Station employee career path

Thu Jan 20 16:22:57 EST 2005

Another alternative that may have come into play would have been the 
old-fashioned correspondence course. I have seen some materials for 
prospective railroad or trolley employees. In addition, I believe it 
was in 1949 or so (nothing at had to look it up know) the N&W issued a 
binder or instructions for station agents. It was probably about 100 
pages, in a ring-type binder with corrections issued as necessary.

Ken Miller

On Jan 19, 2005, at 2:20 AM, nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org wrote:

> Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2005 23:21:39 EST
> To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
> From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
> Subject:  Re: Station agent duties and tasks
>
> Dr. Scheer,
>
> Thank you for your explanation of the various types of
> station agent.  In the hospital setting we use the
> term "career track" to show on paper the progression
> of how one can advance up the organizational table.
> Advancement is usually by experience, training, and
> education. Would you and others on this list comment
> on what would have been the "career track" to station
> agent.  Surly there wasn't a book "Station Agent for
> Dummies" for night time study.
>
> Chuck Stewart
> Bahama, NC
>
>
> January 19, 2005
>
> Hello, Chuck:
>
> There were several approaches that people may have
> followed for becoming a non-train crew employee,  then
> following upward paths in the organization.  For this
> discussion, I'll focus on the early and mid-20th
> Century.
>
> One should remember that "career progression" equated
> to following seniority rules for clerks, agents, and
> telegraph/telephone "operators."  After becoming an
> employee, most promotional opportunities arose through
> published vacancies and a bidding process.
> Consequently, as with careers today, there were
> elements of chance and circumstance that shaped any
> individual's career.
>
> One was the child of a current station employee or a
> non-relative kid who hung around the station.  While
> railroad operating rules generally prohibited
> non-employees in operating offices --aside from public
> areas of stations-- there are plenty of instances when
> this occurred.  It only became an issue when there was
> an accident or injury when the carrier officially
> disavowed any responsibility for the child's presence.
>  Generally, like railfans today, much can be learned
> through observation prompted by occasional
> explanation.  It was an informal apprenticeship even
> though the youngster may not have realized they were
> learning a craft.
>
> In another email, I mentioned many tasks a station
> agent would perform.  Not included among those was a
> need to periodically service switch lamps, train order
> lamp, station lighting fixtures, and hand lanterns.
> These consisted of refilling the fuel pot, trimming
> the wick, cleaning the lens or globe, wiping the
> exterior with an oily rag, relighting, and adjusting
> the wick.  They also had to be gathered, then put back
> into place.  This dirty task was a candidate for
> paying a local child a nominal amount to do the work
> while the agent stayed relatively clean to deal with
> other responsibilities.  I've occasionally wondered
> how many kids climbed a 30-feet train order mast to
> fetch the train order lamp or put it back into place,
> either on dare or for a penny.  The same was true with
> burning trash, sweeping the station, and so forth.  In
> rural communities, there were few job opportunities
> aside from being a farm hand.  Aside from good pay and
> steady work, railroad employment was appealing because
> the rails stretched to points beyond the town that
> captured the fancy of trapped youth.
>
> The paper work and accounting might be learned in a
> similar way.  Allowing a child to walk down the track
> to write down the initials and numbers of cars on a
> spur or totaling accounts introduced them to these
> basic record-keeping functions.  Where telegraphy was
> in use, learning the code was practiced with the
> operator until the novice recognized the most
> frequently used patterns such as the office call or
> time.
>
> A second entry path was for someone to enroll in a
> telegraphy or railroad clerk school or correspondence
> course.  While most people attending a business school
> studied secretarial skills, many of these also offered
> courses in basic bookkeeping and station clerical
> functions.  While not titled "Station Agent for
> Dummies," that was precisely the content of the
> textbooks used.  Graduates of these programs could
> apply to the Supervisor of Stations and eventually
> receive an assignment.  The title of this functional
> supervisor varied by railroad; for example on the RF&P
> all agents, clerks, and operators reported to the
> Manager of Mail and Express.  During World War
> employee shortages, many women entered station work
> following this approach.
>
> Perhaps others will provide descriptions of other
> entry methods of entirely new employees stepping onto
> the bottom rung of the career ladder.  Once employed,
> many personnel stayed with a single carrier since
> better assignments were rewarded by years of service.
> However, there were also itinerant employees called
> "boomers" who with mastery of basic skills
> --especially telegraphy-- could move from carrier to
> carrier, hire on and be working the same day.   They
> might also leave just as quickly.  Most of these
> employees accepted "swing" shifts that rotated, or the
> night shifts.
>
> As side notes, a couple of station employment living
> conditions should be mentioned.  Prior to the 1930s
> and the arrival of a 40-hour work week, railroad
> station staff had a day trick and night trick to
> choose from.  These twelve-hour tours often ran from 6
> AM to 6 PM, and 6 PM to 6 AM six days a week.  Second,
> I don't think very many N&W stations had living
> quarters on a second floor of a station, but this
> arrangement existed on other railroads.  Examples on
> the C&O included Lee Hall and Providence Forge
> stations.  When this was the case, the agent certainly
> had a ready made situation for any children to make
> the agent's office an extension of their household.
> Work and personal activities such as child care
> blended somewhat in this environment; what better way
> to keep children from mischief by giving them chores?
>
> This is far from a complete treatise on the subject,
> Chuck, but is a start.  Harry Bedwell cartoons in
> Railroad Magazine prior to the 1950s yield a
> romanticized, nostalgic view of some of these aspects,
> yet there is some essential truth in scenes depicted.
> I don't think anyone has put together a compendium of
> that cartoonist's work.  It would be a nice project
> for someone with a good collection of these
> periodicals, a scanner, and time to accomplish the
> work.
>
> Best wishes all, and call me Frank.
>
> 73,
>
>
> =====
> Dr. Frank R. Scheer, Curator
> Railway Mail Service Library, Inc.
> f_scheer at yahoo.com
> (202) 268-2121 - weekday office
> (540) 837-9090 - weekend afternoons
> in the former N&W station on VA rte 723
> 117 East Main Street
> Boyce  VA  22620-9639
>
> Visit at http://www.railwaymailservicelibrary.org
>
>
>
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