[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 89 (Friday, May 26, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


        TRIBUTE TO NATHAN H. BRIDGES WINNER OF RAIL SAFETY AWARD

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                          HON. HAROLD E. FORD

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 25, 1995
  Mr. FORD. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to one of my 
constituents, Mr. Nathan H. Bridges of Memphis, TN who has been awarded 
the Harold F. Hammond Award for safety achievements in the railroad 
industry. Mr. Bridges, a motor car repairman for the Illinois Central 
Railroad in my congressional district, is responsible for the 
maintenance and repair of all track equipment for his maintenance-of-
way work unit. Mr. Bridges, who has been chairman of the railroad's 
Southern Region engineering department safety committee since 1993, was 
selected from over 200,000 railroad workers. His work also enabled his 
company, the Illinois Central Railroad win for the fifth time the E.H. 
Harriman Memorial Award. The Harriman Award is given to railroad 
companies and their employees for achieving Federal Railroad 
Administration safety standards.
  Secretary of Transportation Federico Pena noted this milestone 
saying: ``Our statistics show that the rate of train accidents and rail 
employee injuries--along with the number of rail employee fatalities--
were at their lowest levels in 1994.'' Mr. Bridges and the superb 
employees of the Illinois Central Railroad in Memphis made a 
significant contribution to these safety statistics.
  Mr. Speaker, Memphis, TN is known across this country as ``America's 
Distribution Center.'' Mr. Bridges dedicated service has done much to 
help our great city keep its reputation as a center for commerce and 
transportation. More important though is Mr. Bridges' dedication to 
safety. The number of lives saved by his commitment to safety cannot be 
quantified. Mr. Speaker, I would like to include a short biography of 
Mr. Bridges and a description of the award for the record and ask that 
the House of Representatives join me in honoring his contribution.
                        The Hammond Award Winner

                           Nathan H. Bridges

       Nathan H. Bridges, who repairs track equipment for his 
     maintenance-of-way unit of Illinois Central Railroad, is the 
     Harold F. Hammond Safety Award winner.
       Mr. Bridges is being recognized for his promotion of on-
     the-job safety awareness, an unselfish commitment to 
     advancing safety knowledge at employee meetings and improving 
     safety-related dialogue among employees and senior management 
     of Illinois Central.
       On his own time, Mr. Bridges produces a quarterly safety 
     newsletter for distribution to fellow employees in IC's 
     Southern Region, counsels schoolchildren on safe behavior 
     near railroad tracks and enrolled in night courses on 
     occupational safety even before IC's current tuition refund 
     program was inaugurated.
       A safety consultant who encountered Mr. Bridges on the job 
     later remarked to Illinois Central's Southern Region 
     superintendent that ``if Illinois Central had other employees 
     thinking like Nathan Bridges, solving safety problems would 
     be a breeze.''
       In nominating Mr. Bridges for the Hammond Award, Illinois 
     Central's chief executive officer, Hunter Harrison, wrote 
     that after Mr. Bridges was asked to take charge of a 
     superintendent's safety committee, ``he immediately told 
     everyone on the committee either to start contributing or 
     resign and make room for someone who would. He assigned all 
     the committee members research projects and had them write 
     letters for a regional safety newsletter.''
       Mr. Harrison added that in Mr. Bridges' continuing role as 
     chairman of the superintendent's safety committee, he 
     repeatedly has reminded track supervisors and even 
     engineering superintendents that employee safety concerns are 
     the first order of business on Illinois Central Railroad.
       The Harold F. Hammond Safety Award, established in 1986, is 
     awarded to an individual railroad employee who has 
     demonstrated outstanding safety achievement during the 
     preceding year.
     

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