Certainly as railfans we would wish the railroads would have been more concious of their position as an American icon and preserved more of their significant steam locomotives, but you have to remember that for the professionals railroading is a business of moving “stuff” from point A to point B in the most efficient, cost effective, and profitable manner possible. History and romance have nothing to do with it. At the time, railroad execs thought no more of scrapping steam than a trucking company would about scrapping a tractor unit. That being said, it makes me wonder why someone would go into railroading without a basic love for the industry, whether they admit it or not. It seems to me to be more of a vocation than a job.
One thing that happened after WW2 is railroads began to hire recent college (G.I. Bill) graduates directly into important positions in the company. Before that, railroads generally promoted from within or hired experienced men from other railroads. To these new recruits, it didn’t really matter for the most part if they were working for a railroad or an insurance company or a bank. It was just a way to make money.
FWIW I see the same thing in my job, working for my state’s tax department. It used to be people could come in and work their way up to the professional ranks by passing civil service test and being promoted. Now they only hire folks with degrees in accounting or business administration. These kids come in and work for a few weeks / months just to get some job experience on their resume, then quit to take a private sector job and have to be replaced.
I would agree. The best recent new hires around here are ones with “more than a healthy interest in trains.” I wish our HR department would go hunting where these folk lurk. (in the basements of engineering colleges, for example) [;)]
Maybe they should look in the basements where the O gauge railroaders lurk as well!
The irony there is being a railfan (or worse, a model railroader) is generally held against a prospective RR employee.