. - X ,/„ I ( ~» -••--T. r y ~ Xj* » ' ' * *--•* *̂ "̂ / V--^VL-V I -" / Family spends 140 years working for railroad By W. Brice Me Vicar THE INTELLIGENCER Tracy Giffin can still remember blinking out a greeting to her dad by flicking the lights on and off as he passed by her grandparents' apart- ment in Brockville. Letting his kids know that he saw their welcome, engineer Allan Giffin would shine a flashlight toward the apartment as the train he was dri- ving rolled past on the nearby tracks. Thursday afternoon it was Allan flashing lights, the headlights of the train he was engineering, as he rounded a bend in the railroad tracks and recognized the friends and family waiting for him in Belleville. When the train stopped it marked the end of a 35-year career for the Belleville resident. "I finished high school and was looking for work and I guess I just started," Allan said. He was 20 at the time and was following a family tradition as both his grandfather and father had spent their lives working on the rail- road. Between his grandfather, his father, his brother and himself the Giffins have spent a combined 140 years on the rails. The trackside family celebration is the second this w7eek for local CN employees, as The Intelligencer reported earlier this week the story of engineer Wayne Cleaver. While the career has provided his family with a good life Allan said he won't miss the job. He also won't miss birthdays, holidays and other special occasions as he has had to in the past. "It's an unpredictable lifestyle. It's helped our family to be sponta- neous," daughter Tracy said. She said while growing up many babysit- ters were recruited to look after her and two brothers while Allan was working. Allan's wife, Judy Sinclair, echoed Tracy's comments, saying she's glad her husband's working life has come to an end. His career meant many nights away from home and difficulties in household planning. "We can plan thtags now. It can make for a really harcf family life." Though Allan ss|d his only immediate plans are la hot make any plans and enjoyShik time off, INTELLIGENCER PHOTO BY W. BRICE McViCAR Allan Giffin wanted to make sure he had some mementos to remember his retirement reception on Thursday afternoon. As the train he was engineering rolled to a stop the 35 year veteran of CN snapped photos of waiting friends and family before saying goodbye to his career. his children have already prepared some activities for their father. Sons Brian and Mike said their dad has always wanted to learn to scuba dive, but never had the time so they bought him lessons. As their dad is a lover of nature and the outdoors they also presented him a one-year pass to Froritenac Provincial Park near Kingston. The great outdoors which, Allan loves so much also presented him with a strange situation years ago when he was working. "I remember a time I hit a herd of cattle near Bath, Ont.," he recalled grimly. "We felt nothing (of the impact aboard the train) but we could hear gentte thuds as the train hit the cows..."