John A. Snogans 1952 –2013 became President and Chairman of the Teamsters Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. John leaves behind his wife Sharon, and his children, Christine and Daniel Snogans. John will be dearly missed and will live on forever in his many colorful stories of steam railroading as we pass them down from generation to generation. Chris Cotty John A. Snogans, 61, died on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013, in Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J. John was raised in Nutley, N.J., and had resided in South Plainfield for the past 21 years. John was part of the Morris County Central Crew and a good friend for many years. I was just 13 years old when I came to the Morris County Central, and I was quite lucky to have a few “older brothers” that watched out for me, taught me about steam railroading, and life in general. It was a great place to grow up. We went on trips together down to the shore, visiting other railroads such as East Broad Top or most memorable of all was a trip on the Delaware & Hudson up to Montreal . I was probably the youngest of the group and honored to be included in the adventures. Every Saturday the crew ate dinner together and quite often went on some sort of adventure after dinner. I remember days when the older guys were out drinking “adult beverages” the night before and the last thing they wanted to do was wake up early ( they were called the breakfast for lunch club) but they would make sure that someone woke me up to attend church on Sunday! John was always very family and friend oriented. I don't think a conversation ever passed when he didn't inquire how my mom and dad were doing. Over the years, as I got more involved in historic railroading, John was always there to answer questions and jump right in to help when needed. Before I went off to college, I was a fireman on the Morris County Central and quite often fired for John. Those days are some of the best times I have ever had. I really looked up to him and appreciated the kindness he showed this young kid. Years later when we started the Delaware River Railroad Excursions ( partially by an old core group of Morris County Central people) it was quite an honor to have John on the roster. John went on to a very esteemed career in the railroad industry working for New Jersey Transit for 38 years and even 10 John Snogans, Chris Cotty, George Kelly and Martin Den Bleyker Fred Jason, Steve Hepler, John Snogans and Frank Larkin in 1976.
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