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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
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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
