 census when it was taken in Marshaltown Iowa. He was probably killed sometime shortly after that. Fred Ollison fothree@aol.com
My grandfather, Joseph A. Horner worked as a Carpenter on the M&STL. I'm not sure when he began working at the M&STL but I have a one-year train pass for "Two Men" to be used over the entire line until December 31st, 1928. I have passes in my grandfather's name for 1929 - 1938 all showing him as a "Carpenter". The next pass date I have is 1942-1943 showing him as a retired carpenter so he retired sometime between 1938 and 1942.
My father, Mike Zeug, was also an employee of the M&STL. I do not know when he started working for the M&STL. He was born in 1898 and his entire work career was with the M&STL. He retired in approximately 1959. He began working at the Minneapolis station then moved to the Hopkins station where he was a "Checker". I have his copy of Mileposts on the Prairies. It's signed by Frank P. Donovan, Jr., and was given to my father with a card that reads "To Mr. Mike Zeug In appreciation of more than Twenty-five Years of Loyal and Efficient Service, this copy of "Mileposts on the Prairie" is presented with the Compliments and Best Wishes of The MINNEAPOLIS & ST. LOUIS Railway" signed by L. C. Sprague, President
Members from both my mother's and father's families worked for the M&STL. One of my uncles traveled with several others in a separate small train moving from one place to another fixing track line. My uncle's wife did the cooking for this group and they had a separate car on the train which served as a private room for them. I was very young but remember going to visit them when they would be in New Ulm. They lived on the train so I remember it as being pretty neat. Unfortunately, my parents had me late in their lifes so I don't know many of the stories of the M&STL. Within the last few years I've become interested in that area of my family. I'm currently very busy so I don't have much time to devote to research but in a few years I want to go in depth into information concerning the M&STL. Hope you can use this, Lorna Sainz landm20@cox.net 8/25/2002
From: Nick Link. 2/21/2002
My dad's name was Edward G. Link, and his employee # was 1143. He hired on legaly in 1922 (he worked on the track crews and in the roundhouse when he was under age), and he retired in 1968. Over the years he worked all over, but for the most part he worked either between Watertown SD and Aberdeen, or between Watertown and Morton, MN. As I mentioned, he worked as a section hand, and as a hostler, but for the most part he was an engineman. He started out as a fireman, and later became an engineer. He was 5th. from the top of the seniority list when he retired. I know that, when he was a kid, he worked for awhile on the line west of Conde, to the Misourri River, but that didn't last long. In a day or two, I'll be mailing you some photos taken of a train wreck out on that line. Don't know a thing about the wreck, other than it happened somewhere between Conde and Akaska, c. 1922. My uncles, Clement and Frank, both worked for the St.L, but I have to do some researching to get more information on them as to times. Buzzy, (Clem) was a breakman and a conductor. He had diebetes really bad, and had to retire early, aprox. 1955. Frank worked as a breakman for a few years prior to Pearl Harbor. My grandfather, also Nicholas G. Link, worked for the St.L as a trackhand, and later on in the roundhouse in Watertown. This would have been back around the turn of the 20th. Century. His son-in-law, my uncle, Mike Leddy worked in the roudhouse in Watertown as a boilermaker. Hope this info helps you with your project. Be on the lookout for those pictures of the train wreck. Best Wishes, Nick Link.
Railroad section crew, Minneapolis and St. Louis
Railroad.
Photograph Collection ca. 1900 Location no. HE6.42 p16 Negative no. 15626
http://collections.mnhs.org/VisualResources/VRDBImages/pf030/pf030918.jpg
Railroad workers, possibly on Minneapolis and St.
Louis Railroad tracks
Photograph Collection ca. 1900 Location no. HE6.42 p4 Negative no. 9285-B
http://collections.mnhs.org/VisualResources/VRDBImages/pf032/pf032005.jpg
From: Virginia L. Aldridge vlaldridge@sigecom.net Monday, December 31, 2001
I am looking for information relating to Abraham L.Beeler retired in 1933, after 25 years of service to the M & St. L company. He had been in MN for 45 years. I had hoped there might be an archives or repository for the records of employees. Thank you for your help. Virginia
2/14/2002 - Douglas Tripp - Started in the Engineering Dept in the General Office in Minneapolis in July 1953, after graduating from University of North Dakota in Civil Engineering. Worked in all phases of CE, but mostly was involved in track design. In 1955, I was transferred to Oskaloosa, handling the engineering duties for the Eastern Div. I was transferred back to the GO in 1957 and worked over the entire system, Leola was the only station that I never visited. When the CNW took over in 1960, I was fortunate to find a job on the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range RR on the Minnesota Iron Range and spent 26 years there in the Engineering Dept until I retired in 1986 . I saw in the Yahoo news that Bill Landmesser was still alive in Red Wing. I used to have lunch with him and Frank Clark nearly every day in 53 and 54 when we remodelled the Cedar Lake Yard.
