• New Haven engineer Mike Novell

  • Discussion relating to the NH and its subsidiaries (NYW&B, Union Freight Railroad, Connecticut Company, steamship lines, etc.). up until its 1969 inclusion into the Penn Central merger. This forum is also for the discussion of efforts to preserve former New Haven equipment, artifacts and its history. You may also wish to visit www.nhrhta.org for more information.
Discussion relating to the NH and its subsidiaries (NYW&B, Union Freight Railroad, Connecticut Company, steamship lines, etc.). up until its 1969 inclusion into the Penn Central merger. This forum is also for the discussion of efforts to preserve former New Haven equipment, artifacts and its history. You may also wish to visit www.nhrhta.org for more information.
  by MickD
 
Was wonderin' do any ex NH employees remember an engineer by the name of Mike Novell.He was a friend of my grandfather's and I was recently lookin' at a photo of the three of us, from I believe September 1962, when he took us for a cab ride from GCT to Stamford.TIthink he might have been at the throttle of the Yankee Clipper at one time.
  by Noel Weaver
 
I remember Mickey Novel, he often worked night jobs out of Penn Station and was an absolute gentleman to work with.
I fired many jobs with him off the spare board in the early 60's.
Noel Weaver
  by MickD
 
Hi Noel,
Nice to see you remember him.My grandfather lived and was a cop in North Pelham.He had known Mike for quite a few years and thought a lot of him.I was in grammar school in Eastchester when we took that ride and had loved trains, so when Mike heard that he got us that cab ride. After that when we'd go to Pelham on Saturdays very often in the summer my grandfather and I would go down to the station and wait on the WB platform in the early evening to see Mike(Mickey)come through with his easttbound with a wave,a big smile and all.Great guy.

Thanks,
Mick
  by Stephen Novell
 
MickD wrote:Was wonderin' do any ex NH employees remember an engineer by the name of Mike Novell.He was a friend of my grandfather's and I was recently lookin' at a photo of the three of us, from I believe September 1962, when he took us for a cab ride from GCT to Stamford.TIthink he might have been at the throttle of the Yankee Clipper at one time.
Mickey was my Grandfather... I have a good number of photos I would be more than happy to share with you all
  by Stephen Novell
 
MickD wrote:Hi Noel,
Nice to see you remember him.My grandfather lived and was a cop in North Pelham.He had known Mike for quite a few years and thought a lot of him.I was in grammar school in Eastchester when we took that ride and had loved trains, so when Mike heard that he got us that cab ride. After that when we'd go to Pelham on Saturdays very often in the summer my grandfather and I would go down to the station and wait on the WB platform in the early evening to see Mike(Mickey)come through with his easttbound with a wave,a big smile and all.Great guy.

Thanks,
Mick
North Pelham! Yup and my Grampy Mike would dress as Santa for all the kids for the Pelham Police department. Going on four generations of Novell's now dressing as Santa, I had a chance to be Santa with my local police department one year. Was thinking how Grampy would be smiling down seeing me.
  by Stephen Novell
 
Absolute thrill to read these posts on my grandfather. I had been posting on a few other boards if anyone remembered him, and never got a reply....

Hope to hear back from you all soon.
  by Stephen Novell
 
Mick, I have a photo of a boy with my grandfather up on a cab of one of the FL9s. You didn't happen to have a tweed winter coat? Boy is sitting on Mikes lap and he is holding the throttle.
  by chnhrr
 
I didn’t know Mr. Novell, but my brief experience with the New Haven the engineers was that they were friendly. In the mid sixties my father commuted between Old Greenwich and New York and during the summertime, he would return home by walking on the golf course to our house on Lockwood Avenue. I often met him at the station at the front end of the platform to accompany him back. Our walk home took us by the waiting locomotive and we would usually say hello to same engineer, have a brief conversation with him and then watch the FL-9 rumble towards Stamford. By chance I was in New York one Saturday with my dad and we spotted this engineer at GCT ready to take controls of the FL-9 for our return home. I asked my dad if he would in turn ask him if I could go in the cab. The engineer was very accommodating and I did spend a few minutes in a FL-9 cab. Being no more than seven or eight years old, I found the controls a little intimidating.
  by Stephen Novell
 
chnhrr wrote:I didn’t know Mr. Novell, but my brief experience with the New Haven the engineers was that they were friendly. In the mid sixties my father commuted between Old Greenwich and New York and during the summertime, he would return home by walking on the golf course to our house on Lockwood Avenue. I often met him at the station at the front end of the platform to accompany him back. Our walk home took us by the waiting locomotive and we would usually say hello to same engineer, have a brief conversation with him and then watch the FL-9 rumble towards Stamford. By chance I was in New York one Saturday with my dad and we spotted this engineer at GCT ready to take controls of the FL-9 for our return home. I asked my dad if he would in turn ask him if I could go in the cab. The engineer was very accommodating and I did spend a few minutes in a FL-9 cab. Being no more than seven or eight years old, I found the controls a little intimidating.

