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E mployment and C hahging O ccupational Patterns in the R ailroad I ndustry Cover picture: The rapid shift from steam to d iesel-electric locomotives exemplifies technological change on the railroads. Courtesy of Erie Railroad Employment and Changing Occupational Patterns in the Railroad Industry 1947-60 Bulletin No. 1344 February 196S UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR W. Willard Wirtz, Secretary BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS Ewan Clague, Commissioner For sale by http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D.C. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Price 30 cents PREFACE Shifts in the re la tiv e im p o r ta n c e o f in d u str ie s and o ccu p a tion s a re in evitable i n a n e c o n o m y typified b y c on sta n tly changing m a r k e t s , te c h n o lo g y , r e s o u r c e s , and other str u c tu r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . The r a i lr o a d in d u stry is a p r i m e ex a m p le o f the e f f e c t s o f such c h an g e. Once an in d u stria l giant e x e m p lify in g a p io n e e r in g and expanding A m e r i c a , r a i lr o a d s have not kept p a c e with g e n e r a l e c o n o m i c g row th in the p o s t - W o r l d W ar II p e r i o d . R a ilr o a d e m p lo y m e n t has fallen sh a r p ly and, in the p r o c e s s , m an y o c c u p a tions have been s e v e r e l y a ffe c te d . This bu lletin a n a ly ze s e m p lo y m e n t tren ds and o ccu p a tion a l c h an g es in the r a i lr o a d in d u stry in the 1947-60 p e r i o d . The study is p a r t o f the continuing p r o g r a m o f r e s e a r c h on the changing in d u strial str u c tu r e and oc c u p a tio n a l c o m p o s it i o n o f the A m e r i c a n e c o n o m y con d u cted by the B u reau of L a b o r S ta tis tic s . The B u reau is g ra tefu l f o r the c o o p e r a t i o n of r a i lr o a d in du stry and union o f f i c i a l s and r e p r e s e n t a t iv e s of g o v e r n m e n t a g e n c ie s who c o o p e r a t e d g e n e r o u s ly in r ev iew in g and c o m m e n tin g on the draft o f the study. The p h otog rap h s in clu ded in this bulletin w e r e supplied by the A s s o c i a t i o n o f A m e r i c a n R a i l r o a d s . This bulletin was p r e p a r e d by B e r n a r d Y a b r o f f and W illia m K e l le y with the a s s is t a n c e o f C atherine F. D elan o, o f the B u r e a u ’ s D iv is io n o f M an pow er and O ccu p a tion a l O u tlook, u n d e r the s u p e r v is io n o f Sol S w e r d lo ff, C h ief, under the g e n e r a l d i r e c t i o n o f H arold G o ld ste in , A s s is t a n t C o m m i s s i o n e r f o r M an p ow er and E m p l o y m en t S ta tis tic s . 111 C O N T EN T S P age P o s t w a r e m p lo y m e n t d e c l i n e ................................................................ Changes in oc c u p a tion a l s t r u c t u r e .............................. M aintenance e m p l o y e e s ........................................................................... Equipment and s t o r e s .................................................................... » . . Way and s t r u c t u r e s ....................................... ....................................... R oa d w a y m a i n t e n a n c e ....................................................................... S tru ctu res m aintenance . ................................................................ Signal and t e l e g r a p h ............................ ............................................ T r a n s p o r ta tio n e m p l o y e e s (other than train, en gin e, and y a r d ) .............. T r a in , en g in e, and yard e m p l o y e e s ................................... ............. T e r m i n a l s ....................................................................................... .. . . « . R oad fr e ig h t s e r v i c e ................... . .................. .................................. Road p a s s e n g e r s e r v i c e ............................ W h i t e - c o l l a r e m p l o y e e s ................... .. . 0 . ........................ .................... C l e r i c a l p e r s o n n e l ......................... P r o f e s s i o n a l s , s u b p r o f e s s i o n a l s , and agents ........................ E x e c u t iv e s , o ffic ia ls , and staff a ss is ta n ts ............................... M i s c e ll a n e o u s s e r v i c e e m p lo y e e s . . . „ ............................................. S e le c te d b i b l i o g r a p h y ................................ 1 7 10 10 12 13 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 23 23 24 25 25 27 CHARTS 1. Wage and sa la r y w o r k e r s e m p lo y e d in all n o n fa r m , m a n u factu rin g, r a i l r o a d , and tr a n sp o r ta tio n (e x c e p t r a i lr o a d ) in d u s tr ie s , 1947-60 .............................. 2. E m p lo y m e n t, reven ue t r a f f i c , and output p e r m a n h o u r , C la ss I r a i l r o a d s , 1947-60 .......................................... 3. I n te r c ity p a s s e n g e r - m i l e s , 1949-60 ........................................ 4. D ec lin e in m a jo r r a i lr o a d occ u p a tio n a l g r o u p s , 1947-60 ................ 5. R a i lr o a d e m p lo y m e n t in s e le c t e d o c c u p a tio n a l g r o u p s , 1 9 4 7 -6 0 ............................................................................... 2 3 4 8 9 v Em ploym ent and Changing Occupational P atterns in the R ailroad In d u stry 1 9 4 7 " 6 0 Changes in the r e la tiv e im p o r ta n c e o f o c c u p a tio n s within an in d u stry o c c u r not on ly in in d u str ie s in w hich e m p l o y m en t is expanding, but a l s o in those in w h i c h e m p lo y m e n t is d e c lin in g . N o w h ere is the latter situation m o r e d r a m a t i c a l ly illu s tr a te d than on the Na t io n 's r a i l r o a d s , w h er e the occ u p a tio n a l stru ctu re has c h a n g e d during a time o f s e v e r e l y d e clin in g p o s tw a r e m p l o y m en t r e su ltin g f r o m w id e s p r e a d t e c h n o l o g i c a l d e v e lo p m e n ts and c h a n g i n g pa ttern s o f tr a n s p o r ta tio n and p r o d u c tion. E m p lo y m e n t f e l l su bstan tially in m an y r a i l r o a d o c c u p a tio n s and d r a m a t i c a l l y i n o t h e r s , showed little c h a n g e in s o m e , and ev en i n c r e a s e d in a few . A s a r e s u l t o f these c h a n g e s , the r e la tiv e i m p o r ta n c e o f m a jo r r a i l road o c c u p a tio n a l g rou p s has shifted. This study i s c o n c e r n e d p r i n c ip a l ly with e m p lo y m e n t c h an g es that o c c u r r e d in r a i lr o a d o c c u p a tio n s b e t w e e n 1947 and 1960, and th eir u n derlyin g c a u s e s . Postwar Employment Decline The e m p lo y m e n t d e c lin e on the r a i l r o a d s in the p o s t w a r p e r io d w a s an a c c e l e r a t i o n o f a lon gru n trend. From an alltim e peak o f about 2 m i ll i o n in 1920, r a i lr o a d e m p lo y m e n t f e l l to 1*4 m i ll i o n in 1947. B y i9 6 0 , e m p lo y m e n t was down to about 7 9 0 , 0 0 0 , 1 a d eclin e o f a p p r o x i m a t e l y 600,000, o r m o r e than 1Employment data, 1920-60, are for Class I and Class II railroads. Transport Statistics in the United States, I960 (interstate Com merce Commission, Bureau of Transport E c onomics and Statistics), Pt. I, table 155, p. 107. Occupational employment data from 1947 to 1960 analyzed later in this article are for Class I line-haul railroads, which account for more than 90 percent of all railroad, employ ment. These data, covering 128 occupational divisions (classifications) for which the Com m ission c o l l e c t s employment information, are available annually in th e s o u r c e cited above, table 69. Typical occupational titles under each of these classifications are listed in Rules Governing the Classification of Rail road Employees and Reports of their Service and Compensation, prescribed by the Inter state Commerce Com m ission, effective Jan. 1, 1951, and published by the A s s o c i a t i o n of American Railroads, Washington, Do Co , Aug. 1951. 2In the two industries with the next largest employment declines between 1947 and I9 6 0 -textiles and b i t u m i n o u s coal m in in g --th e numbers of workers fell about 390, 000 (29 percent) and 260, 000 (60 percent), respec tively. 40 p e r c e n t , in little m o r e than a d ecad e (c h a r t l ) . ( P r e l i m i n a r y data f r o m the Interstate C o m m e r c e C o m m i s s i o n in d i cate that b y 1961, r a i lr o a d e m p lo y m e n t had fa llen to about 730, 0 0 0 .) The 1947-60 d e c l i n e on the r a i l r o a d s w as n u m e r i c a ll y m u ch g r e a t e r than in any oth er i n d u s t r y . 2 N e v e r t h e l e s s , b e c a u s e o f the w i d e s p r e a d g e o g r a p h ic a l d i s p e r s i o n of the r a i l road w o r k f o r c e , the extent of the e m p lo y m e n t d ec lin e on the r a i lr o a d s g e n e r a l l y has not r e c e i v e d as m u ch na tional a t t e n t i o n as that o f other in d u s tr ie s with s u b s t a n t i a l , b u t l e s s e x t e n s iv e , e m p lo y m e n t l o s s e s . T h ere has b een , o f c o u r s e , intense l o c a l c o n c e r n o v e r the i m p a c t o f d eclin in g r a i l road e m p lo y m e n t in p a r t ic u la r c o m m u n ities l a r g e l y d e p e n d e n t on r a i lr o a d o p e r a t io n s . P o s t w a r e m p lo y m e n t declin e on the r a i l r o a d s m a in ly r e s u lte d f r o m e x ten sive d e v e lo p m e n ts in r a i lr o a d te c h n o lo g y (c h a r t 2) and the l o s s of b u s i n e s s , m a in ly p a s s e n g e r , to other m o d e s o f tr a n s p o r t. C o m p etition f r o m other c o m m o n c a r r i e r s (tr u c k s , b u s e s , p i p e l in e s , and a i r l i n e s ) , p r iv a te t r u c k e r s , a n d p a s s e n g e r a u to m o b ile s stim ulated t h e in trod u ction a n d im p r o v e m e n t o f m a c h i n e s and equ ipm en t, m a t e r i a l s , and m eth od s o f o p e r a tio n on the r a i l roads. Chart 1 W a ge and Salary Workers Employed in All Nonfarm, Manufacturing, . Railroad, and Transportation (Except Railroad) Industries, 1947-60 * Includes employment in local and suburban transportation-, intercity and rural buslines; motor freight transportation and storage; air transportation, common carriers. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS Source: Railroads, Class I and EL employment, Interstate Commerce Commission; other: Bureau of Labor Statistics. T h e p r e s s u r e t o in trod u ce laborsaving innovations has a ls o been a t t r ib uted, in p a r t, to in c r e a s i n g r a i lr o a d w a g e r a t e s and other la b o r c o s t s . 3 One of the f a c t o r s that c on trib u ted to i n c r e a s e d la b o r c o s t s was a red u c tio n in the standard w o r k w e e k fo r r a i lr o a d em ployees. H o w e v e r , the r e d u c tio n in the w o r k w e e k of n on operatin g e m p l o y e e s to 40 h o u r s in 1949, f o l l o w e d by in c r e a s e d r a i lr o a d a c tiv ity in 1950 and 1951, h elped to stem the downward trend in r a i lr o a d e m p lo y m e n t in this p e r i o d . The 4 0 -h o u r w o r k w e e k f o r yard o p e r a t3 W illiam Haber, nTechnological Innovation and Labor in the Railroad Industry," Tech nological Change and the Future of the Rail ways. Selected papers from a 3-day confer ence conducted by the Transportation Center at Northwestern University, Evanston, 111. , 1961, p. 112. 2 ing e m p l o y e e s was negotiated in 1952 on an optional b a s i s ; by I960, i t c o v e r e d m o s t t e r m in a l op eratin g e m p l o y e e s . The e f f e c t s o f g r ow in g c o m p e titio n w e r e ev id en t in sh a rp ly dec lin in g r a i l road p a s s e n g e r t r a f f i c and a l a c k of grow th in f r e ig h t m o v e m e n t. In rail road p a s s e n g e r t r a f f i c , a downward trend began as fa r b a c k as the e a r l y 1920‘ s w i t h t h e in c r e a s i n g use o f the p r iv a te a u t o m o b i l e . The d e c lin e in t r a ffic was r e v e r s e d during W o rld War II as a r e s u l t o f dep en den ce on r a i l road s fo r m a s s troop m o v e m e n t s , c u r tailm en t of a u tom ob ile p r o d u c t io n , and ration in g o f t i r e s and g a s o lin e ; after the w a r , the d eclin e r e s u m e d . B etw een 1949 and I960, in t e r c i t y p a s s e n g e r traf fic c a r r i e d by r a i l r o a d s shrank f r o m 36 b illio n p a s s e n g e r - m i l e s to about 22 EMPLOYMENT AND CHANGING OCCUPATIONAL PATTERNS Chart 2. Employment, Revenue Traffic, and Output Per M an -H ou r C la ss I R ailroads, 1947-60 I r - IN D E X (1947=100)----------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- O u tp u t Per Produ ction W orker |Man-Hour Ib a se d on total car miles) F reight T o n -M iles Em p loym ent P a sse n g e r M ile s * *C fa ss I tine-houl railroads only. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BUREAU O f LABOR STATISTICS Source: Interstate Commerce Com m ission? Bureau of Labor S t a t is t ic s . RAILROAD INDUSTRY 3 Chart 3. Intercity Passenger-Miles, 1949-60 Revenue Intercity Passerig£r-Miles Billion Passenger Miles Railroads (steam and electric) Airways Motor Carriers of Passengers (bus) Inland W aterw ays Total Intercity Passenger-Miles Billion Passen ger M iles All M e an s Total M otor Vehicles Private Automobiles Inland waterways (including Great Lakes) Motor Carriers ot Passengers (bus) 1 Railroads UNfTEO STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 4 Airways (steam and electric) 1 Schoolbus data are excluded. BUREAU o f LABOR STATISTICS 1.19 to 2 .0 7 billion passenger miles. Data for motor carriers, 1957-60, are not comparable. ^Includes domestic commercial revenue, pleasure, and business travel. Source: Interstate Commerce Commission; Bureau of Labor Statistics. EMPLOYMENT AND CHANGING OCCUPATIONAL PATTERNS Estimated volume of intercity freight traffic, public and private, by transportation agency, 1947, 1950, 1955, and I960 T o n -m ile s (billions) Type of c a r r ie r 1947 T o t a l ........................................................................ Railway revenue t o n -m ile s (including e l e c tr ic railways, e x p r e s s , and m a i l ) 1................................................................... M otor v e h ic le s 2 ................................................. Inland waterways, including Great Lakes3 ............................................................... P ipelin es4 ............................................................... A irways (domestic revenue s e r v i c e ) , including ex p ress , m a il5 and e x p ress b a g g a g e * ......................................................; . 1950 1955 I960 1, 018. 6 1, 062. 6 1, 274. 8 1, 330. 9 664. 5 102. 1 596. 9 172.9 631. 4 223. 3 579. 1 299. 4 146. 7 105. 2 163. 3 129. 2 216. 5 203. 2 223. 0 228. 6 .5 .8 .2 •3 1 1 T o n -m ile s of revenue freight, e x p r e s s , and m ail of all c l a s s e s of line-haul r a i l roads and e le c t r ic railways are c o v e re d . Switching is not included. Data are based on reports of c a r r i e r s to the Interstate C o m m e r c e C o m m issio n , plus some data fr o m the P ost Office Department. 