Doing What You Love–Now THAT’s Real Money!

Tne NY Times keeps track of the stories that are emailed the most; often this is where you’ll find the best stories. This one was about a millionaire who decided to work as a train conductor in NJ.

“Walter Joe O’Rourke, who never wed, is married to the rails. Despite earning more than what he estimated at $2 million last year from his investments, he chugs along as a conductor, earning a base salary of $52,000 a year.

“Pocket change,” Mr. O’Rourke said. “But it keeps me doing the one thing I enjoy doing most.”

The engine, like most things running along the tracks of his life, rested at a junction where one man’s passion meets his profession. Mr. O’Rourke came to New Jersey Transit in 1999 as a conductor, a job from which he will retire at the end of this month. Asked why he joined, at age 60 and wealthy, he gave an answer befitting two people: the worldly veteran of the rails he has become, and the high school buff in Miami who fell in love with the workshop.

“I’ve always wanted to work on a real, professional railroad,” he said. “And these trains can go really, really fast.”