From the June, 1909 issue of the Locomotive Engineers' Monthly Journal, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers:
Pension for Old and Disabled.
MEADVILLE, PA., Mar 1, 1909.
TO THE EDITOR, JOURNAL:
I would like to say a few words about a pension for the old and disabled Brothers. When I left the Memphis Convention I was sure that some plan would be adopted at the Columbus Convention and be in force long before this. Now, as it is one year before the next convention I hope the Brothers will give the matter thorough consideration and have their delegates instructed for a pension for all aged and disabled Brothers. Of course, we cannot expect something for nothing, but I do believe we can have a good deal if we go at it in the right spirit.

You, Brothers, think back to the time when the insurance was first adopted. Then the Brothers had to pay a great deal and receive a very little. Now you can see what it has grown to in 40 years, viz., we are paying very little, and those left behind us are receiving a great deal; or if a Brother is bereft of an eye, hand or foot, he is receiving a great deal for what he has paid in, and I think that we can have a pension that will grow along in the same lines if we start right; and in two years' time we can have a pension that will be the same as an insurance � the finest in the world.

First, I would recommend that we do away with the indigent fund and call it a pension fund; then we will have what is called the Locomotive Engineers' Pension Fund.

Now, Brothers, if you will look in the April JOURNAL you will notice in the insurance that there were seven Brothers that lost one eye, and one lost one foot, and one that lost one hand, for which the Association paid for these nine claims $21,000. Now, in the Insurance Association we have 67,000 members. Think what it cost each one of this number of members to pay the claims of those nine disabled Brothers, and then think what the amount will be if we will go down in our pockets and give 1 or even 2 per cent of our earnings to establish a pension fund.

Brothers, I would like to hear from you in regard to a pension, and I hope that when the convention closes at Detroit it will be said that the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers has established a pension fund.
Yours fraternally,
W. E. NICHOLS, C. E. Div. 48.

From the March, 1910 issue of Erie Railroad Magazine:
FORTY YEARS IN SERVICE.
Here is a letter written by Engineer W.E. Nichols, of Meadville, Penn., just previous to his completion of forty years of service with the Erie. Now this was naturally an event in the life of Mr. Nichols, and as such Mr. Stuart was naturally pleased that he should have called attention to it. Perhaps you may say that it was not a matter in which anyone at Headquarters was interested. That is where you make a mistake. Officers of the Erie do take a lively interest in the affairs of their employes and are glad to be kept informed of matters that materially affect them in their relations to or service with the company. Speaking generally it is men of the character of Mr. Nichols; men who have by continued and faithful service made themselves a vital part of the company's success who make the best employes in the world. They have helped to make the Erie's service to its patrons as satisfactory and complete as it is. A service record such as is Mr. Nichols's is therefore a matter of interest to those who are managing Erie's affairs. Such letters not only create comment at Headquarters but serve to cement the friendly feeling that should and does exist so far as the Erie is concerned, at least, between officers and employes.

"Meadville, Pa., Feb. 7, 1910. Mr. J. C. Stuart, Vice-President and General Manager.

Dear Sir:
Below please find my record of service with this company, which I think there are very few employes can beat. I began as Brakeman Feb. 15, 1870, and secured position as Fireman Dec. 14, 1870; was promoted to Locomotive Engineer Oct. 30, 1880, which position I still hold. When I entered the service this part of the road was called the Erie Railway, A. & G. W. Division, and at that time the Conductors hired their own brakemen and it was no trouble to get a position, as in those days the engines pulled 16 to 20 cars and it took three men to hold them down the grades, as the speed limit then was 12 to 15 miles per hour.

Now you will see that on the 15th of the present month I will have been in the service forty years, and now I wish to say to you that in all these years not one month has passed that I have not drawn pay, and have a full month's pay coming for January, 1910.

I would like to know how many there are in the service that can beat me, especially in the transportation department.

Yours very respectfully, W. E. NICHOLS. Engineer."

