This is me, Iosif Gotlib, with my son Pyotr near a locomotive. My son spent his leisure time in the depot. When he grew older I used to take him on trips with me. This photo was taken in Chanyzh in 1959.
I went to work as a locomotive operator in 1946. I worked as electric locomotive operator all my life. In 1950 I was sent to work in a depot of Lanovtsy station [360 km from Kiev] where I became chief of the depot. In 1952 I received a dwelling in Lanovtsy and my family moved in with me. Locomotives were gradually replaced with electric locomotives. I finished a locomotive school with honors and they sent me to a depot in Chanyzh station [460 km from Kiev]. My family moved to Chanyzh with me. Our children went to school and my wife and I went to work.
I liked spending my weekends with the family. We went for walks, to the cinema and theater. We didn't celebrate any Jewish or Russian religious holidays at home. We celebrated birthdays and Soviet holidays. In the morning we went to a parade and then Antonina arranged a festive dinner at home. We often invited friends and colleagues. We traveled on our summer vacations. I could have free railroad tickets for the family and we traveled a lot across the country. We traveled to the south and north of the USSR and we liked tourist trips.
My son liked my job very much. After school he often came to the depot where he helped me and asked questions. After finishing school he decided to enter the Locomotive faculty in a Railroad School in Lvov. He passed his entrance exams successfully and was admitted. My son studied well and received wonderful recommendations after every training session. After finishing this school Pyotr received a mandatory job to the locomotive depot of Lvov. He worked there 3 years. In 1967, when his 3-year job assignment was over, Pyotr got a transfer to Uzhhorod depot. Back in Lvov he married Tatiana Yakovenko, a Ukrainian girl. Pyotr received a 2-bedroom apartment in Lvov. He worked at the depot until retirement. Locomotive operators retire at the age of 55. Pyotr has grandchildren.
