I have a 1959 bound book of The Conductor and Brakeman (ORC&B). The ORC&B proudly claims to be “The Second Oldest Railroad Labor Organization Founded 1868.” The bound book consists of the ten magazines sent to subscribers that year. The grand division and offices were located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which is why I bought it for the local connection. Within each pocket sized magazine are issues of the day, promotions, long service retirements, deaths, interesting factoids and RR humor. The ORC&B later combined with other RR unions and brotherhoods in 1969 to form the present day United Transportation Union.
While not the most exciting reading, I never the less gleaned the following tidbits from the pages.
1) The top story of the year is RR management wanting to cut back on the sacred 5-6 man train crews (engineer, fireman, conductor, head brakeman, brakeman, and sixth person function if used was not defined). Featherbedding was the catch phrase of the day. According to ORC&B, if cutback was implemented and other onerous rules implemented there would be: No differential for night work, No extra pay for holiday work, No expense payments while away from home terminal, no premium pay for Saturday and Sunday work, Also many deaths and injuries due to hazards of rail jobs. Both sides put on spirited advertising to the public, arm twisted Washington politicians and campaign coffer contributions. In fact, the measure was put before the Arkansas electorate in 1959 to decide if six man crew should be retained. It voted to keep large crew by 56% majority. The Supreme court got involved, President Eisenhower was roped in, and in September Public Law 86-257 “Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959” was narrowly passed. Apparently within the bill, provisions were inserted that allowed RR management to finagle ways to cut back crews. (The whole bill was printed in the November magazine in really fine print, I did not read it). Suffice to say ORC&B was full of gloom and doom that RR would be put back into the dark ages
2) The origin of the train whistle was explained. Engineers first blew a tin horn as warning but it was ineffective above clanking machinery. George Stevenson attached a pipe to the boiler and steam was expelled with a shrill note and become the steam trumpet. When the trumpet crossed the pond, it became the whistle in America, when George Washington Whistler, father of the painter of Whistlers Mother was engaged by the Long Island to design a warning device for passenger locomotives. The heralding device became known as the “whistler” and finally just “whistle”.
3) Idea of rolling Hit and Miss mobile missile bases was expected to be on the rails within five years. Unlike the static missile bases, these special trains would roll around the 329 thousand miles of track making it impossible for the enemy to knock these out. Wall Street Journal reported that 200-300 of these special trains would be needed to effectively defend the country. Remember those Lionel exploding box car and missile cars?
4) Ed Sullivan of The Ed Sullivan Show worked as a cargo truck driver for IC for three months, though the date of working was not given.
5) And finally on the lighter side, a drunk in New York City went down the 42nd street subway entrance and after awhile came back up the 44th exit where upon was met by another drunk friend who had been looking for him. “Where have you been asked the friend?” Replied the first drunk “Down in some guy’s basement, and boy you ought to see the train set he has!”
