Re: (erielack) Team Tracks & Manpower

["Jim Guthrie" <jguthrie_@_pipeline.com>]

>  Railroaders were not moonlighting when working Railway Express at smaller 
> stations where there was only an agent. >That was part of the job.  You 
> did get a small commission for your work. The railroads made money on 
> railway >express shipments anyway and were happy they didn't need to have 
> a second employee on duty at the station.

Which is why I used he scare quotes -- how many other things could 
railroaders do "on the job" to receive income from another company? 
Anything else was pretty much prohibited.

>I worked plenty of stations where you handled Railway Express as well as 
>billed freight cars in and out, sold tickets >and did janitorial duties as 
>well.

Even as a summer summer clerk, I had the pleasure of doing all that too, 
Rich -- though over on the LIRR on the extra board. And the "full time" guys 
just hated a railfan ready to do twice the work for the experience (and 
fun(?) of it <g>..

I did everything from freight car billing at Ajax Terminal in Queens to 
taking parlor car reservation via an ancient telegraph key at Southampton --  
and selling $10,000 in commuter tickets at one window in 1960s dollars on 
$10 weeklies and $30 monthlies on the first Monday ($45,000 in three hours 
at all four windows at Hicksville).  I think all of us who worked -- whether 
short term or long term -- have interesting experiences.

But what's really important, people who weren't around need to understand --  
in modern terms -- how things really worked. It wasn't just picturesque 
trains rolling by, especially when one was working, as you know.  And just 
this discussion of team tracks and lcl and freight stations and express an 
Railway Express demonstrates mightily that there's alot to discuss and 
share.

Cheers,
Jim


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