I’ve been thinking recently about the roles of train crew members and it occurred to me I don’t know who has the ultimate responsibility for the train. I know the engineer is responsible for obeying signal indications and following instructions in the time table and train orders, and I know the conductor concerned with switching strategy and signaling the engineer to proceed when a train is ready to move, but who has the overall responsibility for the train?
In the aviation and marine worlds there is a captain who has the ultimate legal authority and responsibility. Is there a “captain” of the train? If so, who is it?
From: “The New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad Company: Rules and Regulations of the Operating Department”, May 17, 1914, page 223:
General Rules For Conductors. 976. They will have general charge of the trains to which they are assigned, and all persons employed thereon.
977. They will be responsible for the movement, safety and proper care of their respective trains in strct accordance to the rules, special instructions and orders, and for the faithful and prompt performance of duties by the trainman.
The Conductor, or Yard Foreman is the “Captain”. The engineer just drives. However, if the crew runs a red signal, speed restriction, or work authority, everyone goes down together.
Actually, the conductor on a streetcar plays the same role–and since most streetcars are intended for one-man operation, there is little doubt where responsibility lies. On two-man cars, the motorman/conductor operated like the engineer/conductor on a steam locomotive: the conductor is the boss, the motorman is the driver.
Whoa guys! Better check with our bretheren next door at TRAINS.
In the USA for Class 1 railroads.
Actually the engineer is not “just the driver”. He (or she) is 2nd in command. In the event of an emergency, if the conductor is injured and unable to function the engineer is in charge and must take all measures to asess situations as well as secure the safety of the crew, cargo, and/or passengers. This includes coordinating with dispatchers on the radio.
The engineer, just as the conductor, must also be very familar with how locomotive and car mechanical systems function and in certain cases be able to perform basic trouble shooting and repairs.
It’s always bugged me since my teen years that many in the public have a “stereotype” perception of Class 1 locomotive engineers as being “mundane” when in fact they must be intelligent, posess basic electrical and mechanical knowledge, and be very well versed in common sense. All of the engineers I"ve ever met were sharp, safety oriented professionals that took pride in their jobs. Hollywood often depicts them as wornout, cranky, or goofy fellows. That Dunkin Donuts commercial, IMHO, is demeaning to the profession.
Yes, there have been the alcholics and drug users…especially durng the 70s…but the airline, trucking, and bus industry had them as well.
The conductor is responsible TO THE RAILROAD COMPANY for the safe operation of the train, but if a train hits a vehicle or pedestrian it’s the engineer who has to take a drug test. The FRA and the local police take the not-inreasonable view that the person who can see what’s going on ahead of the front coupler has the primary responsibility for protecting members of the general public from the results of their own stupidity.
In the Canadian Railway Operating Rules, (CROR), rule 106 the conductor is in charge of the train, in the absence of the conductor the engineer will be in charge.