After reading some of the threads about dispatching I’m wondering who’s in charge of what on the railroad. Is the dispatcher above the yardmaster? What does the trainmaster do? Do they all answer to a division superintendent? On the trains themselves, is the engineer or conductor in charge?
Conductor is in charge of train.
Trainmaster is off train traveling supervisor.
yardmast is in charge in yard only and those employees working in yard.
Dispatcher is in charge of mainline and dispatching of trains.
all work for line or district superintendent.
Ok, how about this one: I had my interview with NS yesterday, and one of the non-HR department interviewers was a Road Foreman of Engines…how does he fit in the chain of command, and is he higher, lower, or equal to a Trainmaster?
Most places, equal to or slightly under the trainmaster.
then you have Chief Engineer-Division Engineer-Roadmaster-Track Inspector- Foreman
Thanks for the replies, I can see how things get congested and hectic when problems crop up.
Road Foreman and Trainmaster are co-equals. Road Foreman supervises engineers while Trainmaster supervises conductors, brakemen and other train crew. There is some overlap in their responsibilities.
CPR has changed a lot of the traditional job titles over the last few years, at least in Canada.
Both Trainmaster and Road Foreman of Engines are now Road Managers.
Dispatchers are now Rail Traffic Controllers.
Yardmasters are Manager, Yard Operations.
Shift Yardmasters are Yard Coordinators of various types.
Roadmasters are Track Maintenance Supervisors.
The Divisions Superintendent is the Service Area Manager, Operations.
The Division Engineer Service Area Manger, Engineering
The Master Mechanic is Service Area Manager, mechanical .
ETC. ETC. ETC.
The titles may better describe the job but they don’t have the historical sound of the traditional names.