2 The highway to n -m ile s c o v e r all operations, f o r - h ir e and private, com m on and contract, between cities and between cities and rural a r e a s , but not between rural areas without passing through cities and not city d eliv e r y or city movements to and fr o m contiguous suburbs. Turnpike m ovem ents are included beginning with 1940 (the year of the opening of the Pennsylvania Turnpike). Highway to n -m ile s estimated on the basis of Bureau of Public Roads data for main and lo c a l rural r oads, m ilea ges of routes in rural and urban a r e a s, and on Department of A gricu ltu re data on farm c on sumption. P a s s e n g e r - m i l e s in private automobiles estimated on basis of data f r o m the Bureau of Public Roads on rural and in tercity travel and fr o m average load data. A s p r o c e s s in g of certain data is not com plete, highway estim ates h erein for I960 should be regarded as p relim in a ry . Alaska and Hawaii are included in I960, th erefore, these figures are not com parable with data for previous y ea rs. Schoolbus data are excluded. 3 A ll t o n -m ile s on the Intracoastal Waterways, Great L ak es, inland r i v e r s , etc. are included, but no d e e p -s e a c a r g o m ovem ents except those portions moving within dom estic waters of the United States enroute to o v e r se a s p o r ts . In 1948, 1951, 1953 and 1954, there w ere additions of to n -m ile s on waterways not p r e v io u sly c o v e re d , which produced a relatively small lack of com parab ility in c o v e r a g e s . F o r various r e a so n s , including the extrem e circ u ity , these figu res do not include d e e p -s e a coastw ise of in tercoastal m ovem ents of dom estic traffic. 4 Oil m ovem ents through pipelines are included whether or not these pipelines are regulated by the Interstate C o m m e r c e C o m m issio n , Crude, product, and gathering lines are co v e re d . Data are fr o m rep or ts to the Interstate C o m m e r c e C o m m issio n , fr o m the Bureau of M ines, and f r o m other so u r c e s . 5 Based on Civil A eronautics B oard statistics, Federal Aviation A gency Surveys, and other data. T o n -m ile s by airway are limited to those in d om es tic revenue s e r v ice of certified and noncertified a n d /o r supplemental c a r r i e r s , except movements ov er international w a t e r s or foreign countries. M ovements by private plane are not in cluded, nor are such " l o c a l d elivery " operations as cr o p dusting. Alaska and Hawaii are included in I960, th erefore, these figu res are not c o m parable with data for previou s y e a r s . Note: Because of rounding, sums of individual item s m ay not equal totals. Source: Intercity T o n -M ile s , 1939-1959 (interstate C o m m e r c e C om m ission , Bu reau of Transport E con om ics and Statistics), A p r il 1961, table 1; 75th Annual R eport of the Interstate C o m m e r c e C o m m issio n , fisc a l year ended June 30, 1961, p. 15. RAILROAD INDUSTRY 5 b i llio n ( c h a r t 3.) and as a share o f total in t e r c i t y p a s s e n g e r - m i l e s , f r o m 8 p e r cen t to l e s s than 3 p e r c e n t . M ean w h ile, the share c a r r i e d by p riv ate a u t o m o b i le s i n c r e a s e d f r o m about 84 p e r c e n t to m o r e than 90 p e r c e n t and by a ir c a r r i e r s , f r o m 2 p e r c e n t to m o r e than 4 p e rce n t.4 In c o n t r a s t with the lon g ru n r i s e in the v o lu m e o f r a i l r o a d fr e ig h t t r a f fic sin ce the turn o f the c e n tu r y ( e x cluding the 1930*s), fr e ig h t tr a ffic l e v e led o f f f o llo w in g its peak in W o r ld War II but has con tin ued to fluctuate c y c l i c a l l y . 5 The trend in the v o lu m e o f fr e ig h t t r a f f i c c a r r i e d by r a i l r o a d s and oth er m o d e s o f tr a n s p o r t is in dicated in the p r e c e d i n g tabulation o f data p r e p a r e d by t h e I n t e r s t a t e C o m m e r c e C om m ission . R a i l r o a d e m p lo y m e n t in the 19471960 p e r i o d w as a l s o a ffe c te d by v a r io u s op e r a tin g e c o n o m i e s i n t r o d u c e d b y m a n a g e m e n t. E m p lo y m e n t w as r e d u c e d by m e a s u r e s such as lo w e r e x p e n d itu r e s f o r r o a d w a y a n d s t r u c t u r e s m a in te n a n c e , abandonm ent o f b r a n c h l i n e s in s o m e a r e a s a n d c l o s i n g o f s m a l l f r e i g h t stations in o t h e r s , and in tr o d u c tio n o f c e n t r a l iz e d t r a f f i c c o n t r o l on lin e s c a r r y i n g dense t r a f f i c . On so m e l in e s , p a s s e n g e r s e r v i c e was c u r ta ile d o r d iscon tin u ed . In a f e w in s ta n c e s r a i l r o a d s w e r e m e r g e d . A m a j o r f a c t o r a ffectin g e m p l o y m en t in r a i l r o a d o c c u p a tio n s w as the w i d e s p r e a d inauguration o f m an y t e c h 4 Intercity P a ssen ger-M iles, 1949-1956, (in terstate Commerce Com m ission, Bureau of Transport Economics and Statistics), J a n . 1958, table 1; and 75th Annual Report of the Interstate Commerce Com m ission, fiscal year ended June 30, 19617 p. 15. Comparable data prior to 1949 are not available. 5For a discussion of the historical trend of railroad freight and passenger traffic, see National Transportation Policy, Report of the Committee on Com m erce, U .S . Senate, spe cial Study Group on Transportation Policies in the United States, 87th Congo., 1st s e s s 0,pt, II, ch. 4. June 26, 1961. 6 n ological changes. O n e o f the m o s t r a d i c a l d e v e lo p m e n ts w a s t h e a l m o s t c o m p l e t e r e p l a c e m e n t of the s t e a m l o c o m o t i v e by the d i e s e 1 - e l e c t r i c locomotive. T h e nature o f d i e s e l lo co m o tiv e se rv ice requ irem en ts p e r m itted l o w e r equ ipm en t m ain ten an ce employment. R e d u c e d l o c o m o t iv e m ain ten an ce con trib u ted to the c o n s o l idation o f r e p a i r f a c i l i t i e s w h ich r e sulted in r e d u c e d s t r u c t u r e s m a i n ten an ce. D i e s e l s a ls o hauled l o n g e r , h e a v ie r t r a in s , thus a ffec tin g e m p l o y m en t in train and engine s e r v i c e and, to a l e s s e r extent, in oth er a c t iv it ie s r e la te d to train m o v e m e n t. E x ten siv e m e c h a n iz a tio n , as w e ll as i m p r o v e m en ts in m a t e r i a l s and in m eth od s o f u tiliz in g m e c h a n i c a l equ ipm en t and m a n p o w e r in ro a d and t r a c k m a i n t e nance o c c u p a t i o n s , d r a s t i c a l l y c u r tailed u n s k i l l e d and s e m i s k i ll e d l a bor req u irem en ts. C lerica l e m p l o y m en t was r e d u c e d by i n c r e a s i n g use o f a v a r ie t y o f m o d e r n o f f i c e m a c h in e s and equ ipm en t and, in r e c e n t y e a r s , the ap p lic a tion o f e l e c t r o n i c d a t a - p r o c e s s ing m eth od s to r a i lr o a d a c cou n tin g and s ta t is tic a l s y s t e m s . The rapid sp r e a d o f r a d io , te le ty p e , C e n tr a liz e d T r a f f i c C o n t r o l ( C T C j, and o t h e r adv an ced signaling and c o m m u n ic a tio n equ ipm en t a ffe c te d r a i lr o a d e m p lo y m e n t g e n e r a ll y . L a b o r s a v i n g s w e r e a l s o a c h ie v e d t h r o u g h t h e c o n s o lid a tio n o f station accou n tin g fu n c tio n s , in c r e a s i n g use o f p r o d u c t i o n - l i n e m eth od s of equ ipm en t m a in ten a n ce, r e l o c a t i o n o f t r a c k to m i n im i z e r o a d w a y g r a d e s and c u r v e s (the r e b y r e d u c in g the n u m ber of l o c o m o t i v e s needed on p a r tic u la r ru n s, and tr a c k m ain ten an ce r e q u i r e m e n t s ) , m o r e e f f ic ie n t fr e ig h t handling and sh ipm en t, and oth er m a j o r i m p r o v e m e n t s in o p e r ating m e th o d s . Other i n n o v a t i o n s which c o n trib u ted to c h an g es in m a n p o w e r r e q u ir e m e n t s i n c l u d e d w eld ed r a i l s , au tom atic c a r - w e i g h i n g d e v i c e s , q u i c k - d r y i n g and s p r a y pa in ts, in c r e a s e d c a p a c it y o f f r e ig h t c a r s , and m o r e p o w e r fu l l o c o m o t i v e s . The p o s tw a r sp r ea d o f t e c h n o l o g i c a l innovations on the r a i l r o a d s en tailed a high annual l e v e l o f r e a l c a p ita l in v e s t m en t f r o m 1946 to I960, a l e v e l s i g n ific a n tly h ig h e r than in the p r e c e d in g EMPLOYMENT AND CHANGING OCCUPATIONAL PATTERNS two d e c a d e s . 6 In c u r r e n t p r i c e s , c a p ital e x p en d itu res by C l a s s I r a i l r o a d s b etw een 1946 and i9 6 0 a v e r a g e d m o r e than $ 1 b i ll i o n a n n u a lly .7 The e f f e c t s o f te c h n o l o g i c a l ch an g e, and a n u m ber o f oth er i n t e r r e la t e d i n f l u e n c e s , such as e m p l o y e e and m a n a g e m ent sk ills and effort, on r a i lr o a d o p e r a tions w e r e in dicated in the m o r e than 70 p e r c e n t i n c r e a s e in output p e r p r o d u c tion w o r k e r m an -h ou r in r a i l r o a d t r a n s p o r ta tio n betw een 1947 and 196Q this gain w as l a r g e r than in m o s t oth er industries.8 C h a n g e s in O ccupational Structure The p o s tw a r d e c r e a s e in r a i lr o a d e m p lo y m e n t a ffe c te d all m a j o r r a i lr o a d oc c u p a tio n a l g r o u p s , although s o m e w e r e a ffe c te d m u ch m o r e s e v e r e l y than oth e r s ( c h a r t 4). F o r e x a m p l e , the la r g e n u m ber of e m p l o y e e s engaged in m aintenance o p e r a tio n s f e l l by m o r e than h alf o v e r the 1947-60 p e r i o d as a w h ole. In c o n t r a s t , the r e l a t iv e l y sm a ll n u m b ers of e x e c u t iv e s , o f f i c i a l s , and s t a f f a s s is ta n ts drop p ed only sligh tly and the n u m ber o f p r o f e s s i o n a l s , subp r o f e s s i o n a l s , and agents d e c lin e d m o d e r a t e ly . D i f f e r e n c e s in the p o s tw a r rate of e m p lo y m e n t d e c l i n e s am on g r a i l r o a d o ccu p a tion a l g r o u p s r e su lte d in som e shifting in their p r o p o r t io n a l d i s t r i b u tion. F o r e x a m p l e , train , en g in e, and yard (operatin g ) e m p l o y e e s b e c a m e the l a r g e s t single o c c u p a t i o n a l g rou p , m ov in g up f r o m 2 2 .7 p e r c e n t of a l l C l a s s 1 l in e -h a u l r a i l r o a d e m p l o y e e s in 1947 to 27. 1 in I960. E m p lo y m e n t in the w h i t e - c o l l a r g rou p r o s e f r o m about 16 p e r c e n t to 20 p e r c e n t o v e r the sam e p e r i o d . On the oth er hand, the p r o p o r t io n o f r a i lr o a d e m p lo y m e n t in m aintenance o c c u p a tio n s d rop p ed f r o m 47 p e r c e n t to l e s s than 39 p e r c e n t . E m p lo y m e n t tren d s am on g the o c c u pation al g r o u p s w e r e v a r ie d (c h a r t 5). T h e r e was a f a i r l y steady d eclin e f r o m 1947 to 1960 am on g fr e ig h t and p a s s e n g e r te r m in a l e m p l o y e e s and other r a i l road e m p l o y e e s c l a s s i f i e d in the o c c u p ation al g r o u p " T r a n s p o r t a t i o n (oth er than train , en gin e, and y a r d ) . " A m on g m ain ten an ce e m p l o y e e s , the d eclin e a c c e l e r a t e d during the la tter y e a r s of the period. In c o n tr a s t, e m p lo y m e n t of e x e c u t iv e s , o f f i c i a l s , and staff a s s i s t ants i n c r e a s e d sligh tly through the m i d I950*s, but then d e c lin e d . C u tback s in r a i l r o a d e m p lo y m e n t g e n e r a l l y w e r e m o s t s e v e r e am ong those p e r s o n s in j o b s r e q u ir in g r e l a tiv e ly little sk ill o r train in g . Thus, the l e s s sk illed w o r k e r s such as g an gm en , l a b o r e r s , t r u c k e r s , and l o a d e r s , as w e ll as h e l p e r s , a p p r e n t ic e s , and e m p l o y e e s e n g a g e d in routine c l e r i c a l fu n ction s g e n e r a ll y e x p e r i e n c e d p r o p o r tion ately m u ch g r e a t e r e m p lo y m e n t d e c lin e s than c r a f t s m e n , s u p e r v i s o r s , m a n a g e r s , and p r o f e s s i o n a l s . This d is p a r ity was l a r g e l y due to the w i d e sp rea d r e p l a c e m e n t of l e s s sk illed l a b o r by m e c h a n i c a l and e l e c t r o n i c e q u i p m ent, and the c o n s o lid a tio n o f r a i lr o a d fa c ilitie s. 6 Capital expenditures from 1925 t h r o u g h 1949, Association of A m e r i c a n Railroads, Bureau of R a i l w a y Economics, subsequent ye a r s , (interstate Commerce Com m ission, Bureau of Transport Economics and Statis tics). Real value of capital expenditures ob tained by d e f l a t i n g expenditures with The Railroad Construction Index compiled by the Interstate Commerce Commission, Bureau of Accounts. 7 More than $16 billion was spent on ra il road capital equipment over this period. Ap proximately $ 5 . 5 billion was spent for new f r e i g h t cars, $ 4 . 2 billion for new motive power, $900 million for new passenger-train cars, $700 million for modern traffic control and communications s y s t e m s , and the r e mainder for new roadway m a c h i n e s , im provements to stations and track, and other m o d e r n i z a t i o n projects. Background on Transportation, N e w s Service, Association of American Railroads, May 19, 1961. 8 O u t p u t measured both in terms of total r e v e n u e traffic and c a r -m ile s , on Class I railroads and Class I switching and terminal companies. Indexes of Output Per Man-Hour f o r Selected Industries, 1939 a n d 1947-60, Annual Industry Series, (U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor S t a t i s t i c s , Dec. 1961). RAILROAD INDUSTRY E m p lo y m e n t (in th o u s a n d s ) 1947 P e rce n t ch a n ge2 1955 1 94 7-60 I960 1 9 4 7 -5 5 1 9 5 5 -6 0 -4 2 -2 2 -2 6 O c c u p a t io n a l g r o u p 1 N u m b er 781 100. 0 1, 058 100. 0 P ercen t . . 370 27. 4 273 25. 8 184 23. 6 -5 0 -2 6 -3 3 . 265 1 9 .6 197 18. 6 119 15. 2 -5 5 -2 6 -4 0 . . 172 12. 7 127 12. 0 91 1 1 .7 -4 7 -2 6 -2 8 . . . . 307 163 22. 7 12. 1 250 138 23. 6 13. 0 212 111 27. 1 14. 2 -3 1 -3 2 -1 9 -1 5 -1 5 -2 0 . . 36 2. 7 35 3. 3 32 4. 1 - 10 - 3 - 9 . . . . 15 24 I. 1 1. 8 16 22 1. 5 2. 1 15 17 1 .9 2. 2 - 1 -2 7 + 6 - 7 - ^ -2 2 (c la s s i f i c a t i o n s ) w e r e g r o u p e d by B u r e a u o f L a b o r S t a tis t ic s . u n rou n d ed n u m b e r s . s u m s o f in d iv id u a l it e m s m a y not a dd t o t o t a ls . S ou rce: T r a n s p o r t S t a tis t ic s in the U nited S ta te s , and S t a t i s t i c s ) , P t. I, ta b le 69. 8 N u m b er 100. 0 1 In te rs ta te C o m m e r c e C o m m i s s i o n o c c u p a t io n a l d iv i s io n s B e c a u s e o f ro u n d in g , P ercen t . 2 P e r c e n ta g e ch a n g e s c o m p u t e d f r o m N ote: N u m b er 1, 352 T o t a l e m p l o y e e s ........................................ M a in te n a n ce o f e q u ip m e n t and s t o r e s .................................................. M a in t e n a n c e -o f- w a y and s t r u c t u r e s ................................................... T r a n s p o r t a t io n (o th e r than t r a in , e n g in e , and y a r d ) . . . . T r a n s p o r t a t io n (tr a in , e n g in e , and y a r d ) .............................. C l e r i c a l ............................................................ P r o f e s s io n a l s , s u b p r o fe s s io n a ls , and a g e n t s .................................................. E x e c u t iv e s , o f f i c i a l s , and s ta ff a s s i s t a n t s ................................... M is c e lla n e o u s s e r v i c e s ......................... P ercen t 1947, 1955, and I 9 6 0 , (In ters ta te C o m m e r c e C o m m i s s i o n , B u r e a u o f T r a n s p o r t E c o n o m ic s EMPLOYMENT AND CHANGING OCCUPATIONAL PATTERNS Chart 5* Railroad Employment in Selected Occupational Groups, 1947-60 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OP LABOR BUREAU O F LABOR STATISTICS * Includes the following occupational categories: executives, off Id o ls, and staff assistants-, professionals, subprafessionats, and agents^ and clerical personnelSource: Interstate Commerce Com m ission; Bureau of tabor Statistics. RAILROAD INDUSTRY 9 A lthough p e r s o n s w i t h m o r e sk ill and t r a i n i n g g e n e r a l l y w e r e l e s s a f fe c te d b y te c h n o l o g i c a l d e v e lo p m e n ts and ch a n g es in the v o lu m e of r a i lr o a d a c tiv ity , e m p lo y m e n t w as su bstan tially r e d u c e d in s o m e s k illed o c c u p a tio n s s u c h as b o i l e r m a k e r , b la c k s m it h , m a c h i n is t , p a in te r , and c a r p e n t e r . On the oth er hand, s k i l l e d e l e c t r i c a l w o r k e r s ( A );9 m a s o n s , b r i c k l a y e r s , and p l a s t e r e r s ; and c h ie f t e l e g r a p h e r s and s o m e oth er s u p e r v i s o r y c l a s s i f i c a tion s w e r e am on g the few r a i lr o a d o c cu pation s that had h ig h e r e m p lo y m e n t in 1960 than in 1947. The a n a ly s is that f o l lo w s d ea ls with ch an g es in e m p l o y m e n t in t h e 128 standard ICC r a i lr o a d o c c u p a tio n a l d i vision s (cla ssifica tio n s). To p e r m i t m o r e m ean in gfu l d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e s e c h a n g e s , t h e c la ssifica tio n s w e r e g r ou p ed into five b r o a d c a t e g o r i e s o f r a i l r o a d e m p lo y m e n t: M aintenance e m ployees; t r a n s p o r t a t i o n em ployees (oth er than tra in , e n g i n e , and y a r d ); tr a n s p o r ta tio n e m p l o y e e s ( t r a i n , e n gin e, and y a r d ); w h it e - c o lla r e m p l o y e e s and m i s c e l l a n e o u s s e r v i c e e m p l o y e e s . Maintenance Em ployees M o r e than h a lf o f the p o s tw a r d e clin e in r a i l r o a d e m p lo y m e n t o c c u r r e d am on g m ain ten an ce p e r s o n n e l , w h o s e n u m b e r s dwindled f r o m 635, 000 in 1947 to 303, 000 in I960. Of th e s e , about 3 out of e v e r y 5 w e r e e n g a g e d in the m ain ten an ce o f equ ipm en t and s t o r e s , w h ich in c lu d e s the upkeep and r e p a i r o f l o c o m o t i v e s , f r e ig h t and p a s s e n g e r c a r s and oth er w h e e le d v e h i c l e s , and r e la te d equ ipm en t; and the w a r e h o u s - 9 Occupational titles for electrical workers as well as for carmen and clerical personnel include the alphabetical designations A , B, C, or D to indicate differences in types of work performed or in levels of skill in these cla s sifications. Most workers classified as Elec trical workers (a ) a r e skilled e q u i p m e n t maintenance personnel. Electrical workers (B) prim arily are employed in power stations and substations in skilled occupations such as load dispatcher and station operator* E lec trical workers (C) work mainly as operators of electric h o i s t o r conveyor equipment'at coal, ore, or grain docks and storage facil ities. Carmen (A and B) work principally on passenger car equipment and Carmen (C and D) principally on freight car equipment. Personnel classified as Clerks and clerical specialists (a ) mainly have professional or supervisory responsibilities; Clerks (B and C) mainly do routine work. 1 0 The number of passenger-train cars in service (Class I and II railroads and switch ing and terminal companies) dropped f r o m about 39, 000 in 1947 to 26, 000 in I960; the number of f r e i g h t-carrying cars generally was about 1.75 million through 1958 but, by 1960, had declined by almost 7 0, 000. Trans port Statistics in the United States, op. cit. , table 155, p. 103. 10 ing o f p a r ts and s u p p l i e s . The r e m a in d e r w e r e m a i n t e n a n c e - o f - w a y and s t r u c t u r e s e m p l o y e e s who m aintain r o a d w a y s , b r i d g e s , b u ild in g s, and oth er s t r u c t u r e s and in stall and m a i n tain signal and c o m m u n ic a t io n s s y s t e m s and r e la te d c o n t r o l d e v i c e s . Equipment and Stores In 1960, the n u m ber o f e m p l o y e e s en gaged i n m ain ten an ce of equ ip m en t and s t o r e s was on ly h alf that in 1947. A lthough r e d u c tio n s in the n u m ber o f c a r s in s e r v i c e 10 p la y ed an im p o r ta n t p a r t in the v a s t c u r ta ilm e n t o f e q u ip m en t m ain ten an ce e m p l o y m e n t , the c o n v e r s i o n f r o m s tea m to d i e s e l - e l e c t r i c l o c o m o t i v e s was the k ey f a c t o r . nNot on ly did the d i e s e l - e l e c t r i c l o c o m o tiv e r e q u ir e l e s s s e r v i c e but as _the r e s u l t o f its g r e a t e r a v a ila b ility ^/becau se of l o w e r s e r v i c e r e q u i r e m e n t s ^ , fe w e r units w e r e r e q u i r e d to handle the sam e a m o u n t o f t r a f f i c . ” 11 T h e i r Statement of M i c h a e l Fox, President, Railway Employees Department, A F L -C IO , in Impact of A u t o m a t i o n on Employment, Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, 87th C o n g . , 1st s e s s ., 1961, p. 294. The number of locomotives in service de clined 30 percent from 1947 to I960. In 1947, 84 percent of locomotives were steam driven and 14 percent were diesel powered. In 1960, 97 percent of the locomotives were diesel and le ss than 1 percent were steam driven. Y ear book of Railroad Information, 1961 edition, Eastern Railroad Presidents C o n f e r e n c e , Jersey City, N. J. , p. 8. EMPLOYMENT AND CHANGING OCCUPATIONAL PATTERNS p r o v e m e n t s in m ain ten an ce equ ipm en t, m a t e r i a l s , and m e t h o d s . T h ese in clu ded s p e c ia l i z e d p a i n t s and s p r a y painting m e t h o d s ; im p r o v e d b e a r in g s and b e a r in g lu brication ; b e tte r in v e n to r y c o n t r o l and m a te r ia ls -h a n d lin g m e th o d s ; im p r o v e d m anual and au tom atic w eldin g tech n iq u es; and u l t r a s o n i c , i s o t o p i c , s p e c t r o g r a p h i c , and oth er a d v a n c e d a n a ly tica l tech n iqu es to d e te r m in e m e t al w e a r o r fatigu e. The use o f auto m a tic m a c h in e s to p e r f o r m s p e c ia l i z e d o p e r a t i o n s , such as m ach in in g and a s sem b lin g o f c a r w h eel s e t s , a l s o has cut m a n - h o u r r e q u i r e m e n t s . C O U R TE S Y O F CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND & PACIFIC RAILROAD Layout of modern diesel maintenance shop facilitates work of machinists, electricians, and other equipment maintenance employees. lo w e r s e r v i c e r e q u ir e m e n t s o f the d i e sel a l s o p e r m i t t e d the c o n s o lid a tio n o f shop f a c i l i t i e s and the a p p l ic a t i o n of p r o d u c t i o n - l i n e m e t h o d s to equipm ent s e r v i c i n g . 12 In r e c e n t y e a r s , equ ipm en t m aintenance e m p l o y m en t has a l s o b een a f f e c t e d by the p r a c t i c e of so m e r a i lr o a d s o f sending d i e s e l en g in es r e q u ir in g m a jo r o v e r haul b a ck to the m a n u fa c tu r e r f o r r e building o r exch an ge f o r m o r e h igh ly p o w e r e d new, o r r e b u ilt, units. P a r t o f the d e c l i n e in equ ipm en t m aintenance e m p lo y m e n t m a y a l s o be tr a c e d to m an y d i v e r s e , r e l a t i v e l y sm a ll, but c u m u la tiv e ly sig n ifican t i m 12 One example of the impact of lower se r vice requirements on maintenance employ ment is the experience of the Santa Fe Rail road which, in 1946, maintained 26 shops for repairing locomotives and cars, 7 for wheel repair, and 4 for repairing passenger cars. By 1961, repair facilities had been reduced to one m ajor diesel shop and five diesel shops for minor repairs, one s h o p for passenger car and equipment repair, one wheel shop, and one major freight car repair shop, with three other locations serving as minor car repair depots. "Springfield Becomes Shop C e n te r," Modern Railroads. Chicago, Nov. 1961, pp. 80-81. Changing te c h n o lo g y not only c o n tribu ted im p o r ta n tly to e m p lo y m e n t d e c l in e s in a l m o s t e v e r y sk ille d e q u ip m en t m ain ten an ce o c c u p a tio n b u t , i n the p r o c e s s , often a lte r e d jo b content and s k ills . C hanges in the n u m ber e m p lo y e d in these o c c u p a tio n s f r o m 1947 to I960 are shown in the fo llo w in g tab ulation: ICC D iv. No. Occupation E m ploym ent ---------------------------------------------------1947 1955 1960 P ercent change ----------------------------------------19 4 7 -6 0 1 9 4 7 -5 5 1 9 5 5 -6 T otal . ..................................... 54 55 56 57 58 5960 61 62 63 73 1 6 9 ,8 5 8 145, 185 11 1, 205 -3 5 -1 5 -2 3 B la c k sm ith s ......................... B o i l e r m a k e r s .................... C a rm en (A and B ' 1 . . . C a rm en (C and D ) . . . E le ctr ic a l w o rkers (A ). E le ctr ic a l w orkers (B and C ) 2 .................... M a c h i n i s t s ......................... M older s ................................... Sh ee t-m e ta l worker* . . Stationary engineers . . 5, 841 13, 128 2 0 ,3 4 1 5 6 ,1 8 1 1 0 ,4 2 3 3, 375 4, 310 1 8 ,2 1 2 58, 786 : 5, 430 1 ,9 5 6 2, 341 12, 425 4 6 ,0 0 6 *6 0 2 -6 7 -8 2 -3 9 - 18 + 30 -4 2 -6 7 -1 0 + 5 + 48 -4 2 -4 6 -3 2 -2 2 -1 2 3, 079 47 , 357 569 1 1 ,2 5 9 1,6 8 0 2, 415 31, 621 171 9, 298 1, 567 1 ,8 9 3 2 4 , 699 106 7, 156 1, 021 -3 9 -4 8 -8 1 -3 6 -3 9 -2 2 -3 3 -7 0 - 17 - 7 -2 2 -2 2 -3 8 -2 3 -3 5 1 Includes an indeterm inate number of gasoline m o to r -c a r repairm en. E le ctr ic a l w orkers (C ) include an indeterminate sm a ll number of sem isk illed e le c trica l equipment o p e ra tors. The " C " group as a whole had only a few hun dred e m plo y ees. R a p i d r e p l a c e m e n t of l o c o m o t iv e steam p o w e r by d i e s e l - e l e c t r i c p o w e r was c e n tr a l to the v e r y la r g e r e d u c tion in b o i l e r m a k e r s ’ e m p lo y m e n t. The n u m b e r o f b la c k s m ith s a l s o d e c lin e d , p a r t ly b e c a u s e o f the in d u s tr y wide use o f r e p l a c e m e n t p a r ts fo r d i e s e l l o c o m o t i v e s , in c o n t r a s t with the p r a c tice of r e p a i r i n g o r r e c o n s t r u c t i n g c o m p o n e n t s f o r steam l o c o m o t i v e s . I m p r o v e m e n ts in h e a t - t r e a t i n g , w eld in g, and f o r g in g m e th o d s , and in r e l a t e d equ ipm en t, w e r e a l s o im p or ta n t f a c t o r s con tribu tin g to the d e c r e a s e . Techno l o g i c a l change a l s o con trib u ted to the siz a b le r e d u c tio n in e m p lo y m e n t o f m a c h in is t s , one o f t h e l a r g e s t o f the sk illed r a i lr o a d shop t r a d e s . T h ese c h a n g e s in clu d ed d iffe r e n t and lo w e r m ain ten an ce r e q u i r e m e n t s T o r d i e s e l s c o m p a r e d with stea m l o c o m o t i v e s , the RAILROAD INDUSTRY 11 in trod u ction o f p r o d u c t io n - l in e s e r v i c i n g m e th o d s , and im p r o v e m e n t s in m ach in e shop equ ipm en t, including s o m e with autom atic c o n t r o l s . The extent o f t h e e m p lo y m e n t d ec lin e am on g m a c h in is ts would have been ev en g r e a t e r had it not been f o r a n i n c r e a s e in m aintenance w o r k r e s u l t i n g f r o m the v e r y la r g e amount of tr a c k and r o a d w a y eq u ip m en t p u r c h a s e d by the r a i lr o a d s since W o r l d W ar II. R e d u c e d e m p lo y m e n t o f station ary e n g in e e r s r e f l e c t e d t h e in trod u ction o f au tom atic c o n t r o ls on shop b o i l e r s , although the d rop in the total n u m ber o f shop f a c i l i t i e s was a l s o im p orta n t. The n u m ber o f e l e c t r i c a l w o r k e r s (B), a g r o u p which in clu d es p o w e r station and substation o p e r a t o r s and load d is p a tc h e r s , d e c lin e d as d i e s e l e l e c t r i c l o c o m o t i v e s w e r e substituted for ns t r a i g h t - e l e c t r i c 1 lo c o m o tiv e s , ' which depend on e x t e r n a lly g en era ted power. E l e c t r i c a l w o r k e r s (a ) c o m p r i s e d the only c l a s s i f i c a t i o n in e q u i p m e n t m ain ten an ce to show an i n c r e a s e i n e m p lo y m e n t o v e r t h e 1947-60 p e r i o d as a w h ole. A l l o f this i n c r e a s e , h o w e v e r , was due to the la r g e ex pan sion through the e a r l y 1950*s in the n u m ber o f these e m p l o y e e s n eeded to maintain the ex ten siv e e l e c t r i c p o w e r and c o n t r o l equ ipm en t on the m u s h r o o m in g f le e t o f d i e s e l - e l e c t r i c l o c o m o t i v e s . 1 ^ In r e c en t y e a r s , e m p lo y m e n t o f e l e c t r i c a l w o r k e r s (a ) h as drop p ed som ew h at b e cau se of the d e c lin e in the n u m ber o f train s run, the g r ow in g e x p e r i e n c e with d i e s e l m a in ten a n ce, lo w e r m aintenance r e q u ir e m e n t s o f la te r m o d e l d i e s e l s , ^ 3 From 1947 to 1955 the number of diesels increased more than fou rfold --from 5, 772 to 2 4 ,7 8 6 ; between 1955 and I960, the increase was only 14 percent. Yearbook of Railroad Information, op. cit. , p. 8. 14Advancing t e c h n o l o g y in roadway and structures' operations on the railroads gene r a l l y paralleled developments in the con struction industry, notably in highway con struction. ’’Increasing use and efficiency of roadbuilding equipment, particularly in grad ing and surfacing, was the p r i m e cause of the 47-percent decline in on-site labor re quirements for highways from 1947 to 1 9 5 8 ." "L a b o r Requirements for Highway Construc tio n ," Monthly Labor Review, Aug. 1961, 859. 1Z and i n c r e a s e d s p e c ia liz a t io n o f w o r k in l a r g e r , c o n s o lid a te d m ain ten an ce f a c i l i tie s . E m p lo y m e n t o f c a r m e n , the l a r g e s t o c c u p a tio n a l c l a s s i f i c a t i o n am on g equ ipm en t m ain ten an ce e m p l o y e e s , was a ffe c te d g e n e r a ll y by t e c h n o l o g i c a l ch an g es such as i m p r o v e d w eldin g and new join in g and fastening te c h n iq u e s, and m o d e r n i z e d m a t e r ia ls - h a n d lin g equ ipm en t. The s e v e r e d rop in p a s s e n g e r t r a f f ic r e la tiv e to f r e i g h t t r a f f i c f r o m 1947 to I960, h o w e v e r , a f f e c t e d o c c u p a tio n s within the c a r m e n g rou p d iffe r e n tly . Thus, the n u m b er o f c a r m e n (A and B ), m o s t o f w h om m ain tain r a i lr o a d p a s s e n g e r c a r s , f e l l 39 p e r c e n t - m o r e than tw ice the d e c lin e f o r c a r m e n (C and D), m o s t o f w h om m a i n tain f r e ig h t c a r s . T h ose in u n sk illed and s e m i s k i ll e d equ ipm en t m ain ten an ce j o b s - - l a b o r e r s , h e l p e r s , and a p p r e n t i c e s - - h a d m u c h greater e m p l o y m e n t declin es t h a n c r a f t s m e n , f o r e m e n , and oth er s k illed equ ipm en t m ain ten an ce e m p l o y e e s , as shown in the fo llo w in g tabulation: ICC Div. No. Occupational group Employment _____________ 1947 1955 T o t a l ................................. Percent change 1966 1947-60 1947-55 ” 9 5 5 -6 0 3 7 0 ,2 8 7 184, 006 -5 0 -2 6 -3 3 9, 323 50, 51 General, assistant gen-eral, and department forem en . 52, 53, Gang forem en, leaders 6 8 ,6 9 and inspectors. . . 5 4 -6 3 , Skilled trades 73 journeymen1. . . . 6 4 -6 6 , Skilled trades helpers 74 and apprentices . . 67, C lassified and general 70-72 la b orers . . . . . 273, 155 8, 296 7, 150 -2 3 - 11 - 14 1 3 ,655 11 ,4 9 4 8, 573 -3 7 -16 -2 5 169,858 145,185 1 1 1 ,205 -3 5 -1 5 -2 3 9 8 ,8 7 7 56 ,0 5 2 2 6 ,006 -7 4 -4 3 -5 4 78, 574 52, 128 31 ,0 7 2 -6 0 -3 4 -4 0 1 Includes an indeterminate sm all number of sem iskilled electrical equipment operators in ICC Div. No. 60, E lectrical W orkers (C ). W ay and Structures P o s t w a r e m p lo y m e n t o f p e r s o n n e l who m ain tain r a i lr o a d way and s t r u c tu res d r op p ed by 55 p e r c e n t , the g r e a t e s t r e la tiv e declin e am on g m a j o r r a i l r oa d o c c u p a tio n a l g r o u p s . 14* A s the * ICC Div. No. Pei•cent change Employment Occupational group 1947 Roadmasters, general forem en, and a ssista n ts............................. Inspectors ............................. 28 3 5 -3 8 , Roadway maintenance 4 0 -4 2 workers ............................. 