I am writing a screenplay about a world war 2 veteran. The background takes place in the steam to diesel era. This character moves to a small town whose local economy is based on the railroad having its division point located there. One of the driving factors in the story is the loss of jobs that happens when diesels arrive. My question is: What sort of jobs were lost in this change of technologies? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Close the roundhouse , relocate and or lay off the machinists, pipe fitters, laborers, etc.
Show the division managers packing their offices up to move to the big city. Usually the car inspectors were simply let go unless there were opening somewhere on the system. With a lack of online buisness most of the time the yards at small division poins were simply torn out also. Coal was big buisness, with the advent of gas electric and oil heat many railroads lost the reason to exist at all (ie LNE ) Don’t forget the abundance of empty houses, vacated by the railroaders (ie Cairo Illinois) The clerks I’m sure would be worked to other locations. The local diners and hotels would have a tough time without the railroaders too.
Small towns that lost the railroads failed to prosper and many nearly died or became bedroom communitys.
Randy
Wallyworld:
The best summary article I’ve seen was The Diesel Revolution (Maury Klein) in the Winter 1991 issue of American Heritage fo Invention and Technology (vol. 6/no. 3). It sounds like it has exactly what you want to know. Diesels swept away an entire ecosystem. Employment went from a peak of 2.1 million in 1920 to 577,000 in 1970.
There is also a book out there titled “When the Railroad Left Town” it is a Case Study of several small towns that had lots of Railroad employees and then the Railroad closed its facilities and left.
Pick up a copy of Kalmbach’s Diesel Victory issue from Classic Trains. There are several mentions of your subject. See Jerry Pinkepank’s lead article and Robert Graulty’s “On the Road for ALCO.”
Sounds like this happened in Moose Jaw, a large divisional point on the C.P.R. I can remember friends Fathers laid off who worked the roundhouse, coal towers, ran steam switchers, freight handlers and people in the station restaurant and on and on and on, hundreds of jobs were lost over a period of time, but a lot were dissolved not only because of steam disappearing but newer technology of the times, but steam was a decisive factor. Good Luck on the book.
Thanks for all the valuable resources. I want it to be truthful and your help goes along way toward that goal. It’s called ( big surprise) The Division Point. It’salso about the dividing point between having a job with a future to one that suddenly is obsolete due to “progress.” Again-thanks much
And dont forget what the Trucking industry and the Airlines did also.
Roundhouse personel, as stated above, but also the Fireman was usually fired, as desiels didn’t need them, brakemen also stated to disapear around this time as well, but not that previlant, so maybe having one mention a friend of a friend of a friend type deal.
Industries dropped direct rail suppy for team track suppy and trucking, so maybe less crews due to less trains needed to service the local factories.
I do not know how it all worked out (unions, regolators etc etc), but long time after the steam was gone most diesel train crew shad still the same amount of people as during the steam epoque.
I remember having seen several articles by the ‘iconoclast’ criticising than in old (1960s?70s?) Train magazine. I think only the deregulation ended that
sebastiano
I could immagine that there were quite a lot of wrangling about that.
sebastiano
Now I’m no expert on this era but didnt most diesel trains still have at least a 4 man crew right right up to the 70’s? two in the cab, engineer and fireman, and two in the caboose, brakeman and conductor? I dont seem to recall there being a ru***o 3 or 2 man crews until just recently historically with the elimination of the caboose in the 80’s. All thru the 50’s 60’s and even into the 70’s long distance frieght engines always still had 2 man crews and cabeese always seem to have at least 2 crew members in them. Am I not correct in this ?
Seams to me most jobs lost were the labor involved in maintaning the steam locos, boilermaker comes to mind as being a first casualty, also pipe fitters, machinist, greasers, anyone involved with the manual labor associated with the steam locos would be in short demand. Some pipefitters and machinist would still be used with diesels, just not near as many as before, also new classes would need to be hired, electrical technitions, diesel mechanics, as well as new facilities for fueling would require construction, if fuel oil was being used by the steamers there not much difference in fueling a diesel, same with sanding, so many of those jobs might continue unaffected.
Again I’m no expert, just trying to get a better understanding on the era.
I hope you have success with your screen play. You could film in Steamtown, in Scranton, and have available some fine and authentic rolling stock. Possibly Union, Illinois, also. I hope you have a producer that strives for authenticity.