A. A. BORK, Buffalo, New York.
The placid features depicted here are those of A. A. Bork, one of the Erie's younger engineers. Born in Germany in 1857, he came to America when 6 years of age, his parents settling at Meadville, Pennsylvania. Here he attended school for four years, when he went to work in a planing mill, keeping up his education by attending night school until his 18th year. He learned his trade from beginning to end, and became an acknowledged expert therein; yet, in spite of this, he had a yearning for a railroad life, and only refrained from entering it out of deference to the wishes of his parents. Arrived at manhood's age, however, he determined to follow the bent of his mind, and accordingly sought and secured a position as fireman on a freight, resigning a good position in the Clark Holland Planing Company's mill where he was in the special door department. For the first six weeks he fired on extras on the main line between Buffalo and Hornellsville, and was then given a regular, No. 560, Chauncey Brooman, engineer. He continued in this capacity for two years, and then fired on passenger trains Nos. 9 and 4 for six years, at the end of which he received his promotion, and on November l8, 1886, he felt for the first time the thrill of satisfaction he had been looking forward to ever since he had toiled in the planing mill, as he grasped the lever of his own engine. For the first eighteen months after his promotion, Mr. Bork ran extra for passenger trains, and was then assigned to the Hornellsville "layover." He also ran the way freight for about the same length of time, until, some of the other trains being taken off, his engine was given to an older man, and Mr. Bork was again placed on the rounds. Six months later he was given the through freight, the Hornellsville "layover" and extra passenger work out of Hornellsville, where he was stationed all the time up to September, 1898, except for nine months, when he was at Castile. He is now switching at Black Rock.

Mr. Bork was married in 1882 to Miss Jessie J. D. Pierce, of Hornellsville. Three children have been born to them, two of whom are now living and attending school. Mr. Bork is a staunch Brotherhood man, and a member of the Masonic fraternity, connected with Evening Star, No. 441; he also belongs to the Maccabees. While in Hornellsville he held the post of Chaplain in Hornellsville Lodge, B. of L. E., No. 47. He is also a strict member of the German Lutheran Church, and is much interested in church work. His name may be seen in the memorial window of the German Lutheran Church at Hornellsville.

Mr. Bork's career as an engineer contains at least one run to which he refers with considerable pride. This was a special fast run, on a paper train, from Hornellsville to Buffalo, in one hour and forty minutes, including six slow-ups and one dead stop. On this run he left Hornellsville at 11:30, and arrived at Buffalo at 1:10. Mr. Bork has been in one wreck, which was a smash-up for fair, eighteen cars being demolished and the engine derailed. This occurred at Rock Glen, his train running into another on a steep down grade, this being before the cars were furnished with air-brakes.

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

From the January, 1932 issue of Erie Railroad Magazine:
Dr. Milton E. Bork, son of veteran A.A. Bork, retired engineer, and a brother of R.A. Bork, road foreman of engines, has attained marked success as a radio entertainer having superintended the broadcasting of light operas over station WGR. Now serving as eye surgeon at the Buffalo Eye and Ear Infirmary, Dr. Bork has published a number of songs and poems.

From the February, 1938 issue of Erie Railroad Magazine:
August A. Bork, 78, retired Erie engineer of 50 years' service, died in Buffalo late in December (1937). He is survived by two sons, Robert A. Bork, trainmaster for the Erie, and Dr. Milton Bork, both of Buffalo, and one sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Marvin of Cleveland. He was a brother of the late Mrs. Adam Heckman and John A. Bork, of Meadville.