My gr-grandfather Patrick Leahy was born April 1845 at Thurles, Tipp., Ireland. He died in September 1902 at Amboy, Lee County, Illinois. He emigrated to the US in 1861 traveling initially to Syracuse, Onandaga, NY. He was accompanied by a cousin, Ellen Welch. She was born in Ireland in 1844. Patrick was married in September 1871 at Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County, Michigan. His bride was Ellen E. Hogan who was born in June 1852 at Bridgeport, Fairfield County, Connecticut. Her parents are believed to have been Patrick and Ellen [nee Mahoney] Hogan. Her five siblings included sisters Katherine, Mary, and Julia and brother Patrick Jr; the name and gender of the other sibling is not known. Patrick and Ellen Leahy had 10 children. The first was William Joseph Leahy, born in 1874 at Kalamazoo, Michigan; his siblings are believed to have been born in/near LaSalle, Amboy and/or Sublette, Illinois. After Patrick Leahy's death in 1902, his widow joined her adult children who had all moved to Minnesota, most at Minneapolis/St. Paul. It was Patrick Leahy's son James Edward Leahy who resided at Northwood, Iowa in Fall 1902. His primary employment was as a line foreman for various railroads including the Minneapolis/St. Louis Transfer Railway, the Illinois Central and others. James Edward Leahy's brother--William Joseph Leahy--also worked on the railroad at same time, at Bennett, Iowa. Can you help me locate further information about Patrick Leahy's activities between 1861 at Syracuse and 1871 at Kalamazoo? Information is also needed about his departure from Ireland and arrival at the US. Thank you for your assistance. M. Joseph Leahy Auke Bay, Alaska mjleahy@gci.net
CNW
The following is provided by Dennis Owings (Eldora High School class of
1966) dowings@mn.rr.com
David L. Myers was quite a railroad buff from the Eldora High
School class of 1965. He went on to work for the CNW in Chicago and after
he passed away had a locomotive named after him. The Herald-Index did
something on him I believe. He and I both worked as switchmen out of
Marshalltown in the summer of 1966. C&NW locomotive 8700 is dedicated
in the memory of the late David L. Myers, Director of Engineer Training at
West Chicago, IL. The unit has commemorative plaques built into the sides
of the cab. 
Photo by Bryan Jones
MY GRANDFATHER, HENRY DALLAS MAHER STARTED ON THE M&STL IN 1892 AS BAGGAGEMAN AT AGE 22. HE LEFT HIS HOME IN PERRY, IA MOVING TO MPLS AND WENT FROM BRAKEMAN TO FREIGHT CONDUCTOR IN 1899, AND IN 1902 BECAME A PASSENGER CONDUCTOR. ON FRIDAY MAY 22, 1914 HE HAD RUN SOUTH AND IN ALBERT LEA BECAME ILL. HE APPARENTLY HAD SCATCHED HIS NOSE A FEW DAYS BEFORE AND IT DEVELOPED INTO BLOOD POISONING. HE WAS TAKEN TO HIS SISTERS HOME IN PERRY, IA., WHERE HIS CONDITION GREW WORSE AND DIED MAY 28. I UNDERSTAND HE WAS PRESIDENT OF THE O.R.C. IN MPLS. I BELIEVE THAT TO BE THE ORDER OF RAILROAD CONDUCTORS??? I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN ANY FURTHER INFO OR POSSIBLE TRAIN ORDERS RE: HENRY DALLAS MAHER. THANKS AGAIN. JERRY MAHER - BLOOMINGTON, MN - email: GMAHER090@PRODIGY.NET - submitted: 03/12/2002
What follows are figures for the years 1947-1956 taken from the 1956 annual report:
| Year | Employees | Car Handlings | Locomotives |
| 1947 | 2917 | 257,146 | 94* |
| 1948 | 2866 | 246,509 | 94* |
| 1949 | 2738 | 220,499 | 91* |
| 1950 | 2671 | 236,836 | 72* |
| 1951 | 2759 | 233,615 | 71 |
| 1952 | 2736 | 227,499 | 71 |
| 1953 | 2673 | 222,531 | 73 |
| 1954 | 2543 | 211,800 | 73 |
| 1955 | 2475 | 217,741 | 73 |
| 1956 | 2203 | 223,245 | 69 |
* Steam and diesel
Thank you Louis Claeson for typing this up.
The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board and Genealogical Information
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