Father and son find fulfilling career at NBM Railways

Growing up, Mike Green would sometimes accompany his dad, Mark Green, to work at the railroad.

“I used to take him as a kid. He was probably only 10 years-old, but I would take him in the truck and patrol the track on the main line on holidays,” Mark said.

Now, father and son both work at NBM Railways, Mike as a carman and Mark as a locomotive engineer.

“It was a little different back then,” Mike recalls with a laugh. “It was fun. It was interesting. I think that’s why I started doing what I did, working for the railroad.”

The Greens have earned a bit of a reputation around the workplace, one that is heard before they are seen.  You see, besides working at the same place, there’s another thing the father and son have in common.

“The Green family is really loud,” Mike said. “Everybody at work says we’re the loudest people here.”

“I’ve been told I didn’t need a radio,” Mark said. “I could just yell.”

Mark has worked for the railroad his whole career. Starting from the bottom, as he says, shovelling snow, to now as a locomotive engineer. The career has lasted him 48 years so far.

“It’s a great opportunity. It’s a career opportunity,” said Mark. “People don’t understand that, but it’s a good career.”

He’s held his current position for the last 15 years. Before that, he was on the maintenance side for almost 20.

In almost 50 years, Mark has witnessed many changes at the railway.

“Everything has changed,” he said. “The technology and the tools they use now. There’s not too much lifting like there was in my time.”

Mike, who’s been a carman with the railway for 21 years, following a stint as a boat mechanic, said he comes by his career naturally, coming from a mechanically inclined family. That, and the family-oriented nature of the workplace also drew him in.

“My father had a family to look after, me and my brother, and he’s done very well at what he’s done,” Mike said. “I wanted to do the same thing for my family.”

After all, it’s in the family.

“Yesterday we had a meeting so the two of us sat together and laughed,” Mike said. “We have fun. I’m very close with my father.”