Later this day, I would spend an hour sitting in the Soo 559 during switching operations.

Dear TwinCitiesRailfan.com, this sort of thing doesn't usually happen to me and it may sound unbelievable. Not too long after Thanksgiving 2009, a message was posted at TwinCityRails Yahoo! Groups issuing a call I could not resist. This winter-long opportunity, which conveniently happen every-other-weekend, coincided opposite with my every-other-weekend work schedule. I replied and would meet my new mistress December 5th, 2009.

Our first rendezvous took place on the sub-zero December morning. The Jackson Street Roundhouse was nearly as frigid on its interior as the air outside. I was as nervous - on this first day of my engagement with trains - as if this was a real first date. The Yahoo! post I referred to above was an open invite tempting railfans to join the Minnesota Transportation Museum's Winter Student Brakeman class.

Wide-eyed, like a child touring Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, I pushed through a towering wooden door tethered to a counterweight on a chain. Nearly hitting a couple of men standing close to the other side of the door, I inadvertently met one of two primary instructors. Asking the men where the class was, I was pointed towards the small training room two more vaulted, triangular rooms back.

Compared to the two-story tall rooms where locomotives and rolling stock are maintained, the instructional room felt diminutive; it shared no attributes of a roundhouse, being sheetrocked and heated and about 10-feet tall. Long tables were set up in a U with a mess of unmatched chairs lent to the invitation of learning. As I waited for the start of the first class, men filtered in - on average, I was probably their junior by twenty-five years. Ultimately, the average age of the student body was 40; all this meant was there was a great variety of experience, knowledge, and love of railroading. All but two of us, had railroad experience.

This first session was dedicated to introductions, overview of the agenda and an explanation of the Museum's workings. The usual "first day of school" type stuff. After the formalities were complete, the foamer inside began salivating. Cellophane wrapped three-ring binder inserts from the Canadian National were dispensed. Special Instructions and the CN's version of the USOR were not for keepsakes, this was the real deal! These volumes are to be kept within reach any time an employee functions as a crew member. In addition, a copy of the Museum's Air Brake Manual was doled out, and a timetable, specific to the Museum's little section of the Dresser Subdivision was made available. (Each crew member also is required - by federal law - to have a lantern and a timepiece, but those were not supplied.)

Now, it was getting serious! My excitement to finish class in one session was tempered by what was seemingly a snail's pace the class took. But, what can one expect from an every-other-week affair, two or three hours a day and graciously run by volunteers? This class displaced some of the focus on work around the roundhouse; there were tasks to do before the opening of train season in Osceola, WI.

For the current, long-time member/volunteers, winter was a time for refurbishing work. Relishing inside chores kept gloveless fingers out of the wind. I learned that not all members worked with the train operation; in fact, several members brought specialties and interests that keep things rolling - literally, yet they have little to no interest in running them on weekends. While many toiled in the roundhouse, kept slightly cooler than a refrigerator due to a lack of insulation, a few volunteers provided a magical treat for those visiting the museum.

Better known as the "Caboose Hop," a bare bones crew runs the Northern Pacific 105 (an SW1200) and Soo Line caboose back-and-forth in the yard. It spans a mere 100 yards, despite just two or three relays between the yard limits and turntable, the children walk away with an equally long grin.

Early on in the training, we learned about railroading brakes. After the the day's session, I sat in the NP 105 and watched the engineer slide levers, push buttons, release air in a cacophony of hisses, clicks, smooth metal sliding over equally polished metal, tabs clicking into notches securely and curt blasts of air as pipe pressure abruptly lessened. As the exercises necessary to safely ferry children and parents through the yard were executed, I was grilled on rules and brake knowledge by the engineer. This pilot, conducting the impromptu quiz, would be one and the same who would induce a headache as he questioned me on specifics found in the timetable regarding the Museum's little slice of Canadian National trackage.

In the waning months of class the student brakemen class was encouraged to attend the locomotive engineers' class on dynamic brakes. Thanks to the newest acquisition by the museum, an ex-Burlington Northern EMD SDP40, sports dynamic brakes. As I understand it, this is the first unit which will be used that has dynamic braking capability, every one in this class learned about this fuel saving application.

As class continued, we gained some hands-on experiences. Radios are rarely, if ever, used at the roundhouse so communication basics were learned. Hand signals were rehearsed with live locomotives. Cuts and joints were practiced - separating and connecting rolling stock. Finer points of visual inspections learned. A myriad of rolling stock trustworthiness checks were imparted upon our class of student brakemen: ensuring proper brake piston travel; level car bodies free of roller bearing contact; brake shoe wear and replacement; a sundry of brake checks; and understanding of wheel integrity as well as signs of failure or insult.

Throughout training, the lead instructor - with a smile on his face - would lightheartedly refer to operations at Osceola as "playing with trains." It was always quickly followed by the caveat: "But, we aren't supposed to call it that!" I gathered his use of the term 'playing' was just to soften some our serious-mindedness that threatened to erase any of the enjoyment of volunteer railroading could provide. After all, taking our future responsibility so seriously, that working a train isn't enjoyable, lends to an unhappy trip for the passengers.

As the class drug on through the frozen months, giving us a good sense of winter railroading, everything seemed to get thrown into 'emergency' reaching the next hurdle: The rules test. More of a requirement to moving on than instructional hours, failing this test canceled my Track & Time. The assessment was an eclectic conglomeration of questions melding knowledge from the USOR, the museum's air brake manual, and timetable totaling 75 questions. It would be my second attempt on which I passed it and feel accomplishment. It will be every two years I, along with all other operating volunteers, will have to re-qualify via the code test.

May 1st, most of the active museum railroaders came together in Osceola. Not only was it the day to get all the rolling stock in order, cleaned and fix-it projects completed, the first day of May also saw an army of folks to clean the property, open the depot after it had been shuttered over the winter, but it also gave us an opportunity to switch cars and test the newest piece of power. I was excited because after the stress of the written code test, now was hands-on railroading.

Proper manipulation of a derail, a turnout and "protecting the shove" via radio command were competencies proven to qualified examiners. I completed my practicals right away, the last few hours sitting shotgun in the Soo 559, a favorite at the museum. The engineer was the same one from the NP 105; again he took advantage of this face-to-face and grilled me on my knowledge of the timetable.

Being a volunteer or "just a museum railroader" is no joke. Although the territory is "other than main track" and not Horseshoe Curve or the Trans-Con, operating members are held to the same operating standards as any other revenue railroad employee - be it a freight or a passenger railroad. Each of us are exposed to the same fines for any infraction. With each shift I will be required to tally up my hours of duty in the month and complete FRA paperwork. Random drug or rules tests are to be expected. Rule F in the Operating Rules cautions employees to expect a train "at any time, on any track and in any direction." Several times in class we were warned to anticipate having to answer a question regarding the rules. The spontaneous inquisition could come from an FRA official or a Canadian National supervisor or a museum superior. The answer better be correct or the quizzed crew member's day is over right then and there!

As I accumulate experience, I can shed the qualifier 'student' from my current title of Brakeman. Over time I can request moving up to Conductor. Should I get ambitious, eventually Locomotive Engineer will be an option!

My experience as a whole - from sitting in the classroom fully dressed for outside work to spending a few hours after class soliciting for small jobs around the museum to actually throwing a switch and radioing distance left in terms of car lengths to the engineer - has been so satisfying; it is a dream realized. I anticipate years of fun and great adventures.