I know he would take LOTS of folks into the cab, and many for rides up front. One of his friends who road frequently up in the cab was Jack Sterling who had a radio show. He would mention it on the radio show. He also had the nickname Lollipop based on his penchant for tooting the whistle. He held the train at Yankee stadium so the passengers could hear Lou Gehrig farewell, he also was one of the engineers for FDR funeral train, and one story a pregnant woman was worried she wasn't going to make the train. Mike saw her, yelled to slow down he wouldn't leave her behind.

I got to be honest I've been trying to find information for a number of years from around this period if anyone remembered him, and about the various New Haven engines. Never got a reply. Then I saw MickD and Mr. Weaver's posts and it was a thrill, and I forward their exchange to my siblings who also thought it was wonderful people remembered him. Especially the timing... All these years no luck and then this.. You see this month is the 50th anniversary, on Jan 25, 1963, there was a engine fire which resulted my grandfathers death. He and his fireman had been able to bring the stricken train into the station, and disconnected the power. when he stepped down onto the platform, he collapsed and died what was first thought to have been a heart attack, but was result of toxic fumes from the burning insulation. You might say he died with his boots on. He spent 46 years on the New Haven Railroad.
  by Tommy Meehan
 
Stephen as you may have seen, the moderator of the Metro-North forum doesn't want this discussed in his forum (it's definitely long before Metro-North) but it sounds like interesting rail history. It happened fifty years ago so it's definitely history. I moved my earlier post from the Metro-North forum to here. This thread is about your Grandfather so my message has finally found a home!
Stephen Novell wrote:...From what appeared to be a heart attack. The NH engineers knew better...
Stephen I'm very sorry to hear about your Grandfather. Toxic smoke, huh? Too bad. Last night I looked in the New York Times news archive for January 1963 but didn't find a story. Around that date (1/25/63) the only New Haven Railroad-related stories I found were about the BLE going to court to get job protection in the event the New Haven merged with another railroad.

I promise this is the last time I'm moving my post! :)
  by Stephen Novell
 
Tommy Meehan wrote:Stephen as you may have seen, the moderator of the Metro-North forum doesn't want this discussed in his forum (it's definitely long before Metro-North) but it sounds like interesting rail history. It happened fifty years ago so it's definitely history. I moved my earlier post from the Metro-North forum to here. This thread is about your Grandfather so my message has finally found a home!
Stephen Novell wrote:...From what appeared to be a heart attack. The NH engineers knew better...
Stephen I'm very sorry to hear about your Grandfather. Toxic smoke, huh? Too bad. Last night I looked in the New York Times news archive for January 1963 but didn't find a story. Around that date (1/25/63) the only New Haven Railroad-related stories I found were about the BLE going to court to get job protection in the event the New Haven merged with another railroad.

I promise this is the last time I'm moving my post! :)
Well I certainly won't do that again to a thread and use PM int he future. Apologize my error.

Toxic fumes actually,comes from the insulating materials used in cabling / wiring from this period. The materials produced toxic fumes, including cyanide, depending on materials used when exposed to fire. Saw a great deal of this in older Navy ships, stuffing tubes was used aboard ships a work around when isolating spaces during fire and flooding (Damage Control). Aboard ships you would send in "gas free engineers" after fires to test for oxygen and toxic fumes.

Not surprised it wasn't mention in the Times, incident was originally thought to be nature causes heart attack, no passengers injured. Wasn't until the following Monday at the funeral when the NH engineers and others pulled the family aside. Thus triggered the lawsuit for wrongful death, which resulted in settlement.
  by chnhrr
 
Stephen Novell wrote: Toxic fumes actually,comes from the insulating materials used in cabling / wiring from this period. The materials produced toxic fumes, including cyanide, depending on materials used when exposed to fire.
This is also a problem on aircraft. Cabin insulation on older planes has been noted to be flammable as well.
  by charlie6017
 
Stephen/Tommy/All--

You are certainly more than welcome to converse about this here. Unlike a few of the mods on this
site, I don't run my forums like the Gestapo. I find conversations about the great memories, especially
about family members very refreshing! Stephen, I hope you can post your photos of Mickey. I know Flickr
is a good photo hosting website and there are others as well.

By all means, carry on! ;-)

Charlie
  by MickD
 
Stephen,
This was great to see this morning.
I was indeed wearing a tweed coat ,and I have
a copy of that very same photo..
The evening I rode with your grandfather did
as much anything to generate my own interest
in railroads..and Lollipop was the fireman that night too.
It's probably my fondest railroad related memory.
I remember when your grandfather passed away,
My grandfather passed the news along to me when he heard
about it,and I remember very well how badly I felt about it.
He'd thought it was heart attack at the time
I don't think I've ever gone through New Rochelle Jct.through
the years and not thought of that night..and also standing on the platform
at Pelham and watchin' him wave from the cab as he was headin' to New Haven
with a train quite a few times that fall..
  by Stephen Novell
 
I will start scanning them tonight, and get the prints up online. Give me a couple of days and will have them up for you this weekend.
Some of the yard photos go way back to around World War I. others from around the 40's-60s. EP3's FL9 EP2 EF4 etc. Have a couple article clippings from Pelham Police department to scan also.

MickD I might have the negatives, If I find them I will send them to you.. Should stay with you. I also have a perfect perfect photo for you of him waving a great big smile from the cab of EP3 (351)

Pretty amazing the internet....