Tobacco Chewers Beware

Model Railroader Prototype information for the modeler
1

Here’s a bit of trivia from the local paper.

100 years ago

Supt. G.D. Brooke of the Shenandoah division of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, under whose direction many new and important improvements have been made to the company’s property, has started an anti-spitting crusade at the local passenger station.

Mr. Brooke has had “Spitting Prohibited” signs painted in good-sized letters on the pavement surrounding the passenger depot and they are having the desired effect.

Tobacco chewers and others who feel constrained to spit can expectorate on the ground, but they have been requested not to do so on the station pavements.

Aug. 28, 1913

Bob

2

Contemporaneously, Rule H was a general prohibition against the use of tobacco in any form by railroad employees on duty.

That rule is enforced in my layout space, so you won’t find any spittoons or ashtrays there.

Chuck (Respirationally challenged old coot modeling Central Japan in Septemer, 1964)

3

back when i worked on the ICRR, some of the locomotive cab walls and sun visors were stenciled with “do not spit on the floor” instead of some asinine safety slogan.

charlie

4

Waiting for someone to invent electronic chewing tobacco.

5

Charlie, When I was braking on the PRR,I heard a old engineer cuss a blue streak because he found tobacco juice on the floor by his seat…I felt sorry for the fireman(a qualified engineer-we called them a “fixture” fireman) since he chewed and would be force to spend the day with that engineer…

I was told later he added “filthy cab due to tobacco juice on floor” to his engineer’s locomotive report.

6

yeah, larry, they called themselves the standard railroad of the world but they never though of using a “big four cuspidor” (empty beer can)

charlie