2 9 -34 Bridge and building 1960 1947-60 1947-55 1955-60 264 ,8 1 6 196,980 118,516 -5 5 -2 6 -4 0 3, 147 1, 132 3, 359 1, 004 3, 366 879 + 7 -2 2 + 7 -11 + (') -1 2 . 2 0 7,439 143, 345 7 8 ,3 5 5 -6 2 -31 -4 5 . T o t a l .......................................... 1955 30 ,3 6 6 2 7 ,311 1 7 ,7 6 4 -4 2 - 10 -3 5 19, 429 1 6,848 - 11 + 3 -1 3 2, 532 1, 304 -6 6 -3 4 -4 9 . 27 Signal and telegraph workers ............................. 39,4 3 Laborer crews (bridge and building; signal and te legrap h )................... 44-49 3, 857 1 L ess than 1 percent. EMPLOYMENT AND CHANGING OCCUPATIONAL PATTERNS p r e c e d i n g tabulation shows, a l m o s t n in etenths o f the d e c r e a s e was am on g r o a d w ay m ain ten an ce e m p l o y e e s , who c o m p r i s e the g r e a t m a j o r i t y o f all w ay and s tr u c tu r e s e m p l o y e e s . i m p r o v e m e n t s ; a n d (2) m a n p o w e r r e q u ir e m e n t s , p r i n c i p a l l y f o r g an gm en , w e r e r e d u c e d by the w id e s p r e a d i n t r o du ction o f m e c h a n iz e d equ ipm en t. The d ec lin e in r o a d w a y m ain ten an ce f r o m 1947 to I960 is c l e a r l y app aren t in the 6 9 - p e r c e n t d r o p in the n u m ber o f m i l e s of r e p l a c e m e n t r a i l laid by C l a s s I lin e -h a u l r a i l r o a d s and the 62p e r c e n t d e c lin e in the n u m b er o f r e p l a c e m e n t c r o s s t i e s put in p l a c e . 15 The s e r v i c e life o f r a i l was lengthened b y i n c r e a s i n g use o f h e a v ie r r a i l 1 6 and o f b e tte r d e s ig n e d r a i l; h e a t - t r e a t e d , e n d -h a r d e n e d , and s p e c ia l a llo y e d r a i l; 73 Transport Statistics in the United State s, and continuous w eld e d r a i l in p la c e o f op. cit. , 1947, I960" tables 92 and 93.------b o lt-jo in e d rail section s. The p e r i o d 6 M The transition from 112 pound rail //per b e t w e e n in sta lla tion and r e p l a c e m e n t yard_J7 to 131 pound rail reduced the annual was exten ded by the u se of b etter m e t h maintenance man-hours per m i l e p e r year ods o f w eldin g to r e p a i r ba tte r e d r a i l from 1,1 0 3 .4 to 9 0 2 .6 , or 18 p e r c e n t/fr o m ends a n d oth er w or n r a i l s u r f a c e s . 1943 to 1950_J7." W illiam Haber, et al, op. R a il and tie dam age was r e d u c e d by c i t ., p. 40. With the shift toward heavier rail, the a v e r a g e w e i g h t of rail in main i m p r o v e d r o a d w a y s u r fa c in g and d r a in tracks on Class I line-haul r a i l r o a d s in age w h i c h c r e a t e d a m o r e s h o c k creased from 100 pounds per yard in 1947 to a b s o r b e n t roadbed. G r e a te r use o f 106 pounds p e r yard in I960. Transport l o n g e r s e r v i c e " t r e a t e d ” ties c o n t r i Statistics in the United State s c i t . , buted to the d e c r e a s e in tie r e n e w a ls . 1960, table 7. I m p r o v e d tie p l a t e s , p a d s , and sealants 17 According to an article in Railway A ge, e x t e n d e d tie life b y p r o v id in g b e tte r the declines in rail and track renewals in re d istr ib u tio n o f r o llin g w eigh t on the tie, cent years indicate that minimum replace and r e d u c e d tie r o t and w e a r . A lso, ment has occurred in the light of expected rail and tie service life. "M /W : Moderate it is r e p o r t e d in a leadin g r a i lr o a d in Increase" M. H. Dick, Engineering Editor, d u s tr y m a g a z in e , that som e r a i lr o a d s Railway A g e , Jan. 16, 1961, pp. 3 0 -3 2 . See did not e f f e c t adequate r oa d w a y m a in also, "B and O - C and O Officers Stress tenance p r o g r a m s . 17 R oa d w a y m a in t e n a n c e . E m p lo y m e n t in this o c c u p a tio n a l c a t e g o r y f e l l p r i n c i p a l ly b e c a u s e o f two f a c t o r s : ( l ) the v o l u m e o f m ain ten an ce d e c r e a s e d as t r a c k m i le a g e was r e d u c e d and as the r e c u r r i n g c y c l e o f r a i l and tie r e n e w a l and oth er m a j o r m ain ten an ce o p e r a tio n s w e r e len gth en ed through te c h n o l o g i c a l Deferred-Maintenance P e r i l," Railway A ge, July 17, 1961, pp. 14-18. 18" We have four new push-button cla ssifi cation yards; four yards that replace as many as 25 o t h e r s . .. " "T h e Importance of Tech nological Change to the Railway Industry," Alfred E. Pearlm an, President, New York> Central Railroad, in Technological Change and the Future of the Railways, op. cit. , p. 19 The installation of CTC increased from about 10,000 track m iles controlled in 1947 to 28, 000 in 1955 and 36, 000 track m iles con trolled in I960. Transport Statistics in the United States, op. cit. , 1947, I960j table 8. With the installation of CTC between Cleve land and Buffalo (distance----- 163 m iles), the New York Central Railroad was able to elim inate two tracks of a four-track system . New York T im es, Feb. 17, 1957, Sec. 3,, p . 1. CTC also contributed to the paring away of 1, 800 m i l e s of t r a c k on the Pennsylvania Railroad between late 1953 and 1957. "S lim m i n g the P R R ," The Pennsy, Pennsylvania Railroad Co . , P h i l a d e l p h i a , J a n .-F -sb ^ , 1958, p. 10. E lim in a tio n o f tr a c k and r o a d b e d a l s o r e d u c e d r o a d w a y m ain ten an ce r e q u ir e m e n ts . T r a c k a g e and r o a d w a y on abandoned b r a n c h lin e s w e r e u p r o o te d , m i s c e l l a n e o u s tr a c k a g e was elim in a ted in a r e a s o f d e c lin in g t r a f f ic and t r a c k age w as e l i m i n a t e d in m an y fr e ig h t y a r d s m ade o b s o le t e by new y a r d s using m o r e au tom atic c a r c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s y s t e m s . 18 ( F o r a d e s c r i p t io n o f o p e r a tions in m o d e r n e l e c t r i c a l l y c o n t r o ll e d c a r c l a s s i f i c a t i o n y ards, see p. 21.) R e t i r e m e n t o f tr a c k a g e has a l s o b e e n a c c o m p l i s h e d by the i n c r e a s e d i n s ta lla tion o f C e n t r a l i z e d T r a f f i c C o n tr o l ( C T C ) . 19 With this s y s t e m , a single train d i s p a t c h e r , aided by r e m o t e c o n t r o l d e v i c e s and a continuing v ie w o f train m o v e m e n t s p r o v id e d b y an i l l u m i nated tr a c k d i a g r a m , is able to o p era te RAILROAD INDUSTRY 13 sig n als and sw itc h es w hich d i r e c t the m o v e m e n t o f train s o v e r hu n dreds o f m i l e s o f r a i lr o a d . The i m p r o v e d c o n t r o l o v e r train m o v e m e n t s p r o v id e d by C T C p e r m i t s c l o s e r spacin g o f train s and r e s u lt s in f e w e r d ela y s a r is in g out o f the m eetin g and p a s s in g o f tr a in s , thus i n c r e a s i n g the c a p a c it y o f s p e c i f i c t r a c k a r e a to handle tr a in s. M e c h a n iz a tio n w as the m o s t i m p o r tant f a c t o r in the sharp p o s tw a r r e duction in r o a d w a y m ain ten an ce e m p lo y m e n t. The use of r o a d w a y m a c h in es f o r r a i lr o a d t r a c k w o r k is not n e w - - m a n y e a r l y v e r s i o n s of m a c h in e s now in use w e r e d e v e lo p e d in the late tw en ties o r e a r l y t h i r t i e s - - b u t m a j o r ch an g es have b een m ade sin ce the end o f W o r ld W ar II. Substantial in v e s t m en t in r o a d w a y eq u ip m en t20 has p r o v id e d m a c h i n e s which r e p l a c e m a n p o w e r in p r a c t i c a l l y all l a b o r - in t e n s iv e a r e a s of r o a d w a y upkeep. nIncluded in the equ ipm en t of a m o d e r n tr a c k gang are m a c h in e s to pull and r e p la c e t i e s , d r iv e s p ik e s ; gather up and c le a n tr a c k b a lla s t, r e tu r n it to the tr a c k ; and tamp it f i r m l y to p r o v i d e a s m o o t h - r i d i n g su rface. S t i l l oth er m a c h in e s sp r a y c h e m i c a l s f o r the c o n t r o l o f v eg eta tion a l o n g the r i g h t - o f - w a y , and use the s c i e n c e o f e l e c t r o n i c s to i n s p e c t and d e te c t flaw s in r a i l s b e f o r e they can b r e a k a n d cau se a n a c c i d e n t . " 21 M o t o r v e h i c l e s are being u sed i n c r e a s in g ly to c a r r y m a i n t e n a n c e c r e w s , equ ip m en t, and m a c h in e s on h ighw ays f r o m one tr a c k l o c a t i o n to an oth er, a l t h o u g h r a i l m o t o r c a r s are still w id e ly u sed . When r a il v e h i c l e s are u sed , d e l a y s ar e f r e q u e n t b e c a u s e 2 0Net~investment in roadway machines by Class I line-haul railroads increased from $ 6 2 .5 million at yearend, 1947, to $200.5 million at yearend, I960 (current dollars). Transport Statistics in the United States, op. cit. , 1947, 1960, table 138. 21 Curtis D. Buford, Vice President, Oper ations and Maintenance Department, Associa tion of American Railroads, "New Concepts in Railroading," address before the Annual Transportation and Logistics Forum, Nation al Defense Transportation Association, Den ver, Colo. , Sept. 19, 1961. 22 "Now Most Maintenance Operations Are Mechanized," R a i l w a y Age (Centennial Is sue), Sept. 19517] ppl 230-234o 2 ,1Revolution on the Steel Highway, " Mod3 ern Railroads, Chicago, May 1959, p. 79. 14 t r a c k s m u st be c l e a r e d f o r o n c om in g tr a in s. O f f - t r a c k e a r t h - m o v in g e q u ip m en t such as b u l l d o z e r s , graders, p o w e r s h o v e l s , and c r a n e s have b e c o m e i n c r e a s i n g l y a v ailable f o r ditching or o t h e r e x c a v a t io n o r f ill w o r k . The rapid s p r e a d o f r a d io c o m m u n ic a t io n e n a b les s u p e r v i s o r s qu ic k ly to c h e c k w i t h f o r e m e n on w o r k p r o g r e s s , a n d m i n i m i z e s d ela y s in tr a c k w o r k b y keeping c r e w s p o s te d on the lo c a t io n o f m o v in g tr a in s. The e f f e c t o f m e c h a n iz a tio n on r o a d w ay e m p lo y m e n t has a c c e l e r a t e d since the end o f W o r 1 d W a r II. Although s i n g le - p u r p o s e m a c h in e s u sed e a r l y in the p o s t w a r p e r i o d m a d e p o s s i b l e f a s t e r - t h a n - m a n u a 1 o p e r a tio n a n d g r e a t ly r e d u c e d human e f f o r t , i m p r o v e m en ts in m a c h i n e s , the in trod u ction o f m u ltip u r p o s e m a c h i n e s , and the in c r e a s i n g e f f i c i e n c y o f m ach in e o p e r a to r s p e r m it t e d even g r e a t e r l a b o r savin gs in ro a d w a y m ain ten an ce w o r k . C e r ta in o p e r a t i o n s , such as taking out and in se r tin g ties and r a is in g , tam ping, and lining tr a c k , when p e r f o r m e d m a n u ally, c o m m o n l y r e q u ir e d gangs o f 100 m en and, at t i m e s , as m an y as 300. Today*s m e c h a n iz e d w o r k g an gs, c o m bined f o r p r o d u c t io n - l in e handling o f these o p e r a t i o n s , m a y num ber b etw een 2 5 and 35 m en m aking use of 8 to 11 p o w e r m a c h i n e s . 22 "O ne r a i lr o a d found that a single m u ltip u r p o se m a chine o p e r a te d by 1 m an , cou ld r e p l a c e 6 s i n g le - p u r p o s e m a c h in e s and e l i m inate about 15 t r a c k m e n . " 23 In addition to its im p a c t on the n u m b e r o f e m p l o y e e s in roadw ay m a i n t e n an ce, m e c h a n iz a tio n has changed the c h a r a c t e r o f e m p lo y m e n t in such o p e r ations by stim ulating the r e o r g a n iz a t i o n and m o r e e f f i c i e n t u tiliz a tion o f the r o a d w a y w ork f o r c e . B e f o r e the use o f m a c h in e s a n d e q u i p m e n t b e c a m e w i d e s p r e a d , tr a c k and r o a d w a y upkeep was p e r f o r m e d by the s e c tio n gang or c r e w , fr e q u e n tly n u m berin g 30 o r m o r e m en . S u c h a g r o u p , equipped with m an u ally a n d p n e u m a tic a lly op e r a te d hand t o o l s , had full r e s p o n s i b il i t y fo r a lim ite d a r e a o f roa d w a y . E x tra gangs w e r e e m p lo y e d f o r h ea v y r o a d w a y c o n s t r u c t i o n and r e p a i r j o b s , such as m a j o r r a i l - and t i e - la y i n g o r r e p l a c e - EMPLOYMENT AND CHANGING OCCUPATIONAL PATTERNS C O U R TE S Y O F ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN RAILROADS AND WESTERN M A R Y LAN D RAILWAY The size of roadway maintenance crews has been reduced sharply with the widespread use of specialized equipment. m en t and su r fa c in g o r r e s u r f a c i n g la rg e se c tio n s o f roadw ay . With m e c h a n i zation, the trend has been to use s p e c i a li z e d gangs in r o a d w a y m ain ten an ce. L a r g e gangs m a y op e r a te o v e r an e n tire r a i lr o a d o r a v e r y la r g e se c tio n o f tr a c k . One grou p m a y r e p la c e t ie s , relin e r a il, and r e s u r f a c e tr a c k , while o th ers p e r f o r m ditching o p e r a tio n s at the sides of the r o a d b e d , o r weld ra il and lay w elded r a i l. S m a lle r " f lo a tin g " m e c h a n iz e d gangs of 8 to 12 m e n a s signed to r a i lr o a d d iv is io n s o r su bd ivis i o n s do n e c e s s a r y m ain ten an ce b e tween m a jo r r o a d w a y r e n e w a ls , such as tamping low spots in the r oa d b ed , r e lining r a i l, and r e p a ir in g (welding) r a il j o i n t s o r o t h e r w orn ra il s u r f a c e s . "F lo a t in g " gangs m a y be supplem ented by p a tro l gangs o f two to fou r m en who i n s p e c t r a i l s , t i e s , a n d roadbed, tighten r a il b o l t s , and p e r f o r m other m i s c e l la n e o u s light w o r k . The ch an g ing s tru ctu re of r o a d w a y m aintenance e m p lo y m e n t, p a r t i c u l a r l y as r e f l e c t e d in the sharp d e c lin e o f s e c tio n w o r k e r s and the rapid grow th of p orta b le e q u ip m en t o p e r a t o r s , is shown in the f o l l o w ing tabulation: ICC Div. No. Employment Occupation 1947-55 1955-60 7 8 ,3 5 5 -6 2 -3 1 -4 5 1 9,658 84. 585 1 0 ,7 8 4 3 8 ,2 4 8 -5 6 -6 9 -2 0 -3 2 -4 5 -5 5 4, 095 4 7 ,6 6 3 2, 912 28 ,7 4 3 3, 152 1 8 ,467 -2 3 -61 -2 9 -4 0 + 8 -3 6 41 35 36 4, 880 6, 291 7, 182 +47 +29 + 14 687 1, 844 738 418 381 141 -4 5 -9 2 + 7 -7 7 37 -4 8 -6 6 1955 T o t a l ........................................... 40 42 38 Percent change 1947-60 1947 2 0 7 ,4 3 9 1 4 3,345 Gang or section forem en . Section g a n gm e n ................... Gang foremen (extra and work t r a i n ) ........................ E xtra g a n g m e n ................... Portable equipment operators ............................. Portable equipment operator h e lp e r s. . . . Pump equipment operators. 24, 603 123,667 1960 The p r o p o s i t io n that m e c h a n iz a tio n has a l s o a ffe c te d the c h a r a c t e r o f r o a d w a y m ain ten an ce e m p lo y m e n t by up grading the a v e r a g e sk ill l e v e l in these jo b s is " w i d e l y r e c o g n i z e d " a c c o r d i n g to a defin itive study o f mainte n a n c e - o f way e m p l o y m e n t . 2 4 The study points to the g r e a t e r tim e needed by untrained w o r k e r s to le a r n roa d w a y m aintenance j o b s r e q u ir in g o p e r a tio n o f m a c h in e s and equ ipm en t. E v i d e n c e of h igh er sk ill r e q u i r e m e n t s is a l s o cite d in t e r m s o f the la r g e i n c r e a s e b e t w e e n 1948 and 1955 in the n u m ber o f port able equ ipm en t o p e r a t o r s i n r oadw ay m aintenance w o r k . Although the r oa d w a y m aintenance w o r k f o r c e was cut d r a s t i c a l l y , c o n t i nuity o f e m p lo y m e n t i m p r o v e d fo r those who r e m a in e d , p a r tly r e f l e c t i n g r a i l roa d e f f o r t s to m a x i m iz e the use o f e x p e n s iv e c a p i t a l e q u i p m e n t . For e x a m p le , the a v e r a g e m onths o f s e r v i c e o f e x tr a g an gm en , w h ose e m p lo y m e n t is p a r t i c u l a r ly e r r a tic , r o s e f r o m about 4.6 months in 1947 to 6.4 m onths in 1959. 