Does anyone have any interesting Canal Bridge stories PRSL

This is photo of Bridge Operator Al Elridge (may have misspelled name)back in the day.



The other photo is me in the summer of 99. These were taken by the same photographer using the same camera over 35 years apart.

I was qualified for the Cape May Canal bridge in 1970 as an extra block operator. Not many interesting stories other than the problems of getting the bridge to operate in the freezing snow and ice @ zero-dark-thirty for the first line in the morning. It was mostly a boring assignment for the block operators as it was at the end of the line and you only handled three trains on your trick. Nice pictures though,brings back memeories of my days with the Seashore Lines.

My interesting Canal story is that I did not work there. In the late 60's I was working various vacation relief block operator positions. I stood to catch a two week hold down on Canal, while another block operator stood to work the same two weeks on a hold down at Brown. The other operator complained about working Brown because it was such a busy location. I volunteered to trade with him and had a very interesting and train filled two weeks while he got to swing the bridge for 4 trains during his 8 hours. Needless to say he and the rest of the operators questioned my sanity. I never did get to work Canal. I was qualified at every other operator location, including the operator clerk position in Ocean City, but never Canal.