The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1873-05-31
RUNNING A RAILROAD.
Duties Of the Various 0ficials.
Nov the Track, BlgAals. Trains, Etr-. Are
Locked Amer.

Running . railroad with safety, regular
ity and dispatch, requires a good man at
the head Of affairs, and well trained and
concientious corps Of subalterns, who must
understand not only their respective
branches Of the business thoroughly, but
possess resolution and be always ready to
overcome every emergency
THE ROAD-BED
The first care is, of course, the road-bed,
which consists Of the roadway and the
tracks, with their many switches, tourn-
outs, bridges, culverts and signals. Then
the hour for running the trains has to BE-
made up, the running time to be deter
mined upon, and the time for starting the
trains fixed; the rolling stock has to be
looked after, and last, though not least,
the numerous men employed in and around
the depots and along the road have TO be
watched, 50 as to prevent the least disar-
rangement. The executive Of the road
under the President, who has the financial
supervision, is
u THE sUPERINTENDENT
who is the real head Of every movement
90 far as its running is concerned. To that
official not only the running Of the road,
but also the appointment Of the officials is
intrusted. He is secured by the Board Of
Directors with view to secure large divi-
dends the subaltern officers look to him
for counsel and advice In every emergency;
he has to listen 10 complaints made by all
classes Of passengers for real or fancied
causes III short, he has to bear the brunt
Of every attack for the management Of the
road under his charge. To the Superin-
a nm Ina IN
condensed form, and based upon them he
forms his plans He has to be on the road
At all times, prepared u act promptly in
every emergency. He must be familiar
with every inch Of his line, know the con
dition of the track, and be at all times
ready TO make a report on the condition Of
the road and Of the rolling stock. 1t can
not, however, Re supposed that the Super
mtendent Of great railroad can look after
every small particular, and, therefore, the
discharge of the duties is divided among
several heads Of departments, viz. the
Division Superintendents, who have charge
Of certain portions Of the road.
THE DIVISION sUPERLSTENDENTs
are responsible t. the Superintendent for
proper management in their respective dis
tricts. Their office is by no means a sine
cure, for the holder Is liable for every
thing and everybody on his road He
makes and unmakes engineers, conductors,
roadmasters, brakemen and switchmeu.
He lays out plans for building and repair
ing, countersigns, requisitiuns for material,
fuel and every article needed. He Is as
sisted By
THE ROAD FOREMEN
who have each particular branch Of busi-
ness, such as supervision of the engineers
department and the road bed The latter
are. however, more properly under the
control Of
THE 81 PERvISORS,
men who have practical knowledge Of road
building, and are thus qualified to exercise
supervision over large portions Of the divis-
ion, On many roads extending over thirty
"a forty miles For instance, on the New
YORK division of the Pennsylvania railrOad,
extending from New York and Jersey City
to Philadelphia, there are three supervis-
Ors, whose beats extend from New York to
New Brunswick, from New Brunswick tO
Trenton, and thence to Philadelphia. The
supervisor is constantly on the move, SUI
pervlsng every inch Of the road under his
care. lie again is assisted By
SECTION FoRENEN,
who cover SMALLER areas within a supervis-
ing district. The Section Foremen are
always prepared to execute any sort Of re
pairs to the bed, for they have spikes,
railroad chairs, spare ties, and all other
appliances near At hand, SO as t. be able to
mend piece % the track without being
obliged to stop the travel To them the
fagmen and switchmen report If rail
should need replacing, or anything else
which must be done quickly. The Dlvis-
ion Superintendents are very particular
whom they appoint Section Foremen, for
the safety Of the trains IN A great measure
depends upon their sobriety and fidelity.
A drunken Section Foreman. who neglects
or defers replacing broken rail or broken
tie, may be the cause Of sad accident,
while his cirCumspection may, on the other
hand, be the means Of saving many lives
and many dollars worth Of property An
other duty devolves upon the Section Fore
man He has to superintend all repairs in
his particular section, and. in case of an
accident be ON hand o. and IN every posi-
bic manner. Science has Of late years,
however, made accidents on well-regulated
roads comparatively unfrequent The
electric telegraph is, however, the most
prominent auxiliary Of the railroad men If
this age. BY its aid
SIGNALS
in every possible form and shape are con
veyed not only from station to station, but
from flag to flag. Every person who has
occasion to pass along the line Of first
class railroad, such a. the Hudson River
or Pennsylvania Road, must notice the
little huts placed about two miles apart,
through which the telegraph wires pass
On the former road q red ball rises when
the locomotive of a train passes the next
flag station to 1t, while ON the latter
block ascends to the top Of a short staff.
The guard, or hag-man, when he sees the
flag, as 1t is called in the railroad vocabu-
larry, knows that train will soon approach,
while the engineer Of train behind is also
warned in time, 80 that there can be no
''telescoplng, or running Of one train into
another At night all these signals are
made with red lanterns No train is
allowed to pass given point when the nag
Is up, and thus accidents are prevented
from that cause. Should train be brought
TO a stand, the conductor sends one Of his
brakemen half mile either way, and di-
recta him 10 wave a red flag or lantern as
a warning signal to other trains The flag
stations are objects W great care u the
Superintendents Of the roads, for the le1st
disarrangement Of their apparatus NAV
easily result III a serious accident An
other great auxiliary Of the Superintend-
ent is
THE TRAIN DISPATCHER,
with his staff Of operators and assista =
The office Of that EN- ploye is generally lo-
Gated in the closest proximity t. that II the
Division Superintendent Telegraphlc
wires run from the Dispatcher office and