Working on the railroad

Ryan Farthing of Du Quoin was one of about a half dozen workers manning the railroad tracks in Benton this week. The signals were shut off to allow railroad workers to install new power lines for the tracks. The union workers were on duty to provide 'manual' crossing warnings for drivers. Farthing had been on duty for several hours and was more than ready for his replacement to take over so he could warm up. Temperatures on Tuesday hovered in the low to mid 30s.
Photo by Holly Kee