A Connecticut native, Smith is a graduate of Central Connecticut State College and began his railroad career as a yard clerk at Mechanicville, N.Y., in 1969. He later moved to the D&H motive power desk before being promoted to train dispatcher in May 1977. When D&H was acquired by Guilford in 1984, he continued with the railroad under new ownership. Guilford declared the railroad bankrupt in 1988 and abandoned its operation, which was taken over by New York, Susquehanna & Western until a new operator could be found. That operator was Canadian Pacific, which moved D&H’s dispatchers to Milwaukee after the takeover, and later to Minneapolis.
“He’s done a lot in his career. It’s kind of a miracle that he stuck it out and made it 50 years,” says Eric Hendrickson, Director of Network Planning for CSX, who began his railroad career as a Soo Line train dispatcher and worked in the same office as Smith. “I learned a lot from Gordy, he’s got an amazing amount of knowledge.”
Smith served as an informal “recruiter” encouraging young people to begin a career in railroading. Today at least two dispatchers at CP and another at BNSF began their careers thanks to Smith. In addition to his railroad work, Smith has served for several years as General Chairman of the American Train Dispatchers Association, the union representing train dispatchers for CP-Soo and CP-D&H. His term expires at the end of 2019, so he thought it would be appropriate to “pull the pin” on his railroad and union career at the same time.
Smith set a high bar in his profession as a positive, gracious and professional man. A well-known railfan in the Midwest and Northeast, railroaders and railfans alike wish him a long, happy retirement.