The April issue contained the following reply from George Westall, Foreman of Laborers, Cleveland, OH

"Editor Erie Railroad Employes Magazine:
In your March number I read a very interesting record of W.E. Nichols, one of our faithful veterans, who has spent 40 years of his life with the Erie. This continuous service speaks well for the employe and for the old Erie Company, and goes to show that age cuts no figure with our officials when a man has put in his time from boyhood. His services are as much appreciated as the younger element who are striving to build up the Erie, and in a great many cases the veterans can still learn the young men something about their business.

Mr. Nichols would like to know how many can beat him. I for one can go him 18 months better. My services with the old Erie commenced on October 18, 1868. Now you can see that on October 18 of this year I will be 42 years in the service. I was at first employed as yard brakeman up to March 22, 1869, which fell on Monday at 6 P.M., when I was injured. I put in 21 years and 6 months with the transportation department, and 21 years with the motive power department. We have in Cleveland seven more who are from three months to four years longer in the service than I am, all well and hearty, and who have put in all the best days on the Erie, and who are still in its employ, who are all looking ahead for the future, building on the prospects that the company will take care of us when the alloted time comes.

GEORGE WESTALL. Cleveland, 0., March 23, 1910."

Photo from the August, 1915 issue of Erie Railroad Magazine

(The article announced the upcoming Aug. 28, 1915 gathering of old employees of the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad at Jamestown, NY and included the above photo and following text:)
W.E. Nichols, Engineer, Meadville Division, who is Secretary-Treasurer of the organization, is one of the live wires and a most enthusiastic supporter. Very much of the success that comes to it, is due to his untiring energy and interest manifested. Mr. Nichols has been in continuous service since February 15, 1870 and is among the most favorable known engineers on the Erie system.

From the April, 1920 issue of Erie Railroad Magazine:
With the Erie Fifty Years
THIS is a portrait of W. E. Nichols, engineer, Meadville, Pa., who completed fifty years of continuous service with the Erie Feb. 15, 1920. Mr. Nichols entered the service of this company on Feb. 15, 1870, being promoted to engineer in October, 1880. "He has been a good and faithful employe and has not missed a pay day during his term of service." says Superintendent Kline in submitting Mr. Nichols' photograph. Everyone along the line will join us in congratulations.

From the June, 1923 issue of Erie Railroad Magazine:
"To the Editor:
Dear Sir: I would like to ask if we can get a gathering of the old employes of the whole Erie system some time this year at some point to be decided on later, as I believe we have more old employes on this line than any other road in the country, officers and all. We have two of the oldest in the country. They are John K. Chapman, of Hornell, a former engineer, and Charles Horne, of Meadville, an old conductor. These men worked for the Erie when it was four years old and we still have a great many men throughout the country that worked for the Erie when it was broad gauge. Now, let us hear from them and get the general officers to take the matter up and see if we can get together and have all who worked in any kind of employment join in and have a good time. -- W.E. Nichols, Engineer, Leavittsburg, OH, May, 1923"

From the April, 1924 issue of Erie Railroad Magazine:
Every Erie man west of Meadville and east of Leavittsburg knows Warren E. Nichols, and engineer who runs between those points, and is one of the big men on the lines west of Salamanca.

Engineer Nichols is a resident of Meadville and has seen fifty-four years of active service on the old A&GW and its successor, the Erie. He is still a vigorous man. Everybody likes Warren Nichols, and the company appreciates his efforts to handle trains expertly, for there has not been charged against him the loss of a passenger, nor has he figured in any serious accident. The only occasion he lost time from "laying off" was when he was a young man and suffered from an attack of measles.

Mr. Nichols was born in Little Valley, Cattaraugus County, New York, on July 18, 1851. He entered the service of the A&GW as brakeman on February 15, 1870, and became a fireman on December 14 of the same year. On October 30, 1880, he was promoted to engineer in freight service and remained in that branch until 1892, when he was promoted to a passenger runs. Since then he has not lost a day from work. The trains he now runs are numbers 219 and 220 between Meadville and Leavittsburg. Meadville has no resident that is more prominent or holds a deeper respect of the community than Engineer Nichols.

From the June, 1926 issue of Erie Railroad Magazine:
Gold honor buttons for 40 years continuous membership in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers were recently handed to six Erie veterans in ceremonies at Meadville. Included among the honorees was Warren E. Nichols. Mr. Nichols, who served the Erie for more than 58 years, beginning as brakeman on the Atlantic & Great Western in 1870, was toastmaster.