2 5 * 2 4 W i l l i a m Haber, et al, Maintenance of Way Employment on U. S. Railroads. 1957, p. 52. 2 5Annual Report, Railroad R e t i r e m e n t Board, 1949, Table E -5 , p. 244; 1959 data computed from Compensation and Service of Railroad Employees, S t a t i s t i c a l Tables, 1959, U. S. Railroad Retirement Board, 1961, p. 7 5. A month of service is defined by the Board as any calendar month in which an em ployee has earnings, no matter how little, creditable under the Railroad R e t i r e m e n t Act. RAILROAD INDUSTRY 15 B etw een 1954 and 1959, the p r o p o r t io n o f e x tr a gan gm en who w o r k e d 9 m onths o r m o r e in a y e a r r o s e f r o m 25 p e r cen t to 38 p e r c e n t . 26 Average c o m pen sated m a n - h o u r s f o r these w o r k e r s i n c r e a s e d f r o m 1, 637 in 1947, with a 4 8 - h o u r w o r k w e e k , to 1,840 in I 9 6 0 , 27 despite a re d u c tio n in the w o r k w e e k to 40 h o u r s . S tr u c tu r e s m a in te n a n c e . E m p l o y e e s engaged in m aintaining b r i d g e s , b u ild in g s , tunnels, t o w e r s , and other r a i l r oa d s t r u c t u r e s , constitute another m a j o r group o f r a i lr o a d m aintenance e m p loy ees. C o n tr a c tio n o f the r a i lr o a d p l a n t that a c c o m p a n ie d im p r o v e m e n t s in m eth od s and e q u i p m e n t and the abandonment o f s t a t i o n s l a r g e l y a c counted f o r this g r o u p s sharp e m p l o y m en t d e c l i n e , as shown in the follow in g tabulation: ICC Div. No. Per cent chang Employment Occupation 30 31 32 33 34 39 43 1947-55 1955-60 19,068 -4 4 - 13 -3 6 3 ,8 1 8 11, 754 819 2, 066 2, 695 7, 144 585 915 -33 -4 8 -3 9 -5 6 - 5 -1 5 -1 5 - 1 -2 9 -39 -2 9 -5 6 1,996 2, 554 2, 750 + 38 + 28 + 8 7,4 9 0 T o t a l ............................ 29 1947-60 6, 300 3, 675 -51 - 16 -4 2 1947 Gang foremen of skilled labor................... C a r p e n t e r s ........................ Ironworkers ........................ Painters................................. M asons, bricklayers, and plasterers* . . . Helpers and apprenGang foremen of la borers (bridge and building; signal and teleg ra p h )........................ Laborers (bridge and building; signal and teleg ra p h )........................ 1955 3 4,223 29,843 4 ,0 1 8 13,805 964 2,093 I960 142 90 -6 5 -3 2 -3 7 2, 390 258 1, 214 -6 6 -3 4 -4 9 S tr u c tu r e s m aintenance o p e r a tio n s and e m p lo y m e n t w e r e r e d u c e d in still oth er w a y s. I n c r e a s e d use was made o f b r i c k , ste e l, and oth er du rable m a t e r ia ls in c o n s tr u c tin g o r a lte r in g r a i l road s t r u c t u r e s , such as d i e s e l l o c o m otiv e sh op s, fr e ig h t d e p o ts , and o f fic e b u i l d i n g s . The d e v e lo p m e n t o f h i g h - c a p a c i t y e a r t h - m o v in g equ ipm en t m ade it e c o n o m i c a l to elim in a te m an y b r id g e t r e s t l e s w hich n eeded ex te n siv e r e n e w a l , by e a r t h - f i ll i n g d itc h e s o r s t r e a m s and using steel o r c o n c r e t e c u l v e r t pipe to c a r r y the w a ter through the f ill. The p r a c t i c e of r e i n f o r c i n g b r i d g e s to c a r r y the con sta n tly i n c r e a s ing weight o f l a r g e r and m o r e p o w e r ful steam l o c o m o t i v e s d e c lin e d with the w i d e s p r e a d use o f d i e s e l l o c o m o t i v e s . Jointed a e r i a l b o o m s m ounted on h ig h w ay tr u c k s r e d u c e d la b o r r e q u i r e m e n t s in v o lv e d in the e r e c t i o n o f b r id g e o r building s c a f f o l d s o r other r ig g in g . B r i d g e and b u i l d i n g c r e w s w e r e equipped with p o r ta b le e l e c t r i c g e n e r a t o r s and a ir c o m p r e s s o r s w hich en abled them to use p o r ta b le e l e c t r i c to o ls such as chain and c i r c u l a r saw s, d r i l l s , and g r i n d e r s , and p o r ta b le pn eu m atic t o o l s such as im p a c t w r e n c h e s , j a c k - h a m m e r s , a n d b olt-p u llers. E m p lo y m e n t o f i r o n w o r k e r s w as a ffe c te d by the in c r e a s i n g substitution o f w eld in g, b o l t ing, and oth er i m p r o v e d m eth od s in p la c e of r iv e tin g , f o r join in g s t r u c tu r a l 1 Includes unknown number of maintenance -• of-way w elders, 2 Includes unknown number of mainte nance- of-way welders' helpers. U n e c o n o m ic a l r a i l r o a d s tr u c tu r e s w e r e elim in a ted , to r e d u c e m a in te nance c o s t s and to save State or l o c a l p r o p e r t y ta x e s. M any p a s s e n g e r train s w e r e discon tin u ed and m an y p a s s e n g e r stations w e r e a b a n d o n e d . 28 M any sm a ll fr e ig h t stations w e r e c l o s e d , or c o n s o lid a te d to s e r v e l a r g e r a r e a s , 29 p a r tly b e c a u se i m p r o v e d highways p e r m itted sh ip p ers g r e a t e r a c c e s s i b i l i t y to m an y l o c a t io n s . With d i e s e liz a t io n , the n um ber of m a j o r equ ipm en t r e p a ir t e r m in a ls was r e d u c e d , fe w e r s tr u c tu r e s f o r l o c o m o t iv e m ain ten an ce w e r e r e q u ired , and the ex te n siv e f a c i li t i e s that p r o v id e d fuel and w a ter f o r steam l o c o m o t iv e s w e r e e lim in a te d . Many sm a ll train c o n t r o l t o w e r s w e r e elim in a ted as c e n t r a l i z e d traffic con trol system s w e r e applied to thousands o f m i l e s o f h e a v ily tr a v e le d r a i l r o u te s . 16 26Data for 1954 from W illiam H a b e r , et al, op. cit. , table 5 -l(e ), p. 135; 1959 data computed from Compensation and Service of Railroad Em ployees, ibid. 27 Transport Statistics in the United States, °P • c it ., 1947, 1960, table 69. Average manhours per year obtained by dividing annual compensated hours for extra gangmen by the a n n u a l average of " during-the-month" em ployme nt. 28A total of "1 ,2 4 4 /" p a s s e n g e r ^ t r a i n s were discontinued by State com m issions dur ing the years 1951-56, and 2 ,4 6 6 s t a t i o n s were abandoned in the same p e r io d ." Na tional Transportation P o l i c y , op. cit. ,~~p. 350. 29"F r o m L1955 to July 31, 1961, 160 /~ma.inly freightJ stations were closed by. .. ^ T h e Southern Pacific CompanyJ7 - - a b o u t 140 of them since Jan. 1 9 5 8 ." Report to the P r e s ident by the Emergency Board ( B o a r d No. 138L W a s h in g to n , D. C. , Sept. 15, 1961, p. EMPLOYMENT AND CHANGING OCCUPATIONAL PATTERNS m e m b e r s o f b r i d g e s and b u i l d i n g s . F e w e r p a i n t e r s w e r e needed as i m p r o v e d paints and sp r a y -p a in tin g e q u ip m en t d e c r e a s e d painting tim e and p r o v id ed lo n g e r la stin g , p r o t e c t i v e c o a t in gs. M a s o n s , b r i c k l a y e r s , and p l a s t e r e r s w e r e the o n l y o c c u p a tio n a l d i v i s i o n ( c l a s s i f i c a t io n ) to show i n c r e a s e d e m p loy m en t. T h e r i s e c a n b e traced p a r tly to the m o r e e x t e n s i v e us e of m a s o n r y as a substitute f o r w ood in r a i lr o a d s t r u c t u r e s , b u t it m a y a l s o r e f l e c t the in c lu s io n o f m a i n t e n a n c e - o f w ay w e l d e r s in this o c c u p a tio n a l c l a s s ific a tio n . 3 0 W e ld e r s have b e c o m e in c r e a s i n g l y im p o r ta n t in t r a c k laying and r e p a i r o p e r a t io n s . Signal and te le g r a p h . T h ese e m p l o y e e s constitute a third grou p o f m a in t e n a n c e - o f - w a y and s t r u c t u r e s e m p l o y e e s . E m p lo y m e n t d e c l i n e s in this g rou p w e r e m u ch l e s s s e v e r e than in other o c c u p a tio n a l g r o u p s in m a i n t e n a n c e - o f w ay and s tr u c tu r e s o p e r a t io n s . In fo u r o f the six signal and te le g r a p h c l a s s i f i c a tio n s , e m p lo y m e n t ac tu a lly s h o w e d m o d e r a te g a i n s until the m i d - 1950*s, but then d e c lin e d . E m p lo y m e n t in the l e s s - s k i l l e d a s s i s t a n t s and h e l p e r s c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s d e c lin e d throughout the 1947-60 p e r i o d , as shown in the f o l l o w ing tabulation: ICC Div. No. Occupation Employment -------------------------------------------------1947 1955 I960 T o t a l ........................................... 45 46 47 48 49 1 8 ,8 7 5 1 9,429 assistants and inspectors Gang forem en . . . . . . . Signalmen and signal m a in ta in e r s........................ Linemen and groundmen . A ssistant signalmen and signal maintainers . . . H elpers, signalmen, and signal maintainers . . . 1, 342 1,4 6 8 8 ,2 4 4 2, 232 2 ,4 4 7 2, 403 3, 142 2, 238 Percent change ------------------------------------------------1947-60 1947-55 1955-60 16 ,8 4 8 -1 1 + 3 -1 3 1, 547 1, 624 1, 551 1, 581 + 16 + 8 + 15 + 11 +( ) - 3 8, 754 2, 863 7 ,8 8 9 2, 462 - 4 + 10 + 6 +28 -1 0 - 14 1, 776 -2 7 - 2 -2 6 1, 589 -4 9 -2 9 -2 9 1 L e ss than 1 percent. G rou p e m p lo y m e n t data fo r s ig n a l m e n and signal m a in ta in e r s and th eir a s s i s t a n t s and h e l p e r s in dicate d e c r e a s e s in e m p lo y m e n t b e t w e e n 1947 and I960. T h ese data, h o w e v e r , a p p a r en tly m a s k d i v e r g e n t tren d s within th ese g r o u p s . E m p lo y m e n t o f sig n a lm e n - - t h o s e engaged in in stallin g r a i l r o a d signals and c o n t r o l d e v i c e s - - p r o b a b ly i n c r e a s e d through the m i d - 1950*s and then ta p ered o ff, l a r g e l y b e c a u s e o f the g r e a t e r grow th in C T C s y s t e m s during the e a r l i e r y e a r s o f the 1947-60 period. T h e ir e m p lo y m e n t w a s a ls o f a v o r a b l y a ffe c t e d b y i n c r e a s e d in s ta l lation o f au tom atic light s ig n a ls , g a te s, and oth er warning d e v i c e s at highway c r o s s i n g s , and o f e l e c t r o n i c c o n t r o l equ ipm en t in m a j o r fr e ig h t y a r d s , which p e r m i t m o r e a u tom a tic and s p e e d ie r c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f fr e ig h t c a r s . 31 * The n u m b er o f signal m a in t a in e r s , on the oth er hand, p r o b a b ly d e c r e a s e d o v e r the en tire 1 9 47-60 p e r i o d . E lim ination o f m a n y m i l e s o f se c o n d a n d oth er m a in tr a c k s through in stalla tion o f C T C led to the e lim in a tio n o f s i g nals w h ich c o n t r o ll e d m o v e m e n t o v e r these t r a c k s and to e lim in a tio n o f i n t e r l o c k i n g s 32 at the o c c a s i o n a l ju n ction s o f two o r m o r e p a r a l l e l m a in t r a c k s . With the e x p a n s i o n o f C TC a n d the abandonm ent o f b r a n c h lin e s , the n um b e r o f m i l e s o f tr a c k ( p r i m a r i l y single tr a c k ) c o n t r o ll e d by n onautom atic b lo c k sig n als w as r e d u c e d c o n s i d e r a b l y . In addition, there was a g r o w in g use o f e l e c t r i c a l l y actuated sw itc h e s and s i g n a ls, u s i n g r e l a t i v e l y few m o v in g p a r t s , and a sharp r e d u c t i o n in the n u m b er o f m e c h a n i c a l sw itch and s i g nal c o n t r o l s w h ich had c o m p l i c a t e d linkage r e q u ir in g m u ch g r e a t e r m a in te nan ce. The n u m ber o f lin e m e n and grou n d m en r o s e o v e r the p o s t w a r p e r i o d as a w h ole. T h e s e m e n , who string and l a y p o w e r c a b le and c o m m u n ic a tio n s lin e s at and betw een r a i lr o a d t e r m i n als, sh op s, p o w e r - g e n e r a t i n g a n d switching sta tion s, and other r a i lr o a d f a c i l i t i e s , w e r e needed f o r new in s ta l lations and m o d i f i c a t io n s o f e x i s t i n g on es as r a i l r o a d s m o d e r n i z e d their plant a n d o p e r a t io n s . F o r e x a m p le , 3 ° ^ u l e s Governing the Classification of Railroad Employees, etc. , op cit. , p. 21. 31 According to > tabulation, 32 electron 1 ically controlled freight classification yards were in service between 1949 and 1959 and 2 others were slated to be put into service by 1960. See Frank E. Shaffer, "Rundown on Autom ation," Trains Magazine, March 1961, pp. 2 2 -2 3 . 3 2An interlocking is a complex of switches and signals g o v e r n i n g the movement over switches arranged to avoid conflicting train moveme nts. RAILROAD INDUSTRY 17 th ere w as w i d e s p r e a d c o n s o lid a tio n o f equ ipm en t m ain ten an ce f a c i l i t i e s a n d in sta lla tion of v a r io u s t y p e s o f c o m m u n ica tion s e q u i p m e n t . In r e c e n t y e a r s , h o w e v e r , e m p lo y m e n t o f l i n e m en and g rou n d m en has been d eclin in g with the c o n t r a c t i o n of r a i lr o a d plant a n d i m p r o v e m e n t s in te c h n o lo g y . E x a m p le s o f such t e c h n o l o g i c a l d e v e l opm en ts a re nc a r r i e r n equ ipm en t which p e r m i t s the sending of m an y m e s s a g e s o v e r a s i n g l e w i r e , the a e r i a l b o o m which fa c ilita te s w o r k on o v e r h e a d c o n s tr u c tio n , the t r u c k -m o u n te d p o w e r au ger w hich sp eed s the digging of h o le s f o r line p o l e s , and m i c r o w a v e r a d i o t r a n s m i s s i o n equ ipm en t w hich d i s p la c e s telep h on e, te le g r a p h , c o m m u n ic a tio n s and oth er w ir ed system s. Transportation Employees (Other Than Train, Engine, and Yard) The n u m ber o f e m p l o y e e s at f r e ig h t and p a s s e n g e r t e r m i n a ls , train c o n t r o l and c o m m u n ic a t io n c e n t e r s , signal c o n tr o l t o w e r s along the r i g h t - o f - w a y , and a b o a r d dining and p a r l o r c a r s o f p a s se n g e r tra in s d e c lin e d f r o m 172, 000 to 9 1 , 0 0 0 - - o r 47 p e r c e n t - - b e t w e e n 1947 and i9 6 0 . M o r e than h a lf of the r e d u c tion in this group o c c u r r e d am on g r a i l r oa d e m p l o y e e s who load and u n l o a d c a r s and w e ig h , c h e c k , a n d i n s p e c t f r e i g h t at f r e ig h t sta tion s, a n d who o p e r a te b a r g e s , f e r r i e s , and tugboats. E m p l o y m e n t r e d u c tio n s am ong e m p l o y e e s at f r e ig h t stations and aboard v e s s e l s are shown in the follow in g tab ulation: ICC Div. No. Occupation Employment ------------------------------------------------1955 1960 1947 4 3 ,0 1 3 89, 643 5 9 ,8 8 5 2, 288 T o t a l ................................................ 78 2, 164 1,9 7 0 4, 957 4, 350 3, 225 14, 100 13,067 10,738 Percent change ------------------------------------1947-60 1947-55 1955-60 -5 2 -3 3 -2 8 -1 4 - - 9 -3 5 -1 2 -2 6 -2 4 - 7 -1 8 Station agents (supervisory, Station agents (nonteleg raphers, sm aller stations) 1 .................................. 80 Station agents (telegraphers and telephoners)1 . . . . . 8 8 -89 General forem en and assistants (freight stations, warehouses, docks, and grain e l e v a t o r s ) ............................. 90 Gang forem en (freight stations, etc. ) ................... 'C alle rs, loaders, sca lers, 91 and perishable-freight inspectors.................................. 92 Truckers (stations, ware houses, platform s) . . . 9 3 -9 4 Laborers (coal and ore docks, stations, ware houses, platform s, and grain e le v a to r s )................... 98 O fficers, workers and attendants on barges, fe r rie s , towing v e s s e ls , etc................................................. 5 79 587 578 471 -2 0 - 2 -1 9 3, 027 2, 798 2, 196 -2 7 - 8 -2 2 1 7 ,375 12 ,7 4 2 9, 139 -4 7 -2 7 -2 8 34, 009 12,997 7, 018 -7 9 -6 2 -4 6 6, 906 6, 033 4, 764 -31 -1 3 -21 6, 394 5, 156 3 ,4 9 2 -4 5 -1 9 -3 2 1 Includes some station agents at passenger stations lion tons in 1947 to 3. 