Norm’s experience with
        
        
          prototype railcars began in
        
        
          1972 while working on a
        
        
          gang at Falls Creek, BC on
        
        
          the Ashcroft Sub, in 1974
        
        
          on a Gang on the Camrose
        
        
          and Alliance Subs, and then
        
        
          in 1975 on a gang again,
        
        
          working on the Grande
        
        
          Cache, Edson, Foothills and
        
        
          Mountain Park Subs.
        
        
          In 1979, he hired on with Canadian National as an operator at
        
        
          various stations in Alberta, one of which was Edson, AB. Edson
        
        
          was the away-from-home terminal for Jasper and Edmonton
        
        
          crews, as well as the home terminal for crews working the
        
        
          Alberta Coal Branch.
        
        
          In 1981, Norm became a Train Dispatcher and worked all of
        
        
          the territory assigned to the Edmonton dispatching office. As
        
        
          he gained more experience, he was able to work as a Relief
        
        
          Assistant Chief Train Dispatcher, before moving to Montreal
        
        
          Headquarters to work as a Motive Power Controller and in
        
        
          Technological Development from 1986 until 1988. He then
        
        
          returned to Edmonton as an Assistant Chief Train Dispatcher/
        
        
          Manager, Corridor Operations/Manager, crew Utilization and
        
        
          worked as a relief Regional Operations Control Officer.
        
        
          Much of Norm’s job as an Operator, Train Dispatcher and
        
        
          Assistant Chief Train Dispatcher involved coordinating the
        
        
          movement of the coal and sulphur sets between the mines and
        
        
          unloading destinations, making him a something of an expert
        
        
          on this topic.
        
        
          CN Coal and Sulphur Operations - 13
        
        
        
        
          MRH-Apr 2013