Back in the passenger train era, who did the switching of cars in a station? If a train pulled into the station, and had to switch out some cars, like Pullmans, for example, did the power and crew that brought in the train do the switching?
Most large railroad stations had specifically assigned switcher locomotives. During an engine change, often road power did pull a few cars off the front of the train if those cars were to be dropped at a station, and similarly, to speed things up, often road power would back down to a train with a few cars attached. But gnerally, switchers did the job. At Penn station, NY, and PHildaelphia’s Broad Stret and then 30th Streetm little 0-6-0 B-1 electric switchers did the job. In Washington Union, Washington Temrinal had duplicates of PRR 0-6-0 steam switchers with slope-backed tenders and back-up lights. At Grand Central Terrminal, S-1’s were the switchers and T-1’s th eroad electrics. The Southern Pacific had very sharp looking 0-6-0 switchers at Oakland, SF, and LA with silvered smoke boxes. Occasionally, a road locomotive would be preseed into service as a switcher, but this was rare.
Most all switching in big and little terminals was done with a yard crew and car inspectors in attendance. Steam lines were not automatically uncoupled like air hose couplings and train crews were not versed in the art of making and breaking the couplings safely.
My expierence is that they were versed in cases of emergency, but it was not their job.
Most larger stations and terminals had an engine and crew to switch out a train either from the head end or hind end. If just one car was to be removed, it might toward the head end of the train so that it could be put into a siding. One of the important things about passenger trains was that headend work…baggage, express, and mail…had to be unloaded and loaded, so there couldn’t be a disruption of that work to swtich cars once the train was stopped. There are so many books about rairoads and railroading which depcit how they were operated. I recommend any railfan interested in how things used to operate check out books from their library starting with broad histories and followed up with favorite railroads. Also going through old issues of Trains and follow Classic Trains magazines for more insight.
Murphy,
It has always been my impression that switching passenger trains was done by switch engines rather than the road crew. I think there were two reasons. One, the need to disconnect and connect the steam heat and communication signal lines, which in the PNW was done by carmen. Second, the fewer moves involving occupied passenger cars the better.
To the second point, the trains were generally arranged to minimize the moves necessary to add or remove cars. The GN did this at Spokane with the Empire Builder and the NP at Pasco with the North Coast Limited, both of which offered through cars to Portland via the SP&S while most of the train went to Seattle.
To know much of anything about this subject, I think you would have to look at a case by case basis.
Mac
In some instances, such as where there was no round-the-clock switching done, the road crew would do the work.
One passenger trainman told me that they could make one move (pickup or setout) during a run before they were paid for the additional work. When such moves were regularly made, all involved, of course, knew and followed the proper procedure. I do not doubt that all passenger trainmen knew how to handle steam lines.
The agreement books I have (RI and CNW) pretty much read the same. Trainmen aren’t required to make or break connections (air, steam and signal lines) between cars where car men are on duty. They would have to know how, or learn real quick, when setting out a car that developed problems out in the middle of nowhere.
There are pictures of the RI’s Rocky Mountain Rocket combining the Colorado Springs and Denver sections at Limon CO in 1952. Kalmbach used them in 1977 in the book, “How to Operate your Model Railroad” as an illustration on passenger train switching. In those photos the uniformed trainmen are making the moves, but you van see a car man waiting at the joints to work the connections.
In years past, work rules segregated who could do what and when. It’s not that one craft couldn’t do something, but if they did all concerned could claim a monetary penalty under certain circumstances.
Jeff
Calgary once had a coach yard with assigned switchers around the clock. It was carefully choreographed so that the switcher was in the right place to deal with incoming trains, and when they left the switcher moved dining cars to and from the commissary, sleepers to and from the laundry, and head end cars to and from the freight sheds or post office.
It is interesting to explain to people why there is that big public parking space in an otherwise crowded downtown full of skyscrapers.
Bruce
And Jeff, you bring up something I overlooked. Union rules and agreements provide varying definitions in varying contracts on varying roads…in effect, there is no flat statment which defines a standard in railroading as each railroad, each situtation was different. And the other thing that happened was that a crew knew what had to be done to do the job, do the job safely, and get home for dinner. So they would all do what had to be done to do it. A fireman might flip a switch and a head brakeman may flag while the conductor pulls the pins or makes a coupling. etc. As long as they were all on the same page and in agreement that getting home for dinner safely was the major goal, they did it union rules and contracts, books of rules rules, seniority and superiourity all aside.
En route passenger switching could be interesting when HEP was involved. I can remember riding the “Peninsula 400”, bi-level and HEP-equipped, to northern Wisconsin in the mid-1960’s. Short turn cars (some coaches, dining car, lounge and parlor) were cut out at Green Bay and passengers in the through cars had to sit in the dark (emergency lighting only) until the switching was done and the HEP turned on again.
And you bring up another point…two actually. One is era…HP vs pre HP. But the real point is that often railroads, locations, union rules, or whatever, dictated that a carman or car mechanic be on duty for the switching because of steam and communication lines in addition to the coupler and air.