2 m i ll i o n tons in I 9 6 0 ),33 and the c o n s i d e r a b l e shift in handling of m a il to co m p e tin g m o d e s o f tr a n sp o r ta tio n . Substantially r e d u c e d n u m b e r s o f t r u c k e r s , l o a d e r s , c h e c k e r s , and oth er e m p l o y e e s at f r e ig h t t e r m in a ls a l s o r e fle c t e d such d e v e lo p m e n ts as the r e o r gan ization o f w o r k flo w ; the w id e s p r e a d use o f chain and belt c o n v e y o r s y s t e m s and lift tr u c k s and other p o w e r e d v e h i c l e s ; and the i n c r e a s i n g in stalla tion o f c o m m u n ic a t io n s equipm ent. The in tr o d u c tio n o f m e c h a n iz e d m a i l - s o r t i n g s y s t e m s in s o m e t e r m in a ls a ls o r e du ced e m p lo y m e n t n eed s. P e r s o n n e l who p r o v id e s e r v i c e s to r a i lr o a d p a s s e n g e r s a ls o s u ffe r e d s e v e r e r e d u c tio n s in e m p lo y m e n t, m a in ly b e c a u s e o f the steep drop in p o s tw a r r a i lr o a d p a s s e n g e r tr a v e l. Other r e a sons w e r e the in trod u ction of sn ack bar fo o d s e r v i c e on p a s s e n g e r train s and the in sta lla tion o f e l e c t r o n i c p a s s e n g e r r e s e r v a t i o n s y s t e m s on som e r o a d s . E m p lo y m e n t d e c lin e s w e r e e s p e c i a l l y la r g e f o r lau n dry w o r k e r s and fo r w a it e r s , c h e f s , s te w a r d s , and o th e r s w o r k ing on dining and p a r l o r c a r s , as shown in the fo llo w in g tabulation: ICC Div. No. Occupation T o t a l...................................... E m p lo y m e n t at s m a ll f r e ig h t t e r m in a ls f e l l and m an y te r m in a ls w e r e c l o s e d w i t h the d r a s t ic d ec lin e in l e s s - t h a n c a r l o a d fr e ig h t t r a f f i c ( f r o m 22. 6 m i l 33 Transport Statistics in the United States, op. cit. 7 1947," 1960, table 46. 84 8 5 -86 87 12 95 96 97 100-10 104 Employment Station m asters and a s s is t a n ts ............................. Supervising baggage agents and a s s is t a n ts ................... Baggage, parcel room, and station attendants . Ticket agents and a s s is t a n ts ............................. Stewards and dining car supervisors • • • . . . Chefs and cooks . . . . W a ite r s ........................ .... 1 Parlor car conductors and train attendants . . Laundry workers and fo rem e n .................................. 1 9 47-55 1955-60 27, 780 1 8 ,723 -5 0 -2 6 -3 3 430 408 296 -3 1 - 5 -2 7 483 496 3 56 -2 6 + 3 -2 8 9 ,0 3 5 9, 016 6, 080 -3 3 -(‘) -3 3 1, 274 1, 076 692 -4 6 -1 6 -3 6 1,857 5, 610 13 ,9 7 5 1, 366 3, 481 7, 875 880 2, 276 4 ,9 1 0 -5 3 - 59 -6 5 -2 6 - 38 -4 4 -3 6 - 35 -3 8 4, 422 3, 596 2 ,9 7 9 -3 3 -1 9 -1 7 623 466 254 -6 0 -2 6 -4 5 1955 1 L ess than 1 percent. 18 Percent chang e 3 7 ,7 1 4 1947 EMPLOYMENT AND CHANGING OCCUPATIONAL PATTERNS I960 1947-60 C O U R T E S Y O F NEW YO R K CENTRAL SYSTEM One train dispatcher, operating a centralized traffic control board, guides the movement of trains over many miles of railroad. The te l e g r a p h e r s (oth er than c h ie f te l e g r a p h e r s ) , te l e p h o n e r s , t o w e r m e n , d is p a t c h e r s , and oth er w o r k e r s directlyengaged in c o n r o ll i n g train m o v e m e n ts and handling c o m m u n ic a t io n s at and b e tween te r m in a ls w e r e other n o n o p e r ating tr a n sp o r ta tio n e m p l o y e e s w h o s e n u m b e rs ICC d ecreased , Occupation shown Employment 1947 No. as 1955 b e lo w : Percent change 1960 1947-60 1 947-55 1955-60 T o t a l ........................................... 75 76 77 81 82 83 2 9 ,9 7 6 28, 557 2 2 ,5 7 7 -2 5 - 5 -2 1 Chief train dispatch ers. . Train dispatchers . . . . Train d i r e c t o r s ................... Chief telegraphers . . . . Clerk telegraphers and telephoners . . . . . . Telegraphers, tele phoners, and towermen* 994 3, 210 152 925 1, 094 3, 105 210 1, 111 997 2, 536 374 1, 156 +(*) -2 1 + 146 +2 5 + 10 - 3 +38 +20 - 9 -1 8 +78 + 4 10,029 9 ,0 5 3 6, 555 -3 5 -1 0 -2 8 14,666 14, 004 10,959 -2 5 - -2 2 5 to o p era te " a t - s i t e " c o n t r o ls . sw itch and signal The e x te n siv e in trod u ction of CTC had its g r e a t e s t e m p lo y m e n t im p a c t am on g t r a i n - c o n t r o l e m p l o y e e s with l o w e r l e v e l s o f r e s p o n s i b il i t y . Thus, the rate of e m p lo y m e n t d ec lin e am ong telegra p h ers, telephoners, tow erm en, and c l e r k t e l e g r a p h e r s , who make up the g r e a t m a j o r i t y of all t r a i n - c o n t r o l p e r s o n n e l , was sig n ific a n tly g r e a t e r than that f o r train d i s p a t c h e r s . In so m e in s ta n c e s , train d is p a t c h e r s w e r e a s s ig n e d to the handling of r e m o t e l y c o n t r o l l e d s w itc h e s and s i g n a l s , 34 1 L e s s than 1 percent. With the w id e s p r e a d in trod u ction of a u to m a tic a lly c o n t r o ll e d and of r e m o t e l y c o n t r o lle d sw itch es and sig n als (in cluding those r e m o t e l y c o n t r o ll e d under C T C s y s t e m s ) , fe w e r t r a i n - c o n t r o 1 w o r k e r s w e r e e m p l o y e d to p r o v id e w ritten o r d e r s to train p e r s o n n e l and 34" . . . t h e carrier /^Southern Pacific Com panyJ7 has consistently m a n n e d these CTC systems with train dispatchers and progres sively abolished telegrapher positions in CTC territory where trains no longer move under train o r d e r s ." Report to the President by the Emergency Board, op. cit. , p. 11. RAILROAD INDUSTRY 19 w h e r e a s under the d e c e n t r a l i z e d s y s te m d i s p l a c e d by C T C , t e le g r a p h e r s o r to w e r m e n c o n t r o ll e d s w i t c h - s i g n a l layou ts o r i s s u e d train o r d e r s under the d i r e c t i o n of d i s p a t c h e r s . A t r a i lr o a d c o m m u n ic a tio n s c e n t e r s , e m p lo y m e n t o f t e l e g r a p h e r s and t e le p h o n e r s d e c l i n e d b e c a u s e o f the e x panded use of im p r o v e d c o m m u n ic a tio n s equ ipm en t, such as teletype and c a r r i e r system s. On the oth er hand, there was an in c r e a s e in the n u m ber of c h ie f t e l e g r a p h e r s (w ir e c h i e f s ) , who s u p e r v is e a c t iv it ie s at c o m m u n ic a tio n s c e n t e r s . D i e s e l iz a t i o n and d e c l i n i n g train m i l e s w e r e oth er f a c t o r s in the dow n trend in train c o n t r o l e m p l o y m e n t . B e c a u s e h ig h e r p o w e r e d d i e s e l l o c o m o t i v e s p e r m itte d the hauling of lo n g e r , h e a v ie r train s without the need fo r h e l p e r en g in es , r e la te d train c o n t r o l activities w ere reduced. A lso, d ieselp o w e r e d train s did not need to stop f o r refu elin g o r f o r taking on w a te r , o r f o r setting and r e l e a s i n g retaining v a lv e s (a u x ilia r y b r a k i n g d e v i c e s ) on steep s l o p e s , " t h u s r ed u cin g the n u m ber o f train o r d e r s r e q u i r e d and per m ittin g the c lo s in g o f in te r m e d ia te te le g r a p h o f f i c e s which w e r e m aintained m a in ly f o r train o r d e r p u r p o s e s . " 35 D rastic r e d u c t i o n in t h e n u m b e r of m a ilc a r r y i n g train s and " e s t a b li s h m e n t b y the United States P o s t O ffice D e p a r t m en t o f a m e t r o p o lit a n d istrib u tion s y s te m , which brou gh t about e lim in a tio n o f in te r m e d ia te p a s s e n g e r train stops b e tween the c e n t r a l iz e d m a il d istr ib u tio n c e n t e r s , " r e s u lte d in the e lim in a tio n "at in te r m e d ia te stations [ o i j a n u m b er o f station duties o f t e l e g r a p h e r s . " 36 R e d u c tio n s in e m p lo y m e n t a l s o o c c u r r e d am on g e m p l o y e e s who g e n e r a ll y a s s i s t in the m o v e m e n t o f fr e ig h t and p a ssen g er traffic. ICC D No. 99 102 103 i Occupation v Employment Percent change ------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------------------------------1947 1955 I960 1 9 47-60 1 9 4 7 -5 5 1955-60 . Transportation and dining service inspectors . . . Bridge operators and h e l p e r s .................................. Crossing and bridge flagmen and gatemen . . 806 1 ,0 1 6 12, 996 778 666 -1 7 - 1, 049 939 - 8 + 3 3 -1 4 -1 0 8, 559 4 ,6 4 7 -6 4 -3 4 -4 6 The n u m ber o f c r o s s i n g and b r id g e f la g m e n (watchm en) a n d g a te m e n was c o n s i d e r a b l y r e d u c e d by w i d e s p r e a d in stallation o f autom atic g a te s , s i g n a l lig h ts, and oth er w a r n i n g d e v i c e s at highw ay c r o s s i n g s . F e w e r f la g m e n w e r e needed a l s o b e c a u s e o f the d r a s tic d e c lin e in the n u m b e r o f h igh w ay c r o s s i n g s without gates but with w a tc h m en p r o t e c t i o n . Train, Engine,and Yard Employees The d e c lin e in the n u m ber of o p e r ating e m p lo y e e s - - those engaged in train and engine s e r v i c e o v e r the road and at t e r m i n a l s - - w a s c l o s e l y linked not only to r e d u c tio n s in the n u m ber of p a s s e n g e r and fr e ig h t tr a in s , but a l s o to te c h n o l o g i c a l d e v e lo p m e n ts . The m o s t i m portan t d e v e lo p m e n t was the d i e s e l e l e c t r i c l o c o m o t i v e . In addition, f a s t e r m o v e m e n t and f e w e r d ela y s o f c a r s and tra in s r e s u lt e d f r o m b e tte r signal and c o n t r o l d e v i c e s , ex ten siv e use o f c o m m u n ication s eq u ip m en t, a n d i m p r o v e m en ts a ffe c tin g fr e ig h t c a r c o m p o n e n ts such as r o l l e r b e a r i n g s , b e a r in g l u b r i ca tion p a d s, and str u c tu r a l f r a m e w o r k . Report to the President by the Emergen cy Board, op. cit. , p. 12. 36 ibid. 20 D esp ite the fa c t that the engine c r e w (e n g in e e r and f i r e m a n ) and the tra in c r e w (c o n d u c to r and b ra k em a n ) g e n e r a lly w o r k tog eth er as an op e r a tin g unit, engine s e r v i c e e m p l o y e e s had a g r e a t e r r e la tiv e e m p lo y m e n t d e c lin e . ICC D No. Type of service i v . 111-120 Train service ....................... 121-128 Engine s e r v i c e ................... Employment Percent change ----------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------1947 1955 I960 1947-60 1947-55 1955-60 172,287 146,072 117, 733 8 9,469 124,540 7 4 ,982 -28 -3 6 -1 5 -2 4 -1 5 - 16 The d i s p a r it y m a y be t r a c e d to the rapid r e p l a c e m e n t o f the s te a m l o c o m o tiv e b y the d i e s e l . B e c a u s e o f its g r e a t e r pulling p o w e r , the d i e s e l cou ld m o r e e a s i l y get a train m o v in g a n d m o v e it m o r e e f f i c i e n t l y at low sp eed. In addition, a d i e s e l l o c o m o t i v e could be c o u p le d into m u ltip le units o p e r a te d f r o m a single c a b , w h e r e a s e a c h s tea m l o c o m o t i v e r e q u i r e d a sep arate engine EMPLOYMENT AND CHANGING OCCUPATIONAL PATTERNS c r e w . A s a r e s u lt o f these ad v a n ta g es, " p u s h e r e n g i n e s , " w h ich w e r e u s e d to a s s i s t stea m l o c o m o t i v e s in m o v in g h e a v y train s out o f t e r m i n a ls and up steep s l o p e s , w e r e s e l d o m n eed ed when d i e s e l - p o w e r e d l o c o m o t i v e s w e r e u sed on the head end o f the train . B ecause d i e s e l e n g i n e s co u ld be c o u p le d and o p e r a te d by a single engine c r e w , l o n g e r and h e a v i e r f r e i g h t tra in s w e r e m o r e e c o n o m i c a l to run c o m p a r e d with tra in s p o w e r e d by s te a m e n g in e s . Terminals M o r e than h a lf o f a ll op er a tin g e m p l o y e e s in I960 w e r e en g aged in o p e r ations at t e r m i n a l s - - " m a k i n g - u p " and " b r e a k i n g - u p " tr a i n s , t r a n s f e r r i n g c a r s f r o m one r a i l r o a d to a n oth er , a n d p la c in g and r e m o v in g c a r s a t in d u s t r i a l sidin gs and oth er t r a c k s u sed f o r loadin g and u nloading. A s m a ll p r o p o r tion o f these e m p l o y e e s handled the m o v e m e n t o f p a s s e n g e r equ ip m en t at t e r m i n a ls . A n oth er s m a ll g rou p ( h o s t l e r s ) m o v e d l o c o m o t i v e s around engine m ain ten an ce a r e a s and d e l i v e r e d l o c o m o t i v e s to engine c r e w s in y a r d s and at tra in d ep a r tu r e p o i n t s . E m p lo y m e n t o f all te r m i n a l op era tin g e m p l o y e e s has d e c r e a s e d , p a r t i c u l a r l y during the late 1950*s, as shown in the fo llo w in g tab ulation: ICC Occupation Employment No. Percent change 1947 105-106 Yard m asters and assistants . . . . . . Yard conductors and 119 fo rem en ............................. 120 Yard brakemen and h e lp e r s ............................. 124 Yard engineers and motormen . . . . . . 128 Yard firem en and h e lp e r s ............................. 107 S w itc h ten d e rs................... 1 0 8 -1 1 0 H ostlers and h e lp e rs. . I960 1947-60 1947-55 1955-60 133,981 T o t a l ...................................... 1955 1 2 4,089 1 1 0,206 -1 8 - 7 -1 1 6, 080 5, 889 3 (‘ ) - 3 2 0 ,7 3 9 1 8 ,918 - 9 (2) - 9 54, 783 51, 662 45, 434 -1 7 - 6 -1 2 1 9,918 . 6 ,0 9 8 20, 793 18, 279 15,803 -2 1 - 8 -1 4 2 1 ,3 7 4 3, 177 7 ,8 5 6 19,213 2 ,8 3 9 5, 259 17,969 1,9 7 6 4, 217 -1 6 -3 8 -4 6 -1 0 -1 1 -3 3 - 6 -3 0 -2 0 - 1 A plus quantity of le s s than 1 percent. 2 A minus quantity of le s s than 1 percent. The d e c lin e in e m p lo y m e n t am on g op er a tin g e m p l o y e e s at te r m i n a ls was g e n e r a ll y m u c h l e s s s e v e r e than am on g th ose in r o a d fr e ig h t and p a s s e n g e r s e r v i c e , in p a rt r e s u l t i n g f r o m the n e g otia tion in 1952 o f a b a s i c 4 0 -h o u r w o r k w e e k f o r yard o p e r a t i n g e m ployees. Although a c c e p ta n c e o f t h e a g r e e m e n t was option al, by I960 it c o v e r e d m o s t te r m in a l op era tin g e m p loy ees. A n oth er f a c t o r t h a t c o n t r i buted to the l e s s e r e m p lo y m e n t d e c l i n e s am on g y ard o p e r a tin g p e r s o n n e l is the " s t a n d - b y " c h a r a c t e r o f s om e t e r m in a l work. While l a b o r r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r s o m e t e r m in a l o p e r a t i o n s , such as c a r c l a s s i f i c a t i o n , can be a p p r o x im a te d on the b a s is o f p a s t e x p e r i e n c e , e m p l o y m en t a llo w a n c e s m u s t be m ade at t e r m in a ls f o r the l e s s p r e d ic t a b l e d em a n d s o f s h i p p e r s f o r s e r v i c e s and f o r the e a r l y o r late a r r i v a l o f fr e ig h t tr a in s . In c o n t r a s t , m o s t r o a d c r e w s w o r k o r a r e c a l le d f o r w o r k on ly when s c h e d u le s dictate o r it is known that train s w ill be r e a d y to r o l l . D e c lin in g tra in m o v e m e n t , p a r t i c u l a r l y p a s s e n g e r , c a u s e d a r e d u c tio n in te r m in a l e m p lo y m e n t g e n e r a ll y . T e c h n o l o g i c a l c h a n g e s , to o , had w i d e s p r e a d e f f e c t s on te r m in a l e m p lo y m e n t , but som e d e v e l o p m e n t s p a r t i c u l a r ly affected certain y a r d o ccu p a tio n s. F o r e x a m p l e , the in sta lla tion o f r a d io equ ip m en t in y a r d o f f i c e s and on l o c o m o t i v e s a f f e c t e d y a rd op eratin g e m p lo y m e n t g e n e r a ll y by p e r m ittin g c o n tinuous c o m m u n ic a t io n b e t w e e n y ard m a s t e r s and sw itch in g c r e w s . On the oth er hand, the u se o f au tom atic d e v i c e s in f r e ig h t c a r c l a s s i f i c a t i o n y a r d s to sp eed o p e r a tio n s and r e d u c e c o s t s r e d u c e d e m p lo y m e n t o f y a r d l a b o r in g e n e r a l, but had m u c h g r e a t e r i m p a c t on b r a k e m e n (sw itc h m e n ) a n d s w itc h tenders. In the m o d e r n , huge c a r c l a s s i f i c a tion y a r d w hich h an dles g r e a t t r a f f i c v o lu m e , str in g s o f c a r s a r e pushed to t h e l i p o f a d e c l i n i n g s lo p e , " c u t " (sep a r a ted ) a c c o r d i n g to d estin ation , and p e r m itte d to r o l l down to one tr a c k in the c l a s s i f i c a t i o n y a r d . In the p a s t, brakem en ( s w i t c h m e n ) rode t h e s e " c u t s " o f c a r s and c o n t r o l l e d th eir sp eed by tightening o r l o o s e n in g han d brakes. S w itch ten d ers stationed along the " l e a d " tr a c k threw s w itc h e s w h ich d iv e r te d c a r s to a p p r o p r ia te c l a s s i f i c a tion t r a c k s . The a p p lic a tio n o f c o n t r o l s - - f i r s t r e m o t e , then a u t o m a t i c - to r e t a r d the speed o f c a r s and to throw s w itc h e s e lim in a te d the need f o r b r a k e m e n and sw itc h te n d e r s f o r this type o f w ork. T od a y, in a m o d e r n c a r c l a s s ific a t io n y a r d , the en tire o p e r a tio n is m o n it o r e d b y an o p e r a t o r seated at a c o n t r o l p an el. The o p e r a t o r , m e r e l y RAILROAD INDUSTRY 21 C O U R T E S Y O F NEW Y O R K C E N T R A L SYSTEM AND SO UTH ER N P A C IF I C CO. In many large freight car classification yards, most hand braking of freight cars has been eliminated by automatically and remotely controlled car retarding systems. b y pushing a button on the pan el, a c tu ates this s y s t e m which automatically* c o n t r o l s the r e t a r d e r s and s w itc h e s to c l a s s i f y all c a r s in an en tire train . The d e v e lo p m e n t of such c o n t r o ls has b e e n a n e v o lu tio n a r y p r o c e s s - - e a r l y re ta r d in g equ ipm en t dates b a c k to the m i d - t w e n t i e s - - b u t i m p r o v e m e n t s have a c c e l e r a t e d r a p id ly during the p o s tw a r p e r i o d and such c o n t r o l equ ipm en t h as b e e n w id e ly adopted. A c c o r d i n g to one a s s e s s m e n t of the e m p lo y m e n t e f f e c t o f r e m o t e and au tom atic c o n t r o l s in c a r c l a s s i f i c a t i o n y a r d s , such equ ipm en t " h a s cut o p era tin g m a n p o w e r r e q u i r e m en ts f r o m an a v e r a g e of 18 o r 20 c r e w s o f fo u r to eight m e n , to 1 c r e w o f five m e n o r l e s s . 