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Monday, June 23, 2014
Trains News Wire EXCLUSIVE: Eight-year-old guest engineer gets his wish
by Bob Johnston
 

 
RENO, Nev. — When Amtrak’s California Zephyr departed Sacramento on Friday morning, regular engineer Matt Klink was accompanied by a very enthusiastic associate. Jonathan “Jon Jon” Dockins has a congenital heart defect and has endured 10 surgeries since he was born. But thanks to funding from the Make-A-Wish Foundation and tireless string-pulling by a long list of railroaders at all levels, Jonathan was able to experience his dream: A ride in the Zephyr’s cab over Donner Pass. The weekend also included motorized speeder and train rides on the Virginia & Truckee Railroad at nearby Virginia City before Jonathan and his parents flew back to their home near St. Louis on Monday.
 
Wheels began turning when Make-A-Wish officials in Sacramento contacted Ken Marty, an Amtrak engineer who is also president of the West Coast Railroaders Group, with the request forwarded from Make-A-Wish Missouri. Once Amtrak president Joe Boardman personally authorized Jonathan’s ride, Ken and the group’s vice president, Matt Phelan, reached out to Tom Gray, Virginia & Truckee’s general manager, plus Union Pacific and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineer & Trainmen Local 144 officials to build a memorable experience for the young railfan.Smiling from ear-to-ear after being escorted from his hotel through a cheering crowd of well-wishers at the Sacramento station, Jonathan got the full treatment: a safety briefing from engineer Klink, conductor Pete Vonnegut, and Road Foreman Denny Carroll, and a photographic sendoff in the cab from Amtrak engineer Phil Gosney and a TV crew from Sacramento NBC affiliate KCRA-TV.
 
The Amtrak crew realized that Jonathan already knew enough about railroad operations to be an active participant, so he not only briefly handled the controls under Klink’s tutelage but also read back a track warrant advisory to UP’s Omaha dispatcher, who addressed Jonathan as “Engineer Dockins.” The audio of the exchange is included below. The dispatcher later told the crew they had better watch out, because the young engineer might take their job.
 
By the time the train reached Reno, “he was smiling from ear-to-ear,” Marty said. He had driven there to meet Dockins.
 
The union presented Jonathan with a custom-engraved, AAR-style reverser to commemorate the trip on P42 No. 155. Amtrak also issued the boy an engineers license, “that looks just like the rest of ours,” Phelan said.On the Virginia & Truckee the next day, “they rolled out the red carpet,” Phelan said. He credits V&T general manager Gray for playing a key role in making everything happen. Jonathan was able to enjoy multiple rides on speeders and the steam excursion train over two days.
 
Of the various rides, Dockins told Phelan, “I don’t have a favorite up here—they’re all good!” But no doubt the memory of being treated like a professional engineer leading the California Zephyr over Donner Pass will last a long time too.