Mr. Foster with his new project, Vulcan #802 upon its arrival in 1968.
Jack Foster had become superintendent of the road in 1965. He had come to the CP&LE in May 1964, to iron out its problems. His experience on hundreds of locomotives, ranging from small logging shays to huge Southern Mallets, was an important factor in the success of the CP&LE. In his early teens, Jack Foster, following in his father’s footsteps, took a job as an engineer of a logging locomotive on an operation in the Smoky Mountains. He advanced quickly and was soon working on the head ends of long Southern Railway freights. During the 1920s and 1930s, the Southern was affiliated with a great number of short lines and feeder railroads. Jack was sent to many of these to keep them in proper operating condition. Among these little roads to which he was sent was the quaint and beautiful Smoky Mountain Railroad. While working on the short lines, he gained knowledge of car building, boiler making, track laying, and, in short, all that is required to operate a railroad.
A caboose wreck at the Little River Lumber Co., Near Elkmont, Tennessee July 19, 1917. Left to right- little Jack Foster sitting on the caboose, his mother, older brother, and father standing on the right of way. Great Smoky Mountains National Park collection.
One of the engines Jack operated while on the Southern (SOU 4-6-2 #1401) is now preserved in the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C. Of the many experiences that Jack often recounts, was the time he was the engineer on the train that carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s body from Warm Springs, Georgia to the nation’s capital.
When diesel replaced steam, Jack became a diesel engineer. One winter morning, just after stepping off his engine, he was stricken with a severe heart attack. For months Jack laid in the hospital recovering. Never again could he operate an engine on a common carrier road. But his railroading days were far from over. When Jack had recovered, George Roose, who had met Jack on a tour of the Smoky Mountain Railroad, offered him a job on the CP&LE, which he fortunately accepted.
Within the first few months of his stay at Cedar Point, he had ironed out all of the major mechanical problems. No longer did the locomotives slip and slide as they tried to get underway. The CP&LE experienced very little downtime after his arrival. His soon to be little coaches were certainly the finest-riding and least expensive of the rolling stock. Mr. Roose had found the right man to run his railroad.
When diesel replaced steam, Jack became a diesel engineer. One winter morning, just after stepping off his engine, he was stricken with a severe heart attack. For months Jack laid in the hospital recovering. Never again could he operate an engine on a common carrier road. But his railroading days were far from over. When Jack had recovered, George Roose, who had met Jack on a tour of the Smoky Mountain Railroad, offered him a job on the CP&LE, which he fortunately accepted.
Within the first few months of his stay at Cedar Point, he had ironed out all of the major mechanical problems. No longer did the locomotives slip and slide as they tried to get underway. The CP&LE experienced very little downtime after his arrival. His soon to be little coaches were certainly the finest-riding and least expensive of the rolling stock. Mr. Roose had found the right man to run his railroad.