Interviews with Frank Parker Sr.
https://search.bvmuseum.org/link/descriptions12288
- Date Range
- Jan. 29, 1982 - Sept. 17, 1993
- Collection
- BVM Oral History collection
- Description Level
- File
- GMD
- sound recording
- electronic record
- Scope and Content
- Two interviews with Frank Parker Sr., recorded on January 29th 1982 by Tom W. Parken and on September 17th 1993 by Colin Wilmot. Includes raw and edited .WAV files and .MP3 access files. No release forms located.
- Collection
- BVM Oral History collection
- Description Level
- File
- Creator
- Tom Parken
- Colin Wilmot
- Fonds No.
- C5
- Item No.
- 2021.21.64
- Accession No.
- 2021.21
- Physical Description
- 1.12 GB of digital records
- Date Range
- Jan. 29, 1982 - Sept. 17, 1993
- Scope and Content
- Two interviews with Frank Parker Sr., recorded on January 29th 1982 by Tom W. Parken and on September 17th 1993 by Colin Wilmot. Includes raw and edited .WAV files and .MP3 access files. No release forms located.
- Type of Record
- Archival Description
Audio Tracks
Interview with Frank Parker Sr. - January 29, 1982
Interview with Frank Parker Sr. - January 29, 1982
https://search.bvmuseum.org/media/Digital%20Fonds%20and%20Collections/C5%20BVM%20Oral%20History%20collection/2021.21.64_Parker,%20Frank%20Sr/1982%20interview/Parker,%20Frank%20Sr%201982_01_29.ACCESS.mp3
Frank Parker Sr. gives an overview of his railway career, beginning as a brakeman in his teenage years and eventually becoming a full-time conductor.
Edmonton, Alberta; Edson, Alberta; Great Depression; Green Terminal; Middlesex County, Ontario; Smithers; Wainwright, Alberta; World War II
brakeman; conductor; employment; jobs; occupations; railway
Parker talks about the steps required to become a railway conductor and how jobs were awarded on the basis of seniority.
A book; Alaska highway; B book; examinations; seniority; tests; World War II
conductor; promotion; railway
Parker discusses the railway work he has done outside of Smithers over the years.
death of child
Kamloops; Prince Rupert; Winnipeg; work
Parker explains that the transition from the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway to Canadian National Railways had little effect on his day-to-day work, although it did result in some improvements to the train tracks.
improvements; steel; ties; train tracks; upgrades
Canadian National; Grand Trunk Pacific; railways
Parker discusses the role the railway played in transporting all manner of goods to, from, and throughout the Bulkley Valley.
goods; LCL freight; meat cars; responsibilities; shipping; work hours
Bulkley Valley; development; railway; transportation; work
Parker discusses the importance of following the rules in a dangerous job such as railroad work.
railway work; rules; safety
Parker relays the story of how he once shot a goose from aboard the train.
goose; rafting; train
anecdotes; hunting
Parker discusses the one serious accident of his railway career - a derailment at Forestdale.
Endako; Forestdale; Sid Robinson; Vernon Glass; water car
accidents; derailment
Parker talks about using the rotary plow ('Rupert plow') to clear heavy snow off the tracks. He also mentions snow sheds, tunnels which were used to protect trains from avalanches.
Kwinitsa; snow sheds
avalanches; rotary plow; snowslides
Parker discusses his time working as a conductor on passenger trains, first between Smithers and Prince Rupert and later out of Winnipeg. Includes a story about an incident with a thief aboard one of the trains.
crime; night runs; theft; Winnipeg
conductor; passenger train; transport; working with the public
Parker tells a story about how he accidentally ran the caboose into the back of the train while attempting to bring it down a slope.
caboose
accident; railway; train
Parker discusses the decline of passenger trains as travel by car and plane became more commonplace.
day coaches; Watrous; Winnipeg
changes over time; passenger traffic; passenger train; transit; transportation
Parker discusses the attitudes of engineers regarding the transition from steam power to diesel power.
diesel power; engineers; steam power; trains
Parker discusses how the Smithers route became a branch line of the CNR after the GTP merged with Canadian National.
branch line; main line; revenue; train routes
Canadian National Railways; CNR; Grand Trunk Pacific; GTP; railroads; railways; trains
Parker was the oldest conductor in service in the Western Region at the time of his retirement, having worked on the railway for 48 years.
Bill Duff; Grand Trunk Pacific Railway; pension
retirement
Parker reflects on his decades of service on the railway, discussing topics such as improvements in working conditions, the pride people took in their jobs, how hard they worked during the War years, and his feelings on retirement.
'golden handshake'; accommodations; bunkhouses; lodgings; pensions; World War II
railway; retirement; working conditions
Parker talks about a satirical poem that a railway worker wrote about soldiers during World War II.
armoured train; Pacific; restaurant
poetry; railway workers; soldiers; World War II
A short note from the interviewer (Tom Parken) regarding several instances when the interview was cut short. (All have been edited out of the final recording).
Interview with Frank Parker Sr. - September 17, 1993
Interview with Frank Parker Sr. - September 17, 1993
https://search.bvmuseum.org/media/Digital%20Fonds%20and%20Collections/C5%20BVM%20Oral%20History%20collection/2021.21.64_Parker,%20Frank%20Sr/1993%20interview/Parker,%20Frank%20Sr.%201993_09_17.ACCESS.mp3
Frank Parker Sr. discusses his work as a conductor on a freight train from 1922 to 1965.
brakeman; railway crew; train orders
conductor; employment; freight train; jobs; occupation; railway
Parker discusses clearing mud/slow/rock slides and operating the flanger car.
flanger; gravel; rotary plow; Tony Garcia; wing plow
mudslides; railway; rockslides; slides; snowslides
Parker says he has no personal stories about working on the railway. He briefly talks about the gravel cars which were hooked up to the flanger.
Tony Garcia
flanger; gravel cars; railway