From the July, 1926 issue of Erie Railroad Magazine:
W.E. Nichols was recently asked about a photo album that had been given by himself and 21 other locomotive engineers in 1894 to J.T. Odell, former Superintendent of the Eastern Division of the A&GW Railway prior to 1876. The particular question was how many were still living. A letter addressed to W.E. Nichols, of North Warren, OH, brought this reply under date of June 4, 1926:

"Charles Sweetman and myself are the only ones who are living. Sweetman is 89 years of age and I am 75. I well remember when the album was presented to Mr. Odell, for I was the one that got all the pictures together."

W.E. Nichols is an Erie locomotive engineer on Trains 219 and 220 between Leavittsburg, OH and Shenango, PA.

From the September, 1926 issue of Erie Railroad Magazine:
Engineer W.E. Nichols, meadville Division Engineer, attended the July 21, 1926 meeting of Erie Veterans at Buffalo, NY, where he was honored for his 56 years of service.

"Our old friend W.E. Nichols from Meadville, was there, bag and baggage. He must have had something valuable in the satchel, because he never let go of it all day, and finally had his picture taken with it."

From the July, 1928 issue of Erie Railroad Magazine:
An old timer of the Erie has been placed on the pension roll. W.E. Nichols of Meadville, who had a run east from Kent for many years, and formerly was secretary of the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio benefit association, and also for years secretary of the Atlantic & Great Western employees reunion association, is through with railroad work.

From the October, 1929 issue of Erie Railroad Magazine:
W.E. Nichols, with a record of 58 years and 3 months of active service with the Erie Railroad, was present at the organizing meeting for the Eastern Association of Railroad Veterans. His most thrilling experience as when he saw a baby crawling across the track in front of his engine as he was passing through a small Pennsylvania town. He managed to stop a few inches in front of the infant, picked it up and carried it out of harm's way. Then he was abused, attacked and badly scratched by some excited woman who had seen the whole affair.

From the February, 1931 issue of Erie Railroad Magazine:
Editor, Erie Magazine --
Now that they have got the matter of (retired stationmaster) Mr. Silverman's record straightened out, I think F.W. Swan is in error when he says the road was broad-gauge when he was made yard brakeman in 1881. The road was narrowed up from broad to narrow gauge on Sunday morning, June 21, 1880. When built it was then known as the New York & Erie, and it was later changed to Erie Railway, and then to New York, Lake Erie & Western. That, I think, was the name of the road when it was changed from broad to narrow gauge on Sunday morning, and if Mr. Swan wishes to look over these changes he can do so by calling at the editor's office at 71 West 23rd Street, New York, where he will find a complete history of the Old Reliable Erie.

Now, brother Veteran Swan, men as long in the service as you ought to be proud of their record and I can assure you that the officers are proud of you. I was in the service 58 years and 3 months and in train service all that time, having begun February 15, 1870, and was retired May 16, 1928. I was working when I received a letter notifying me to come to the road foreman's office on that date, and was told I had worked long enough. So you see I am proud of my record as a railroad man with the Old Reliable Erie.
W.E. Nichols, Retired Engineer, 699 N. Park Ave., Meadville

From the July, 1933 issue of Erie Railroad Magazine:
Warren E. Nichols, Sr., 82, retired Erie engineer of 58 years' service, died in hospital at Cleveland, June 7th (1933), following a gallstone operation. Mr. Nichols began work on the old Atlantic & Great Western and was one of the oldest members of its reunion association. He was also a member of the firemens' and engineers' brotherhood, Elks and Knights of Pythias. He was a familiar figure at the annual reunions of the Erie Veterans. The funeral was held from the home of a son, Harry A. Nichols, 375 Center Street, Meadville. Mr. Nichols is survived by his widow, who was Miranda Anna Smith, and the following children: Mrs. Bertha E. Green, Mrs. Florence Edmonds, Harry A., Warren E. Jr., Sibley D., and Robert W. Nichols, all of Meadville; also one sister, Mrs. Lyda Matthews, of Gowanda, NY. There are 11 grandchildren.
A photo was also published