Evening star., 1909-03-05

All charges prepaid By the American Makers,
Girou1 Mfg. Co.. Buffalo. n. Y.
public-to which Is delegated the duty of
| getting the business" the beginner Is
started as clerk stenographer or sta
ton employe. According to the ability
shown. he is advanced steadily through
the various subdepartments, where every
phase OF the work must be mastered.
| When he acquires a knowledge of traffic
work and its relations to the public he
is sent out as a solicitor of freight OF
passenger business From then until they
become officers of Importance. such men
are obtaining experience to fit them to
assist in conducting the traffic of the COM
pany.
In the operating department this sys-
tenn is worked out in great detail. for
there the technical side of railroading
must be mastered. To provide for this. a
special apprentice system was established
In 1871, and has now been in force thirty
eight years. 1t provides a thorough course
OF practical training to supplement the
technical education afforded in schools
and colleges.
The principal classroom used by the
Pennsylvania company to teach its
young men railroading is the largest
freight yard in the world, at Altoona, Pa.
1t is seven miles long. and contains 221
| 1900 cars have passed through it. and
besides the regular through traffic
scores of trains laden with coal come
in from the mountains every day. The
yards in one year was 2OO4. .6O3 freight
cars. The average per day is about 5000
cars. One hundred freight trains have
been known to come into Altoona from
the west In a single day Of tweRty-four
houra
The young railroader there learns to
| take care of this steady flow of traffic A
remarkable organization has. of necessity,
been developed A force of twenty-five
yard masters and assistants have charge
of the work, and under them are hundreds
OF clerks car markers. levermen, switch
| tenders. enginemen. conductors and brake
men. whose sole duty it is to see that
trains get in and out of Altoona without
delay or confusion.
Greatest Railway Shops.
Another gigantic school for training
men is in the greatest railway shops in
the world, which are also at Altoona.
From all over the system, east and west
IOf Pittsburg and Erie, cars and iocomo-
tives by the thousands are sent to be re-
paired. IN one day 12,O65 freight cars
were repaired in those shops.
| The machine shops have a floor area o.
671,392 square feet, about 1o1a acres, and
in them are employed over 5000 men.
The car shops and car yard cover abou.
$50 acres, and the Juniata shops. includ .ng
the shop yard and buildings. 40 acres.
In the East Altoona engine house are
| $50, I79 square feet of floor space, and 10
men are employed; 800 locomotives are
handled there every day
| The South Altoona foundries have a
floor space of 317.3O9 square feet. and the
yard covers "a acres. The men employed
there number 1000.
The total floor area of all the Pennsyl-
| vania shops Is nearly 500 acres. In them
and in the offices in Altoona are en-
ployed. in normal times about Is, 600 men,
n laor ha Snio1 Of iroo iy,
this great school young men come from
all parts of the country. Special ap-
prentices' - usually college graduates -
although the door is open to any young
courses in order through the blacksmith
shop. the machine shop. the tool. the
wheel, the tank. boiler-all of the different
shops. They also learn to keep accounts
in the shop clerks office. Through four
years each apprentice is carefully watched
and record Of every mans performance
is kept. There are today In the Altoona
shops, and the other shops of the Penn
| sylvania railroad at various points, some
1870 apprentices of different grades. In
this number there are doubtless many
general managers. vice presidents and
possibly presidents. we'll as various
other prospective officers of the company
| In the maintenance of way department
| the same system is operative. The be-
ginners must commence as track laborers,
| rodmen or assistants In the engineering
corps. They are kept out on the road, so
| that they become thoroughly familiar with
| all the ms and outs of track construction
and maintenance. The first job of one
! Of the present maintenance Of way Off
| cials was to conduct the funeral Of an
| assortment of Zebras. lions and other
freight killed in a wreck of a circus train
| on the Northern Central railway. An
other job that falls to beginners is that
OF directing the cleaning of snow from
| tracks and switches. After they become
familiar with the details of maintenance
| of way they are made assistant super
| visors then supervisors, assistant engi-
| neers. principal assistant engineers and
superintendent In the order named.
Prizes for Efficiency.
To serve as an inducement to efficient
track maintenance the company each year
gives a series of prizes. amounting to
$500 in all, to those supervisors and as
sistant supervisors who have kept their
sections in the best condition.
No less important to railroad Is the
training of the men who run the locomo-
tives and trains To the ranks of fire.
men this railroad looks for its enginemen
and from the freight brakemen. who are
familiar with road conditions, its fremen
are recruited. When the latter are ex
amined for "enginemen'-the title used on
the Pennsylva nia-they are tested for eye
sight, color sense and hearing. and are
| subjected to frequent examinations as to
their physical condition. and also as to
their knowledge of the regulations Of the
company.
There are 1902 ensinemen employed by
| the Pennsylvania railroad. and their av
| erage age is forty-four years The aver
| age age at the time of their appointment
as enginemen was thirty-one years: their
average length of service has been thirty
one Years. and the average length Of serv-
| ice before being promoted to enginemen
| was eight years. Included in this num-
ber are 134 enginemen who have been re-
! tired from actual service and are now re-
| ceiving pensions. The average service OF
the pensioners up to the time they were
| retired was forty-three years. of which
thirty six had been spent as engipemen.
| Shopmen are promoted in much the
| same way as engineers. AS helpers and