37 Road Freight Service Only 3 out o f e v e r y 5 o p e r a t i n g e m p l o y e e s in r o a d fr e ig h t s e r v i c e in 1947 w e r e so e m p lo y e d in 1960. 3 7Arthur B. Shenefelt, "Automation on the R a ilro a d s," p. 7, reprinted f r o m a series published in the Journal of Com m erce, New York, April and May 1957. 22 ICC Occupation Employment Percent change 1955 I960 T o t a l ............................ 94, 256 79, 157 -3 9 -2 8 16,007 13,734 -3 4 -2 4 -1 4 117-118 Road freight conductors . Road freight 39,293 33, 379 -3 5 -2 3 -1 5 122-123 Road freight 18,898 15, 573 -4 4 -3 2 -1 8 126-127 Road freight firemen (helpers) . . . 2 0 ,058 16,471 -4 6 -3 4 -1 8 1947 No. 113-114 . . . . . . . . 51, 105 . . 3 0,410 1947-60 1947-55 1955-60 -1 6 F e w e r fr e ig h t train s w e r e o p e r a te d b e c a u s e o f g r e a t ly i n c r e a s e d t r a i n length and h ig h e r a v e r a g e tons p e r c a r o f c a r l o a d r e v e n u e fr e ig h t. Total fr e ig h t train m i l e s (revenu e and non r e v e n u e ), and t r a i n m i l e s f o r w o r k train s d e c lin e d sh arp ly . A m o n g d e v e l op m en ts w hich helped to elim in a te train d e la y s and oth e r w ise i m p r o v e train o p e r a tio n s w e r e the v a s t p o s tw a r ex p a n sion o f C T C ; the in trod u ction o f ra d io c o m m u n ic a t io n betw een l o c o m o t i v e , caboose, and train control person nel; and the in c r e a s i n g use of d e te c tio n d e v i c e s to c a l l attention to hot b e a r in g s and dra g g in g e q u i p m e n t on c a r s tra in s en rou te. EMPLOYMENT AND CHANGING OCCUPATIONAL PATTERNS of ICC Div. No. Road Passenger Service 1947-60 1947-55 1955-60 1947 T o t a l ....................... Only about h a lf as m an y o p era tin g e m p l o y e e s w e r e en gaged in p a s s e n g e r s e r v i c e in I960 as in 1947, p r i m a r i l y as a r e s u lt o f the 50 p e r c e n t d ec lin e in the n u m ber of p a s s e n g e r - t r a i n m i l e s . The d e c lin e s in e m p lo y m e n t o f these w o r k e r s are s h o w n in the fo llo w in g tabulation: Per cent change Employme nt Occupation . . . Road passenger conductor s ................... A ssistant passenger 112 conductors and ticket collectors . . . 115-116 Road passenger brakemen and baggagemen . . . . . Road passenger 121 engineers . . . . . . 125 Road passenger firemen (helpers) . . 1955 I960 42 ,8 5 0 31, 392 22,241 -48 -2 7 7, 678 5, 686 4, 082 -4 7 -2 6 -28 3 ,379 2, 784 2,283 -3 2 -1 8 -1 8 Ill -29 9,901 6, 710 -51 -2 7 -3 2 9, 534 6,8 4 9 4, 841 -4 9 -2 8 -29 8,6 6 3 6, 172 4. 325 -5 0 -2 9 -3 0 W hite-Collar Employees A m on g m a j o r w h i t e - c o l l a r g r o u p s , only the c l e r i c a l g rou p had a p r o p o r tion ately la r g e r e d u c t i o n in e m p l o y m ent. The p e r c e n ta g e d eclin e am on g p r o f e s s i o n a l s , s u b p r o f e s s i o n a l s , a g en ts, s t o r e k e e p e r s , a n d b u y e r s fe ll m o d e r a tely , and t h e r e was slight o v e r a 11 change in the e m p l o y m e n t o f e x e c u ti v e s , o f f i c i a l s , a n d staff a s s is ta n ts . was m u ch g r e a t e r than f o r s u p e r v i s o r s and the m o r e sk illed c l e r i c a l p e r s o n nel, as the follo w in g tabulation sh ow s: ICC Div. No. 4 -5 9 7 10 14 Supervisory cle rk s, chief clerks, and assistants . Stenographers and secretaries (A) . . . . Mechanical device operators ............................. Clerks (B and C) . . . . Stenographers and typists (B) . . . . . . Switchboard operators and office assistants . . . . Per cent change Employment 1947-55 1955-60 162,701 138,140 1 1 1 ,229 -3 2 -1 5 -1 9 14, 340 14,320 1 3 ,455 - 6 -(*) - 6 3, 950 3 ,9 9 5 3, 767 - 5 + 1 - 6 8 ,4 5 1 1 1 4,947 8, 232 9 4 ,1 9 2 7, 047 7 3 ,8 0 5 -1 7 -3 6 - 3 -1 8 -1 4 -2 2 16, 183 1 3 ,704 10, 394 -3 6 -1 5 -2 4 4, 830 3, 697 2, 761 -4 3 -2 3 -2 5 1947 T o t a l ........................................... 8 Clerical Personnel Occupation 1955 I960 1947-60 1 Leiss than 1 percent. The flow and stora g e o f in fo r m a tio n on r a i lr o a d s p r e s e n t a p a r t i c u l a r ly c o m p l e x p r o b l e m b e c a u s e o f the e x te n sive g e o g r a p h ic a l a r e a s o v e r w hich m o s t c a r r i e r s o p e r a te . M any d iffe r e n t kinds of r e p o r t s , c o r r e s p o n d e n c e , and r e c o r d s a re p r e p a r e d in c o n n e c t i o n with the b oa rd in g and alighting o f p a s s e n g e r s , l o a d i n g and u n l o a d i n g of f r e i g h t c a r s , i n t e r c h a n g e of cars betw een c a r r i e r s , and a r r i v a l and d e p a rtu re of trains at points all o v e r the country. A l s o , v olu m in ou s internal a ccou n ts and r e c o r d s , such as p a y r o l l , p u r c h a sin g and in v e n to r y a c c o u n t s , and equ ipm en t p e r f o r m a n c e r e c o r d s m u s t be kept up to date. C on c en tr a tion s o f c l e r i c a l p e r s o n n e l a r e found in the g e n e r a l o f f i c e s o f r a i l r o a d s , but su bstan tial n u m b er s w o r k in t h o u s a n d s o f fr e ig h t stations and in d iv is io n o f f i c e s , p a s s e n g e r t e r m i n a ls , f r e ig h t y a r d s , and o f f i c e s and p a r ts s t o r e r o o m s o f r a i l roa d m aintenance sh op s. C l e r i c a l e m p lo y m e n t f e l l about a third b etw een 1947 and I960. H o w e v e r , the d r op in the n u m b er o f c l e r k s , s te n o g r a p h e r s , t y p is ts , a n d o t h e r e m p l o y e e s en gaged in routine o p era tion s The d r o p in c l e r i c a l e m p lo y m e n t w a s d u e to v a r i o u s c a u s e s . For e x a m p le , m an y p a s s e n g e r and fr e ig h t stations w e r e e l i m i n a t e d . C le rica l r o l l s w e r e a l s o r e d u c e d b e c a u s e of the c e n tr a liz a tio n o f m a n y e q u i p m e n t - m a i n tenance f a c i l i t i e s and r e d u c tio n s in the p u r c h a s e and in v e n to r y o f p a r ts and su p p lies . M any d i ffe r e n t types o f o f f i c e m a c h in e s w e r e in trod u ced to keep p a c e with the e n o r m o u s v o lu m e o f p a perw ork. I m p r o v e d indexing and filing e q u i p m e n t and s y s t e m s sp eed ed the sto r a g e and r e t r i e v a l o f in fo rm a tio n . In fo r m a tio n tr a n sm itte d by t e l e t y p e , f a c s i m i l e , and oth er m eth od s was du p lic a t e d by m a c h in e s at the r e c e iv i n g end, e lim in a tin g the need to c o p y m a n u ally. In stallation o f m o d e r n d a t a - p r o c e s s i n g equ ipm en t a l s o a ffe c te d c l e r i c a l e m p lo y m e n t. In 1947, m o s t r a i l r o a d s w e r e u s i n g b o o k k e e p in g , ac c ou n tin g , and oth er b u s i n e s s m a c h in e s along with p u n c h - c a r d equ ipm en t to p r o c e s s m a s s data. The in stalla tion o f e l e c t r o n i c d a t a - p r o c e s s i n g e q u i p m e n t on m any RAILROAD INDUSTRY 23 m a j o r r a i lr o a d s sin ce the m i d - 1 9 5 0 's38 p e r m it t e d the e s ta b lis h m e n t of m o r e c e n t r a l iz e d a ccou n ting s y s t e m s . The im m e d ia te e m p lo y m e n t i m p a c t o f the in tr od u c tion o f e l e c t r o n i c data p r o c e s s ing was slight. Both the old and new m eth od s o f p r o c e s s i n g data w e r e c a r r ie d on sim u lta n e o u sly f o r e x t e n d e d p e r i o d s to d e v e l o p s a t i s f a c t o r y p r o g r a m s and to train p e r s o n n e l to o p e r ate the new equ ipm en t. H o w e v e r , with c o m p le te c o n v e r s i o n t o the new s y s t e m s , la b o r and tim e s a v i n g s w e r e r e a l iz e d . The rate at w hich c l e r i c a l e m p l o y e e s w e r e d is p la c e d was p r o g r a m m e d to o c c u r o v e r a n u m ber o f y e a r s on som e r a i l r o a d s , as a r e s u lt o f c o l l e c t i v e bargain in g a g r e e m e n t s b e t w e e n c a r r i e r s and the union w hich r e p r e s e n t s these e m p l o y e e s . One such a g r e e m e n t p r o v id e d that the a b o lish m e n t o f p o s i tions owing to ch an g es in w o r k ca u sed b y c o n v e r s i o n to e l e c t r o n i c data p r o c e s s i n g would be a c c o m p l i s h e d through n o r m a l a ttrition , not to extend beyond 4 y e a r s f r o m the e f f e c t i v e data o f ea ch such c h a n g e . 39 Professionals, Subprofessionals, and Agents The r o l e o f the e n g in e e r and s c i e n tis t, t e c h n i c i a n , m a r k e t an alyst, a n d other h igh ly s p e c ia l i z e d r a i lr o a d p e r s o n n e l w as i n c r e a s i n g l y e m p h a s iz e d in the p o s t w a r p e r i o d a s c a r r i e r s s o u g h t to r e d u c e c o s t s and c o m p e te m o r e e f f e c t i v e l y by m o d e r n iz in g plant, equ ipm en t, and op era tin g m e th o d s . A s a r e s u lt , desp ite the substantial d r o p in r a i lr o a d e m p lo y m e n t, the n u m b e r o f p r o f e s s i o n a l and s u b p r o f e s s i o n a l p e r s o n n e l (ICC D iv. N o s . 3 a n d 6) fe l l m odera tely. ICC Occupation T o t a l .......................................... 3 6 13 II 19 2 0-22 Employment Percent change 1947 No. Professional and subprofessional assistants . . . . . . . Clerks and clerical specialists (A) . . . . Traveling auditors or a c c o u n ta n ts ........................ Storekeepers, sales agents, Traffic and other agents . Claims a g e n ts........................ 1 Mainly professional personnel. 2 Le s s than 1 percent. 24 1955 1960 1947-60 1947-55 19 55-< 35, 981 35, 399 32, 348 -1 0 - 2 - 9 - 8, 169 8, 145 7, 777 - 5 -n 11, 600 11, 505 10, 487 -1 0 - 1 5 - 9 1 ,297 1, 207 1 ,015 -2 2 - 7 -1 6 2, 381 11,015 1, 519 2, 275 10,725 1, 542 1, 771 9 ,8 4 3 1,455 -2 6 -11 - 4 - 4 - 3 + 2 -2 2 - 8 - 6 E x c e p t f o r l a w y e r s and le g a l s p e c i a l i s t s , e m p l o y e e s c l a s s i f i e d as flp r o fe ss io n a l a n d subp rofession al a s s is t ants" w er e in s c i e n t i f ic and te c h n ica l o c c u p a tio n s such as e n g i n e e r s and c h e m i s t s and th eir a s s is t a n t s , a r c h i t e c t s , and d r a f t s m e n . 4 0 The grou p o f c l e r k s and c l e r i c a l s p e c i a l i s t s (a ) m a in ly in c lu d e s p r o f e s s i o n a l p e r s o n n e l , such as a c c o u n ta n ts, s t a t is t ic ia n s , and market analysts. T h e rela tiv ely g r e a t e r d rop in e m p lo y m e n t o f t h e s e e m p l o y e e s c o m p a r e d with s c i e n t i f ic and te c h n ica l p e r s o n n e l p r o b a b ly r e f l e c t e d the g r e a t e r c e n tr a liz a tio n o f a ccou n tin g fu n ction s that b e c a m e p o s s i b l e with the in trod u ction o f m o r e e f f ic ie n t d a t a - p r o c e s s i n g equipm ent. D eclin in g p a s s e n g e r t r a f f i c was an im portan t r e a s o n f o r the r e d u c tio n in e m p lo y m e n t o f t r a v elin g a u d itors and a ccou n ta n ts, m a n y o f w h om audit and c h e c k p a s s e n g e r t r a n s p or ta tion . S e v e r a l f a c t o r s con trib u ted to the e m p lo y m e n t d e c lin e among store k e e p e r s , s a le s a g e n ts, a n d b u y e r s . With the adoption o f the d i e s e l - e l e c t r i c l o c o m o t i v e , m a n y m ain ten an ce f a c i l i tie s w e r e e lim in a te d . Fewer lo c o m o tiv e s and c a r s in s e r v i c e r e s u l t e d in r e d u c e d p u r c h a s e and stor a g e o f r e placem en ts parts, petroleu m p ro d u cts, and o t h e r e q u i p m e n t and s u p p lie s . P u r c h a s e s o f r a i ls and ties d e c r e a s e d 3 8 The rapid growth in the number of such installations in recent years is indicated by the estimate that "there are currently some 31 r a i l r o a d s which have approximately 64 computers in sta lle d ." R o b e r ts . Gillett, Op portunities for Computers in hand Transportation, p. 3. Paper presented at the R ailroad Computer and Automation Conference, sponsored by the Am erican Institute of E lec trical Engineers, Land Transportation Com m ittee, (Cleveland, Ohio), June 6, 1961. ^ A g r e e m e n t between the Union Pacific Railroad Co. and the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, E x press and Station Employes, Sept. 26, 1958, Sec. 6. 40Unpublished data from a Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of scientific and technical personnel indicate that in the railroad indus try about 9 out of 10 technical professional personnel were engineers, and 1 of every 3 technicians was a d r a f t s m a n . About 1 of every 6 scientists and engineers was engaged in management or administrative activities. EMPLOYMENT AND CHANGING OCCUPATIONAL PATTERNS as r oa d w a y m a i n t e n a n c e contracted. o p e r a tio n s Executives, Officials, and Staff Assistants E m p lo y m e n t in this r e l a t i v e l y sm a ll grou p i n c r e a s e d through the m i d f i f t i e s , r e f l e c t i n g the need f o r m a n a g em en t p e r s o n n e l to adapt r a i l r o a d o p e r a tio n s to m e e t e x te n siv e t e c h n o l o g i c a l change and g r o w i n g c o m p e titio n f r o m oth er ca rrie rs. Since t h e n , h o w e v e r , e m p lo y m e n t in the g r o u p has d r o p p e d steadily. B y I9 6 0 , e m p lo y m e n t a p p r o x i m a t e d the 1947 l e v e l . ICC Occupational group Employment Percent change 1947 'Executives, general officers, and assistants Division o fficers, assistants, and staff assistants . . . . I960 15 ,1 9 4 1 6 ,0 7 4 15,043 6, 767 T o t a l ...................................... 