Norfolk Southern Bridge Supervisor Odell Collins
On an unseasonably warm March morning, as a dense shroud of fog was just beginning to lift, Odell Collins maneuvered his large hy-rail vehicle along the side streets that run
parallel to the North Carolina Railroad tracks in Wayne County.
Collins, a Norfolk Southern Corporation bridge supervisor, had scheduled some time to help a visitor to the area understand the timber and surfacing work that is going on.
Over the course of the nearly 27 years he has worked on the railroad for Norfolk Southern, Collins has crossed many bridges; built and improved a few too.
“I started with Norfolk Southern in 1985, and never looked back,” Collins says in a phone conversation from the cab of the truck that serves as his office.
On this day, Collins is on his way to Clayton, to review some permits with area contractors.
It is 10:00 a.m. and even though he’s already been at work for five hours, he’s just getting started.
“I’m usually up around 4:15 or 4:30 a.m. and I leave the house around 5 or 5:15,” he says. “I usually put in about 14 hours a day.”
Hard work has always been a way of life for Collins. Growing up near New Bern, he spent much of his youth working on the family farm, and dreaming of a life of travel and adventure.
After high school, he spent four years in the Navy, stationed in Charleston, S.C., Italy, and Norfolk, Va.
Back in civilian life, he drove a 16-wheeler for two years before joining Norfolk Southern as a bridge laborer. His railroad work gave him a tour of the southeast, and after he was promoted to bridge supervisor, the position he holds now, he settled on a narrower territory in eastern North Carolina.
Collins’ office gives him a 360-degree view of the great outdoors.
He lives much of his life from the seat of his truck, and his world sits mostly along U.S. Highway 70, its side streets and small towns where he can see his work product unfold from start to finish.
“That’s the best part of my job,” he says. “I really enjoy seeing projects that are completed and I know how the work improves the railroad, increases rail speed and allows for more tonnage.”
On the weekends he enjoys spending time with his wife, working in his yard and serving as a deacon in his church. He lives in Seven Springs, a small, historic town in Wayne County.
In his entire life, Collins has never held down a desk job.
“I feel antsy working inside,” he says. I’m too fidgety to sit at a desk, and I love being outside.”
Physical fitness and a good attitude go a long way on the railroad, where work is often grueling and the weather doesn’t always cooperate.
“The summer heat is bad, but the worst weather I have experienced has been the hurricanes Floyd and Fran,” he says. “There were so many bridges washed out, and downed trees and debris on the track. Flooding was a great challenge. Hugo was bad too. The worst I have seen down in Charleston, S.C.”
Hurricanes come with advance notice that that gives crews time to get materials together, organize the troops and travel to where the hazard is, according to Collins. And Norfolk Southern often deploys additional labor to storm ravaged areas to expedite repairs.
Over the years Collins has seen his share of changes, most notably technology.
But like any other challenge, Collins tackled computers the same way he approaches everything else, with a smile and a good attitude.
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