The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-03-01
Abandonment of Pooling System
of Santa Fe Locomotives.
Assignment Method Now Elk
tended to Middle Division.
MEN ARE REJOICING.
Pool System Cordially Disliked
by the Enginemen.
Likely to Go Next on the East
ern Part of Line.

Today is the beginning of an era of
| good feeling among the enginemen on
the middle division of the Santa F'e,
because it marks the end of the system
of pooling of engines and the beginning
of the former plan by which each crew
had an assigned locomotive and was
responsible for it. A bulletin was post
ed at the Newton round-house several
days ago asking that the men send IN
the number of the engine which they
preferred.
The system of pooling" is that by
which locomotives are assigned 10
crews without any regard to regularity.
The engine is sent out whenever ready
and in charge of the engineer and fire
man marked up to go first 1t came
into practice on this part of the Santa
F'e in the summer of 1893, and has been
thoroughly hated by the engineers and
hremen.
The main argument for this plan of
handling the motive power and the men
who are TO manipulate it is that by It
a greater mileage for each engine is OBJ
tanned. That is, a locomotive may be
made to do more work by using it
whenever needed than holding it for a
regular crew. For instance, it is now
common after an engine reaches divi-
sion point within a few hours, or pos
sibly Immediately, to send it out on
another trip. OF course in the case of
enginemen this is impossible, from a
which is that there is a limit to the
endurance of the crew, and when a long
eXhausting run has been made it be-
comes necessary for them to take rest
This should apply as well to engines,
according to the culinary reasoning, but
when the traffic is heavy the demand
for motive power great and the supply
accordingly small, it is difficult to re-
frain from using whatever is in sight
The engineers and friends of the reg
ular assignment scheme reason that the
company will be the gamer by assign
ing its crews because the enginemen
will care for the engine better, look
after it closer and report repairs more
promptly.
Outside of railroad men it is difficult
for people to understand what attach
ment an engineer and fireman have for
a locomotive with which they run reg
ularly. But when enginemen are upon
an engine day after day they almost
come to think that they own it, and
accordingly take exceptional interest in
keeping it up in trim Many times they
put in long hours fixing it after it has
been run into the rOund-hOuSe, and at
the end of every trip they are sure to
report whatever repairs are needed. In
the case of the pool engineers it has
been found that they are not particular
about looking the engines over with
view to finding any weakness that
might need attention, leaving that to
the man who would next get the en-
CINE. At times there has been so much
men that it has become in some in
stances necessary to require each man
to clean a certain number of engines
each month, and even then there was
some difficulty in having the require
ments fulfilled. AS an old-time Topeka
engineer expressed himself Friday,
You can make rule. but you can't
make men like it,; and there certainly
never has been any love for the pool
plan.
The assignment scheme has been in
force on the western division for some
time, and the fact that it has been ex-
tended to the middle leads to the belief
that it will ultimately go in force all
over the system. Furthermore, it is
understood in an unofficial way, that
the present administration of the oper-
ating department of the Santa Fe is not
in favor of the pooling system. and
that sooner or later it will be ADAM
doned Among the enginemen, however,
when the scheme of going back to reg
ular engine assignments is mentioned
there is a shaking of heads and a feel
ing of incredulousness that the much
hated pool will always continue in
force On some of the through pas
senger runs there has been an attempt
at breaking away from the pool, but it
has been only partially successful. 1t
is only on the smaller branch lines that
there has been any regularity of assign