Relaying the Message

A BLE member heeds the call to 'Light the Fire Within'

The closest many of us will ever get to the Olympics is cheering from our couches while watching the various events on television. While watching in this way never fails to move us, it is just not the same as being a part of the Olympic experience.

Gary Woo, a member of BLE Division 152 (Ft. Madison, Iowa), is a former state-champion gymnast who figured his high school experience was the closest he would ever get to the Olympics. This all changed in late 2001 when he got a phone call from his manager at the Union Pacific Railroad, informing him that he had been selected to carry the Olympic flame as part of the 2002 games in Salt Lake City, Utah.

"My boss (told) me I had been chosen for my work in safety on the railroad," Woo said.

Union Pacific's status as an Olympic sponsor entitled it to slots in the torch relay for employees and dignitaries of the company.

Many of the other torchbearers were chosen anonymously by members of their communities for work that they had done or obstacles they had overcome. Being with these people during pre-race events was a humbling experience for Brother Woo.

"These people overcame more serious obstacles in their lives than I had ever faced," he said.

Nevertheless, he enjoyed the experience.

"I had a lot of fun with the whole thing," said Woo, who became a member of the BLE in 1998 and served as secretary-treasurer of his division. "It was a short run (2/10 of a mile), but it was huge. I feel that it validated me as a good citizen."

As Woo took his turn running on January 5 with the 33-inch long torch in Kenosha, Wisc., crowds lined the streets in 22 degree weather for the chance to see the Olympic flame. This scene was repeated throughout the torch's tour of the country.

"It is a symbol of our national pride," Woo said. "These people braved the cold just to feel a connection to the Olympics."

Later on January 5, Brother Woo went to watch Olympic speedskating-great Bonnie Blair light the cauldron at the Petit National Ice Center. He and hundreds of others waited out in the cold for several hours for their chance to see the five-time Olympic champion finish the day's relay.

"It was amazing to see someone (Bonnie Blair) who was so well known in her sport, who was so moved by the experience," said Woo. "She was carrying the same flame that I carried."

Blair also carried the torch on one of its final legs after it entered the Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony. In addition to Blair, the torch was carried by such notable athletes as Olympic figure skating greats Dorothy Hamil, Dick Button, Peggy Fleming and Scott Hamilton, speedskater Dan Jansen, skier Picabo Street, women's hockey player Cammi Granato, skeleton athlete Jim Shea Jr. and cross country skier Jim Shea Sr.

The torch was carried for 65 days by 11,500 people. The relay began in Greece and the flame's journey through the U.S. began in Atlanta on December 4. The relay culminated when the 1980 U.S. hockey team lit the cauldron at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake on February 9.

Union Pacific participated in the torch relay by carrying the flame in a specially designed cauldron car. In all, the train carried the Olympic Flame more than 3,200 miles across 11 states.

The 19-car passenger train, pulled by two specially painted locomotives, featured a cauldron car originally built for the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay, the first time the flame moved by rail in the United States. The train's centerpiece was a 40-inch diameter cauldron, featuring a custom-designed burner that allowed for up to a four-foot flame. A vertical air "curtain" protected the flame from the wind as the train moved at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour. This air curtain kept the two million BTU flame from lapping the sides of the cauldron.

The two locomotives that pulled the 19-car passenger train were specially painted using several shades of blue. The paint scheme incorporated the look of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games as well as the Olympic Torch Relay logos.

Even though the Olympic games have concluded, Brother Woo is sharing his Olympian experience with others. He plans to take the torch to local elementary schools and he has already taken it to work to show his co-workers at the railroad. His experience has also made him a bit of a local celebrity.

"The day after the relay, I went to a restaurant near Lake Geneva called the Olympic Cafe," said Woo. "The owner and I posed for a picture with the torch, and then other customers approached me and wanted their photos take with me and the torch, too."

As for the future of the torch that he carried for the 2/10 of a mile, Woo plans to have it displayed in his home for years to come.

Photo captions: Top: Woo receives the torch from the previous torchbearer and sets off on his run; Middle:Woo with his boss, Jim Volvare, who nominated him. Bottom: UP's Olympic-themed locomotive.

Back to Spring 2002 Journal

© 2002 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers