Remembering Brother Neal Galloway: A Railroader’s Railroader

SMART-TD mourns the loss of Brother Neal Malcolm Galloway, a member of Local 662 (Richmond, Va.), CSX conductor, and a railroader whose reputation stretched across the Commonwealth of Virginia.

On the night of his passing, Brother Galloway was doing exactly what he had always done. He was showing up for work, taking the third-trick shift because he could hold, and providing for his family. Tragically, just feet from the on-duty point, he was struck by a car estimated to be going over 100mph. 

Brother Galloway hired out with CSX in the spring of 2012. Like so many in the industry, his seniority never quite allowed him the stability of holding his home terminal in Newport News with any consistency. Instead, Neal lived the life countless railroaders know all too well. He was working wherever he could hold a job within a two-hour call window of his Virginia Beach home. From Richmond, Fulton, Acca, Gladstone, and Lynchburg yards, he worked nearly every board available, earning the respect of crews in every yard he set foot in.

It was not an easy way to make a living. Long hours, long drives, and time away from home are part of that reality. By all accounts, Neal never let that hardship change who he was. Whether coming off a 12-hour shift or heading into one, he was known for his steady demeanor, quick smile, and a joke in the crew room. Across every terminal he worked out of, there was not a person who had a bad word to say about Brother Galloway.

His fellow CSX conductor, SMART-TD Brother, and brother-in-law Gary Catchot recalled, “When Neal and I didn’t have the seniority to hold our home terminal of Newport News, Virginia, we were both working out of any yard we could hold. There were those nights when I needed to talk to somebody on my drive home to stay awake and get there safely. Neal was the kind of guy who got it. You could call him at any hour of the day or night to be that guy who guided you home when you needed him… At the end of the day, he is a man I am proud to call my brother.”

If you would like to help, a GoFundMe has been established to assist his wife, Corrine, and their daughter, Lana, with the unexpected final expenses. As Brother Catchot shared, “I appreciate everything our fellow railroaders are doing to support Corinne and my niece.”

Family and friends are invited to join in a celebration of Neal’s life on Sunday, March 22 @ 1 pm. Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home & Crematory- 3445 Princess Anne Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23456. The family will receive friends at the funeral home one hour prior to the services. Gathering to follow at the Goley residence.

Brother Galloway spent his career taking care of his family, no matter what it took. Now, we ask our SMART-TD family to come together in his memory, to help him do that one more time.