I noticed that the C&NW (perhaps among others) advertised itself as “employee owned” on its logo. Of course, RR’s are hardly unique on this point, but I was just wondering if anybody who worked for C&NW or another “employee owned” road found it to be more rewarding, or having increased levels of concern, for example, if something bad happened to the physical plant of the road? Or for all intents and purposes, are employee and regular ownership the same? Also, a somewhat unrelated question: Is it common practice for RR’s to offer in-house services for their crews, such as dining rooms/restaurants or motel facilities to sleep in? As a case in point, I know that UP runs a dining facility out of their yard in Hinkle, OR (I heard the food was lousy, too, but that’s truly another topic!)
Riprap
You can tell an old Northwestern employee with this question : “Did you buy enough?” The correct answer in “no” and they will know what you are talking about. If I had borrowed the maximum amount Muryl Linch was willing to loan I could have sold the stock two years later and never had to work again. Rather I sold 75% of the stock I did buy and paid off my college loans, made a downpayment on my first house, furnished the house with nice furniture and put six months living expenses in the bank. The bank account gave me the ability to quit my job and have enough time to find another one in railroading.
The enviroment at the railroad did change after a lot of managers became financially independent. The Men Who Loved Trains and others were able to take greater risks when expressing their opinions to Larry Provo. It also help that Larry Provo was one of the great railroad CEOs in the US at that time. It is too bad he died so young.