Erie Railroad Biography - Thomas William Venner


THOMAS WILLIAM VENNER, Jersey City, New Jersey.
Born in London, England, in 1867, Thomas William Venner accompanied his father to the United States while still very young, his father being a quarryman, for whom, after leaving school at the age of 17, Mr. Venner went to work, his first employment being at carrying drills, following this up by becoming a conductor on the De Kalb Avenue street railroad in Brooklyn, New York, then going into the building trade, and from that to a position in a rolling mill. But it was decreed that Mr. Venner should be a railroad man, and accordingly he followed out his destiny by going to work for the Erie, at first as wiper, and a little later -- in January, 1888 -- becoming a fireman on passenger, an occupation which he followed with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the company and, all concerned until August, 1897, when he was made an engineer, fulfilling all the requirements now made necessary in order to obtain that position. Since that time Mr. Venner has been running extras, and is still doing so, being constantly and busily employed, and it will be at no distant day that he will rise to the ranks of the regular men. His character and his work are sufficient guarantees that in whatever position he may be placed he will be found ever painstaking, faithful and trustworthy.

Mr. Venner was a delegate to the Peoria convention of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, and it was at that time that he was so fortunate as to meet Miss Helen M. Whited, the lady who is now Mrs. Venner. They were married at Deposit, New York, on October 7, 1897, and are now living happily at No. 284 Ninth street, Jersey City, having, let us hope, many long years of happiness and usefulness before them. Mr. Venner has had only one experience in a serious accident, this happening in the Jersey City tunnel on December 15, 1897, on which occasion his engine -- the 1323 -- went over into the pond, he saving himself by jumping, and sustaining no other injuries than bruises. It is much to be hoped that his immunity from accidents may continue throughout his railroad career, for it is to this class of young men that all railroads must look for the safe conduct of their business, in the future as in the past.

Excerpted from: "American Locomotive Engineers, Erie Railway Edition," H.R. Romans Editor; Crawford-Adsit Company Publishers, Chicago, IL 1899.




From the July, 1913 issue of Erie Railroad Magazine:
One day last March (1913), train 55, which starts from Jersey City in the evening, each week day, but not Sundays, left on time hooked up to engine 967, with Engineer "Tom" Venner in the cab, and Tom is a man whose good nature, they say, has much to do with the success of this train.

As the train was rounding the long curve west of Passaic Park, Thomas noticed that an auto truck had evidently met with an accident and was stalled on the Passaic Street crossing. He saw it just in time to stop and prevent a collision. A small army of willing helpers were trying to assist the luckless chauffeur to get the car clear of the rails.

The train had a large pile of express matter to unload at Passaic, and Tom was anxious to get to the station on time. He grasped the situation quickly and, climbing down from the 967 like a cat, rushed to where the car was stranded, and, grabbing it with his massive arms, had it out of the way in a jiffy, while the admiring crowd stood by in amazement, speechless with admiration, while they marvelled at the great strength of good natured Tom Venner.

While Tom is among the clasiest of engineers, still the boys think he is wasting his valuable time running an engine. They think he should be out with a circus exhibiting himself as the premier strong man of the world, billed as the "modern Sampson."




From the June, 1921 issue of Erie Railroad Magazine:
Tom Venner, one of the old-time engineers, is in charge of engine 812, which was for many years operated by engineer Terence Fitzsimmons. Terry has been in the Erie service for over 50 years, and is now absent on sick leave.




From the September, 1937 issue of Erie Railroad Magazine
New York Division Engineer T.W. Venner of Port Jervis was retired recently under the new Federal Railroad Retirement statutes at age 70 after 49 years, 2 months of service.




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