The romance of steam locomotives has endured throughout history. The behemoths chugging into motion is nothing short of marvelous, and today’s generation can thank organizations such as the Pacific Locomotive Association for keeping railroad heritage alive.
This month’s Uniquely Northern California feature highlights the association, a nonprofit group of railroad aficionados working to preserve the heritage of steam railroads. As part of its efforts, the group operates the Niles Canyon Railway, a 7-mile scenic section of track between Sunol and the Niles District of Fremont in the Bay Area.
The association was started by a group of six men who lamented the end of steam railroads. Throughout the country in the mid-20th century, locomotives were being replaced by more efficient diesel engines. So before all steam locomotives were thrown on the scrap pile, the group went wherever the locomotives were still running and eventually got an opportunity to buy one.
In the 1980s the organization acquired more steam locomotives and began weekend train rides for the public on land owned by the U.S. Navy. Eventually, the group took over what was the last portion of the famous U.S. Transcontinental Railroad built in the 19th century.
When I think of the passion for steam trains that the group’s members must have, it reminds me of examples of highly engaged company employees.
While many businesses may feel their most important relationship is between the company and its customers, equally important are employee/employee relationships.
Camaraderie is your lifeblood, and without it, work and even life in general may be rather dull. With camaraderie, any job becomes a lot lighter, and it even becomes fun. That applies to a hobbyist, or an employee.
One CEO I recently interviewed realized the power of fun and applied it to his business.
“One of your core values should be to have fun,” he says. “If you can’t have fun, if you can’t have fun with the people you work with, why bother? We try to make it feel like employees want to get up in the morning and come to work for us. And they want to have fun doing it.”
One of the most visible tests of how employee engagement is working is to hold an event — company picnic, rally or work day. Groups that are having fun overflow with camaraderie.
“We use a lot of fun stuff so that creates a camaraderie with the employees; it gives them a sense of pride where they work,” the CEO says. “Employees spend a good amount of time talking about what they do outside of the office.”
It’s important to build pride, camaraderie and awareness that the job is not just a paycheck. For the Pacific Locomotive Association, that means putting a lot of sweat equity into its projects. For your company, that means engaged employees giving 110 percent
After all, it’s all that engagement and camaraderie that keep America connected.
