Life on the railroad brings family to area

By Debbie Irmen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published 06:20 p.m., March 13, 2010

James Bonner started railing at the age of 20 in 1997, as a summer job and became a foamer — a big-time railroad enthusiast — from then on.

In October 2009, he was assigned to the assistant general manager position at Otter Tail Valley Railroad, where he oversees the day-to-day operations, develops new customers, making sure finances are in order and oversees the budget.

The job also entails working with train schedules and many government agencies, such as MnDOT and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. With safety being a number one priority, he ensures policies are strictly adhered to, as well.

The Otter Tail Valley Railroad covers approximately 70 miles of track, including 50 miles to Moorhead and the line to French, west of Fergus Falls.

During November, about a month after starting his job, Bonner moved his wife, Jessica, and two children to Fergus Falls from Logan, a small town in northcentral Kansas. Jessica is presently a stay-at-home mom, though she is trained as an x-ray technician.

Their daughter, Malynn, is 8 and an Adams second-grader in Sue Moore’s classroom. Their son, Caleb, is 4 and attends Kinderstart, though Jessica said he is excited to start kindergarten next year.

She had never really thought about moving north, she said, being more of an east or west coast gal, but it’s been a good move, despite some early apprehension.

Living in a small town of about 600 (in Kansas), nearly everyone was like family, she said.

“It was hard to leave everybody we had gotten to know so well,” Jessica said.

And with family a couple hours a way at most — and the benefits of having grandparents and other family so close — it caused some nervousness for her, she said. “But I knew this was where we needed to go, so I had to buck up and just go,” she said with a laugh, adding, “It’s been a good move. We’ve already met a lot of people and really enjoyed it.”

Twelve-and-a-half years ago, James started out in what was to become his career, as a track man, or gandy dancer, shoveling, spiking, inspecting track, installing track, whatever needed doing, he said. Despite the work load, he was hooked.

“I got to go out and do something different everyday, it was outside and didn’t have the supervisors around so we had some freedom, and it wasn’t humdrum,” he said of his early experiences. “It gets in your blood; I just landed in it.”

Although he is relatively new to railing, for some people it runs several genback, he said.

He remembered his earliest interest in the railroad when as working as a teen at a restaurant with a friend whose father worked for the railroad.

“I kept asking him to ask his father if I could hop the train and finally it happened and I’ve been hooked since,” Bonner said. “It’s not a job, it’s a way of life, hokey as that sounds.”

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