what are typical assignments for road and yard work? it seems long-haul now takes 2, cond. and driver. what is the crew size on yard work and local switching, without rcl, 3-4?
it seems in the '50s it was possibly 5 in a local switching run: driver, fireman (sometimes the head brakeman), cond. and two switchmen… any thoughts?
Road crews have an engineer, conductor, and sometimes a brakeman on transfer runs. Yard crews have an engineer, engine foreman, and a switchman/helper. Here at the PTRA, we have three on almost all jobs.
Stay Frosty
Ed
In the 50/60s You had the following,Engineer,Firemen(even on diesels)Head brakeman,Rear Brakeman and Conductor…You could have a extra brakeman known as a swing brakeman.This extra brakeman was need when the train exceeded 35 cars with lots of enroute switching.
Note: Sometimes a assistant road foreman of engines(ARFE)would be along for the ride to get his monthly throttle time.
our job title is Locomotive Engineer, not driver. a train is not a bus, car, or truck. we dont “drive” a train. we opporate one. it sounds like im splitting hairs, and maybe i am, but nothing gets my goat more then for someone to call my craft “a driver”
you’re absolutely right… you should be called whatever you want… i used the term [engine] driver because i have seen the term used elsewhere in place of [locomotive] engineer… i chose to use it because of the possibility of confusion when using the title of “engineer”… if someone says they are an engineer for the r.r., it could appear ignorant or facetious to say, oh, do you sit in the cab and blow the whistle?
and the answer comes back, no, i design and construct electrical systems for the communications division…
"locomotive engineer ’ is probably the safest way to express it, but people aren’t always so careful about job titles or ambiguous phrases… other confusing examples: doctor: m.d. or ph.d.? secretary: office worker or corporate officer? no offense intended.
Use of the term ‘driver’ instead of ‘engineer’ is European.
On B&O, a swing man was used in the yard if that yard had alot of clear tracks; the s.m. was there to tie brakes on cars. On road jobs, Engr and Cond. do it. In the yard (this is CSX) there are a few jobs left with Engr, Foreman, and switchman. My yard job is just me (engineer) and a foreman. That isn’t cheap enough, so let’s get rid of me and bring on the box. Eventually, there will be single-man assignments…with a box.