1955 1947-60 7, 319 6, 760 -(*) +8 - 8 8 ,4 2 7 8, 755 8, 283 - 2 +4 - - 1 1947-55 1955-60 +6 - 6 5 1 L ess than 1 percent. M iscellan eou s Service Em ployees The la r g e g rou p o f r a i lr o a d e m p l o y ees w h o p e r fo r m m iscella n eou s s e r v i c e s d e c lin e d by about a fou rth betw een 1947 and 1960. ICC Occupation Employment Percent change 15 I960 1947-60 1947-55 1955-60 17,182 -2 7 - 7 -2 2 2, 606 1,727 -5 2 -2 8 -3 4 818 Total1 ................................. 1955 22, 103 1947 No. 518 -5 0 -2 0 -3 7 6 ,2 6 6 4, 767 -3 4 -1 4 -2 4 Messenger and office Elevator operators and attendants . . . 17-18 Lieutenants and sergeants of police, patrolmen, and w a tc h m e n ................... Miscellaneous trades 23 . . Motor vehicle 24 o p e r a t o r s ................... . . Janitors and cleaners . . 26 16 7,2 5 8 882 838 370 -5 8 - 5 -5 6 4 ,6 7 6 6,2 3 9 6, 225 5 ,350 5, 880 3 ,920 +26 -3 7 +33 -1 4 - 6 -27 1 Excludes sm all number of team sters and stableme n (ICC Div. No. 2 5). 2 Includes such employees a s printers, photographe:rs, bookbinders, and ships' c a r p e nters. F a c t o r s w h ich c o n trib u ted to the o v e r a ll d rop in e m p l o y m e n t in this group in clu d ed the e x t e n s i v e use of r a d io a n d o t h e r in t e r c o m m u n ic a t io n equ ipm en t betw een o f f i c e s , in stalla tion o f au tom atic e l e v a t o r s , elim in a tio n o f m a n y p a s s e n g e r and fr e ig h t station s, and w id e s p r e a d c o n s o lid a t io n o f f a c i l i t i e s f o r eq u ip m en t m a in te n a n c e , a c c o u n t i n g , and c a r c l a s s i f i c a t i o n switching. M o t o r v e h ic le o p e r a t o r ^rnade up the o n ly oc c u p a tio n a l c l a s s i f i c a tion in which e m p lo y m e n t i n c r e a s e d , r e f l e c t i n g a v e r y g r e a t r i s e in the n u m b e r o f highw ay v e h i c l e s u sed b y C la s s I lin e - h a u l r a i l r o a d s . A la r g e p r o p o r tion o f these v e h i c l e s w e r e tr u c k s in n o n r e v e n u e s e r v i c e , m an y o f which w e r e u se d in p la c e o f r a il hand c a r s and m o t o r c a r s to m o v e r a ilw a y m a i n tenance c r e w s and equ ipm en t f r o m one t r a c k lo c a t io n to an oth er. RAILROAD INDUSTRY 25 SELECTED BIBLIO G RAPH Y I. G o v e r n m e n t P u b lic a t io n s A. U .S . D e p a r tm e n t of L a b o r P u b lic a t io n s In d exes o f Output P e r M a n -H o u r f o r S e le c te d I n d u s t r i e s , 1939 and 1 9 47-60 , Annual In du stry S e r i e s (B u rea u o f L a b o r Sta t i s t i c s ) , D e c e m b e r 1961, tables 6A and 6B. " L a b o r R e q u ir e m e n t s f o r Highway C o n s t r u c t i o n , " R on ald E. K u ts c h e r and C h a r le s A . W aite, M onthly L a b o r R eview, A u gu st 1961, pp. 8 5 8 -8 6 1 . " R a i l r o a d O c c u p a t io n s ," O ccu pation al O utlook H an d book , 1961 e d ition (Bureau o f L a b o r Statistic s), W ashington 196l, pp. 704-729. " T h e R a i lr o a d C o m m i s s i o n s R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s , " M onthly L a b o r R e v i e w , A p r i l 1962, pp. 3 7 5 -3 8 9 . B. In terstate C o m m e r c e C o m m i s s i o n P u b lic a t io n s In te r c ity P a s s e n g e r - M i l e s , 1 9 4 9-19 56, Statem ent 580 (B u reau o f T r a n s p o r t E c o n o m i c s and S ta tis tic s ), Jan u ary 1958. In te r c ity T o n - M i l e s , 1 939-19 59, Statement 6103 (B u reau o f T r a n s p o r t E c o n o m i c s and S ta tis tics ),'W a sh in g ton , A p r i l 1961. R u le s G ov er n in g the C l a s s i f i c a t io n o f R a i lr o a d E m p l o y e e s and R e p o r t s o f their S e r v i c e and C o m p e n s a t io n , p r e s c r i b e d by the In terstate C o m m e r c e C o m m i s s i o n , e f f e c t i v e January 1, 1951, and p u b l i s h e d by the A s s o c i a t i o n of A m e r i c a n R a i lr o a d s , W ashington, A u gu st 1951. 7 5th Annual R e p o r t of the Interstate C o m m e r c e C o m m i s s i o n , f i s c a l y e a r ending June 30, 1961, W ashington, 1961. Tabulation o f S ta tis tic s pertain in g t o S ig n als, I n t e r l o c k i n g , A u to m a tic T r a in C o n tr o l T r a in O p era tion by T im e ta b le and T r a in O r d e r s and T r a in C o m m u n ic a tio n s S y s te m s as U sed on the R a i lr o a d s o f the United States, Annual (B ureau o f Safety and S e r v i c e ) , W a s h in g to n / I960 and 1961. T r an s p o r t S ta tis tics in the United States, I960, P a r t I, Annual ^Bureau o f T r a n s p o r t E c o n o m i c s and S tatistics), W ashington, table 155, p. 107. C. U .S . R a i lr o a d R e t i r e m e n t B o a r d P u b lic a t io n s C o m p e n s a tio n and S e r v i c e o f R a i lr o a d E m p l o y e e s , Sta tistical T a b l e s , 1959, C h ic a g o , 111., 1961. 27 I. G overnm ent P u b lica tio n s--C o n . D. The C o n g r e s s of the United States Im p a ct o f A u tom a tion on E m p lo y m e n t , H e a r in g s b e f o r e the S u b c o m m itte e on U n em p loym en t and the Im p a ct o f A u tom a tion o f the C o m m itte e on E du cation and L a b o r (House of R e p r e s e n ta tiv e s , 87th C o n g . , 1st s e s s . , M a r c h and A p r i l 19 61). N ational T r a n s p o r ta tio n P o l i c y , R e p o r t o f the C o m m itte e on C o m m e r c e ( U . S . S e n a t e , 87th C o n g . , 1st s e s s . , P t. II, June 26, 1961). P r o b l e m s o f the R a i l r o a d s , H e a r in g s b e f o r e the S u b c om m ittee on S u rfa ce T r a n s p o r ta tio n o f the C o m m itte e on Interstate and F o r e i g n C o m m e r c e (U.S. Senate, 85th C o n g ., 2d s e s s . , Pt. 3, M a r c h 1958). The T r a n s p o r ta tio n Sy ste m of Our Nation, M e s s a g e F r o m The P r e s i d e n t o f the United States R e la tiv e to the T r a n s p o r ta tio n S y s te m of our Nation (House o f R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s D ocu m en t No. 384, 87th C o n g ., 2d s e s s . , A p r i l 5, 1962). E. Other G o v e r n m e n t P u b lic a t io n s R e p o r t o f the P r e s i d e n t i a l R a i lr o a d C o m m i s s i o n , W ashington, F e b r u a r y 1962. R e p o r t to the P r e s i d e n t No! T38)7^eptenibeFT9^L , II. by the E m e r g e n c y B o a r d (B o a r d B o o k s and R e p o r t s A u tom a tion on the R a i l r o a d s , A r th u r B. S h en efelt, r e p r in te d f r o m a s e r i e s of a r t i c l e s p u b lish ed in the Jou rn al o f C o m m e r c e , A p r i l and M ay 1957. M ain ten an ce o f Way E m p lo y m e n t on U.S. R a i l r o a d s , by W il l ia m H a b er and John J. C a r r o l l , M a r k L . Kahn, M e r to n J. P e c k , B r o th e r h o o d of M aintenance o f W ay E m p l o y e s , D e tr o it, M i c h ., 1957. New C o n c e p ts in R a ilr o a d in g , a d d r e s s by C u rtis Do B u fo r d , V i c e P r e s i d e n t , O peration s a n d M aintenance D e p a r tm e n t, A s s o c i a t i o n o f A m e r i c a n R a i l r o a d s , b e f o r e the Annual T r a n s p o r ta tio n and L o g i s t i c s F o r u m , National D efen se T r a n s p o r tation A s s o c i a t i o n , D e n v e r , C o l o . , S e p te m b e r 1961. O pp ortu n ities f o r C o m p u te r s in Land T r a n s p o r ta tio n , R o b e r t S. G ille tt, p a p e r p r e s e n te d at the R a ilr o a d C o m p u te r and A u tom a tion C o n f e r e n c e S p o n s o r e d by the A m e r i c a n Institute o f E l e c t r i c a l E n g in e e r s , L a n d T r a n s p o r ta tio n C o m m i t t e e , C le v e la n d , O h io, June 1961. 28 EMPLOYMENT AND CHANGING OCCUPATIONAL PATTERNS II. B o o k s a n d R e p o r t s - - C o n . P r o c e e d i n g s o f the 59th Annual C on v en tion , A m e r i c a n R a ilw a y E n g in eerin g A s s o c i a t i o n , V ol. 6 1, I960. R a i lr o a d C a r F a c t s , S ta tis tics on C a r B uilding and C a r R e p a i r i n g , 1960, A m e r i c a n R a ilw a y C ar Institute, New Y o r k , O c t o b e r 1961. R a i lr o a d T r a n s p o r ta tio n , A Sta tistical R e c o r d , 1 9 2 1 -1 9 5 9 , Issu ed B iennially, A s s o c i a t i o n o f A m e r i c a n R a i lr o a d s (B u reau o f R a ilw a y E c o n o m i c s ) , W ashington, D e c e m b e r i9 6 0 . T e c h n o l o g i c a l Change and The Fu tu re o f the R a i l w a y s , S e le c te d p a p e r s p r e s e n te d at a 3 -d a y c o n f e r e n c e c o n d u cted by the T r a n s p o r ta tio n C e n t e r , at N o r th w e s te r n U niversity, E van ston , 111., January 1961. T e r m i n a l O p e r a t i o n s , P r o c e e d i n g s , F a ll M eetin g way S y ste m s and M an ag em en t A s s o c i a t i o n . I960, R a i l The M ove T ow a rd R a i lr o a d M e r g e r s , R a ilw a y L a b o r Executives* A s s o c i a t i o n , W ash in gton , F e b r u a r y 1962. Y e a r b o o k o f R a i lr o a d In fo r m a tio n , 1961 edition , E a s t e r n R a i l r o a d P r e sid e n ts * C o n f e r e n c e , J e r s e y C ity, N. J. III. P e r i o d i c a l s R a ilw a y A ge " A B ig g e r R o le f o r the C l e r k s ? " July 29, 1957, pp. 19 ff. "A u tom ated E qu ipm en t Cuts R ail Butt-W elding T im e and L a b or," O c t o b e r 10, I960, pp. 4 0 - 4 1 . "B&O-C&O O f f i c e r s S t r e s s D e f e r r e d M aintenance C o s t s , " J u l y 17, 1 9 6 1 , pp. 14-18. "Can R a ilr o a d T r a c k L a s t 50 Y e a r s ? " M a r c h 5, 1962, pp. 18 ff. " C a r R e p o r t s In a F l a s h ," S e p te m b e r 24, 1956, pp. "C e n te n n ia l I s s u e ," S e p te m b e r 28-30. 1956. "C en tra l C h eck in g Cuts C o s t s , " N o v e m b e r 30, 1959, pp. " C o m m u n i c a t io n s Guide f o r a M o d e r n M ay 11, 1959, pp. 14-1 5 . 2 8 -2 9 . C la ssifica tion Y a r d ." "C o m m u n ic a tio n s S e c tio n H e a r s P r o s and Cons o f M i c r o w a v e ," June 20, I96 0, pp. 3 0 -3 1 . " C r a n e L a y s l/4 M i l e - L o n g R a i l s , " July 17, 1961, p. 19. RAILROAD INDUSTRY 29 III. P e r i o d i c a I s - - C o n . R a ilw a y A g e - - C o n . ’ ’F i r s t R R ^ r a i n * B eg in s to H u m ,” July 8, 1957, pp. 34 ff. ’ ’ Gang M aintenance o f S ig n als: A M o n e y -S a v e r f o r R a i l r o a d s , ” O c t o b e r 19, 1959, pp. 3 0 -3 1 . "H o w C TC C h an ges M / W P i c t u r e , ” M ay 9, I9 6 0 , p. "H o w GN R e p a i r s C a r s , ” N o v e m b e r 23, 1959, p. 16. 18. "H o w 1J* U s e s T w o - W a y R a d io in M /W W o r k ,” M a y 29, 1961, pp. 64-65. " H o w M a c h in e s T e a m Up to Speed te m b e r 14, 1959, pp. 17 ff. R estora tion W o r k ,” Sep "H o w New M a il S o r t e r s Help Cut R R T e r m i n a l C o s t s , ” July 3, 1961, pp. 1 4 -1 6 . ” How New Pushbutton C T C H elp s D i s p a t c h e r s ,” July 13, 1959, pp. 32 ff. "How SP Sp eeds D i e s e l R e p a i r s , ” N o v e m b e r 21, 1960, pp. 2 0 -2 1 . "H o w T P S e r v e s Sh ipp ers B e t t e r , F a s t e r , ” F e b r u a r y 26, 1962, pp. 3 8 -3 9 . "H o w T r a f f i c C o n tr o l P r o v i d e s . . . M a x im u m Use o f Single T r a c t , ” O c t o b e r 22, 1956, pp. 2 7 -2 9 . "M a in te n a n c e M eth ods M ust I m p r o v e , ” June 29, 1959, pp. 54 ff. "M a in te n a n c e N e e d s : P r e s e n t and F u t u r e ,” F e b r u a r y 19, 1962, pp. 32-33. " M e c h a n i z e d Handling: K ey to Big S a v in g s ,” A u g u st 12, 1957, pp. 12-15. " M o r e M / W P r o d u c t i o n with R a d i o ,” M ay 30, I960, p. 28. ” M / W : M o d e r a te I n c r e a s e s , ” January 16, 1961, pp. 3 0 -3 2 . " R e m o t e C o n tr o l Saves M o n e y ,” January 12, 1959, pp. 16, 21. "S ig n a l B udgets N ear $60 M i ll i o n ,” January 1^ 1962, pp. 27, 29. " T e l e t y p e D u plicated in 4 S e c o n d s ,” S e p te m b e r 2, 1957, p. 40. ” 10 Y e a r s o f R a ilr o a d R a d i o ,” S e p te m b e r 2, 1957, pp. 2 0 -2 4 . " T h i s A u tom ated Shop P r o c e s s e s 100 W heel Sets in 8 H o u r s , ” A p r i l 6, 1959, pp. 1 4 -16. "W h a t M / W E m p l o y e e s W an t,” M a y 4, 1959, pp. 30 1 3 -1 5 . EMPLOYMENT AND CHANGING OCCUPATIONAL PATTERNS III. P e r i o d i c a l s - - C o n . M o d e r n R a i lr o a d s " B r i d g e S p r a y e r Cuts C o s t fo r C N J," A p r i l I960, pp. 6 9 -7 0 . "C o n tin u o u s R a i l, A C hallenge to the E n g in e e r ," A u gu st 1947, pp. 25 ff. "IC B r in g s T r e s t l e s Down to E a r th ," A u g u st I960, p p e 65 f f 0 "IC Slots C o m m u t a t o r s F a s t e r , " S e p te m b e r I960, pp. 1 5 3-154 . "M e c h a n i z a t i o n P a y s O ff," D e c e m b e r 1948, pp. 24 ff. " R a d i o C o m m u n ic a tio n s R o c k pp. 12-14. Island S ty le ," January 1947, " R e v o lu t i o n on the Steel H igh w ay ," M ay 1959, pp. 76 ff. " S p r in g f i e ld B e c o m e s Shop C e n t e r ," N o v e m b e r 1961, p p Q 8 0 -8 1 . R a ilw a y T r a c k and S tr u c tu r e s " M a c h i n e s , B e tte r 1959, p . 36. Planning " M a k e S tr u c tu r e s Ju stify p. 34. "S ig n a l F o r c e s M eet Spark Up BB F o r c e s , " T h e ir E x is te n ce ," New C h a l l e n g e ," " T h e Jointed A e r i a l B o o m ," January F e b r u a r y 1959, January 1959, p° 52. July 1959, p. 28. The P e n n s y (pu blish ed by the P en n sy lva n ia R a ilr o a d ) " ' B l o o d T e s t s 'K e e p D i e s e l s H ealth y," N o v e m b e r 1957, pp. 9-11. "Slimming the P R R , " J a n u a r y - F e b r u a r y 1958, pp. " M e n Who Run t h e PR*R -Supervising O p e r a t o r s M o v e m e n t E x p e r t s ," D e c e m b e r 1957, pp. 1 6 -1 7 . Are 10-12. T r a in Other P e r i o d i c a l s " B r o t h e r h o o d S e c u r e s P r o t e c t i o n fo r C&O E m p l o y e e s in v olv ed In C o n s o lid a tio n o f O f f i c e s , " B r o th e r h o o d o f R a ilw a y and Stea m sh ip C l e r k s , F r e ig h t H a n d le r s , E x p r e s s a n d Station E m ploy es, M onthly B u lle tin , D e c e m b e r 1957, p. 378. " B r o t h e r h o o d Signs A u tom a tion P a c t D esig n ed to Guard M e m b e r s Rights," The R a ilw a y C l e r k , June 1, I960, p. 9. "C a n R a i lr o a d s M eet D e fe n se C r i s i s ? " B o i l e r m a k e r s , B l a c k s m ith 's J ou rn al, M a r c h I960, p. 10. RAILROAD INDUSTRY 31 O th e r P e r i o d i c a l s - - C o n . "C h an gin g Shape of the R a il Equipm ent M a r k e t," S teel, O c t o b e r 30, 1961, pp. 3 8 -4 0 . " D i e s e l L o c o m o t i v e R ebu ild in g B o o m in g at G . M . , " New Y o r k T i m e s , A u gu st 22, 1958, p. 26. " O u r B r o t h e r h o o d 's P o s i t i o n Is P r e s e n t e d to the P r e s i d e n t i a l E m e r g e n c y B o a r d , " The S ig n a lm a n 's J o u r n a l, A p r i l 1962, pp. 102-105 . " P e n n s y ^ New C o a l T r a in Would Cut C o s t s , C o m p e te with P r o p o s e d b l u r r y * P ipe L i n e s ," The R a ilw a y C l e r k , M ay 1, 1962, p. 5. " R e p o r t on L a b o r R e la tio n s P r o b l e m s in T r a n s p o r ta tio n Indus t r i e s , " D a ily L a b o r R e p o r t , M a r c h 18, I960, No. 54: F - l . " R e v i s i o n o f Op. R u le s Would Hit N o n - O p s , T o o , " w ay C l e r k , June 15, 1961, p. 11. The R a i l "SP, R io Grande T e s t s New D i e s e l - H y d r a u l i c G e r m a n L o c o m o t i v e s , " Wall S treet J ou rn al, January 5, 1962, p. L " T h e B o o m in M i c r o w a v e ," W ire and R a d io C o m m u n i c a t io n s , S e p te m b e r 1961, pp. 24 f f 0 " T h e M o d e r n A u tom a tic C l a s s i f i c a t i o n Y a r d , " C o n tr o l n e e r i n g , M a r c h 1961, pp. 1 3 8-140 . E n g i " T h e R a i lr o a d M e r g e r M o v e m e n t , " B o i l e r m a k e r s 1, B l a c k s m i t h ^ J ou rn a l, M ay 1962, pp. 1 8 -20. "U n io n s Hit A bandonm ent o f L - C - L C l e r k , D e c e m b e r 1, 1961, p. 2. "Rundown pp. 2 2 -2 3 . on A u t o m a t i o n ," ft 32 F re ig h t," T r a in s M a g a z in e , The R a ilw a y M a r c h 1961, U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1963 O - 677315 EMPLOYMENT AND CHANGING OCCUPATIONAL PATTERNS