The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-01-02
ENGINEERS MUST LEARN TO RUN
 NEW ELECTRICS
Freight, As Well As Passen- ger, Traffic to Be Pulled Through Here from Har- lem River When Roads System Is Extended.

New Haven, Jan. 2-That the order made by the directors of the New Haven railroad for the identification of the New York line between this city and Stamford, which taken in conjunction with the New York Cen tral electric zone from Woodiawn to Grand Central station and the. elec- trtfication of the Harlem River branch of the New. Haven will give a contin- uouS electric route of about 7S miles will be so equipped as to have the electrics haul freight trains and that the identification will extend not only to the new station in this city but to the Cedar Hill yards and through out that and the Water street freight yards the expressed belief of a rail. road man who knows more about the Shore Line division meaning eF- erything between here and New York, than any other man on the New Ha~ ven railroad.
 Among railroad men generally the announcement of the extension of the ated considerable gossip. Freight trainmen and conductors are not es- pecially in love with the overhead electric wires, to touch one of which men are little concerned in the change but the engine men, engineers and 1remen, are the most concerted for the change is big thing to them or changed working hours or anything g like that, but in the form of service they will be called upon to enter.
 The engineers and firemen have the first call on whatever new jobs are created in the electrics. The younger men in the cabs rather like the jobs on the big motors. it is cleaner, less work to it. especially for the fremen. and pays the same wages. for the same hours Of service and the work is not so hard. But the engineers and sA,T- of a locomotive to one of the bis motor engines will have to learn how to run it and in the case of the fire boy. how to repair it in general way.
 It takes about 50 days for an engi- neer to learn how to operate one of the motors, and while they are learn ing they are paid a stated wage. The fireboy can get a run, can make the change also under the rules, of the agreement with the company. They also must go through a course of in struction on the motors. and then they go on as helper to the engineer, but though there is no firing for them to do they are still called firemen by the railroad people.
 'It will take about 200 men to fill out the list of operators of motors that will be needed if freight and pas- senger trains from the west are haul ed into this city by electric bower" '" says this railroad official There are many engineers and firen1en now on the west end Of the line who can run the new motors but do not work on one regularly. but there will have to be many more to learn the tricks. If the yards along the line to this city are to be electrified and the switch ing done by this power then we will need more men than there are There are 4 engine crews switching at liar lem river alone. Taking those at Stamford South Norwaik and Bridge port and this city we have about 60 switching crews. Some of them on the west end know how to operate the motors. The others will have to learn how.
 ''Tlie identification of the Harlem river branch win be completed in a short time, andz' when this work is done I have reason to believe wes.will operate all our freights from Harlem river to Stamford by electricity
 s'Such a short haul does not give a thorough test of the electric as an economical motive power. There will be the change of engines at Stamford on all these freights as is done now with the passenger trains and there will be the delay and other incidental inconveniences which come from stop ping a train for any purposes what soever We-will make the short haul. however, from the river to Stamford with our freight ,trains I am sure. I believe that the order for the cleo trification of the Shore line. east to New Haven, means that it will be equipped for hauling freight as we'll as passenger trains.