PLAN No. 988. TRACK WORK
In the third group of employments, included under the heading track work, a man needs physical strength and agility, good health, good eyesight, and good hearing. Without these, he is constantly in danger himself and may endanger the lives of others. Only the foremen may have physical disabilities, such as the loss of a hand or arm. All must have good health, since they are exposed regularly to all sorts of weather. All must have good eyesight, in order that they may do their work properly and avoid danger. Poor hearing would continually subject the man to danger from passing trains, from falling objects, or other sources of danger, since one who has poor hearing would not generally hear or would misunderstand warnings of danger. A man on the track must be agile in order to avoid danger.
Work Requires Skill
Men in this group are frequently classed as unskilled, largely because railroads have employed for the work unskilled foreign laborers, but to do the work properly considerable skill is nevertheless required. Poorly tamped ties, “goosenecks,” maul dents on the rails, and similar defects are evidences that may be found on many roads of unskilled work. Ability to drive a spike properly, so that the rail is held securely to the ties, is not quickly acquired.
Fence work, bridge work, cement work, and similar work, often performed by special gangs, require skill to be done rapidly and well.
Occupations
The main occupations in this group are track laborers, foremen and supervisors, bridge carpenters and foremen, fence-gang men and foremen, and other extra gang men and foremen, linemen and repairers, painters of sign posts and structures, structural iron workers and foremen, and concrete workers and foremen.
Conditions of Employment Unsuited to Disabled Men
In track work, only the positions of foremen or supervisors pay good wages, and only these could be suitably undertaken by disabled men.
The track laborer in the eastern and northern section of the country has to compete with the immigrant from Europe, in the South with the Negro, in the West with the Mexican, and in the far West with the Oriental. Only a few workers on construction gangs do not have to meet this competition directly, because their work requires a skill that the foreigner does not acquire easily. But such work is very seasonal, being done for the most part during the summer and early fall. Wages are not high and working conditions usually are poor if not bad. Extra gang work, in this respect, is very little different. Section work, while allowing the men to have home life and thus have better living conditions, usually is seasonal and pays lower wages than is paid to other gangs upon track construction work. Bridge construction or repair work requires some skill and the wages are good, but the danger is considerable for even a physically strong and sound man. The painters of structures receive good wages, but their work requires climbing into dangerous positions. The lineman must frequently do climbing to repair wires, or to cut away limbs of trees thrown upon the wires by storms. Evidently, these positions are not suitable for the disabled soldier from three standpoints, namely, the seasonal character of the work, the danger to which it subjects him, and the relatively low wages paid on the average for the year. The position of timekeeper for large extra gangs is, of course, mainly clerical, but is undesirable since it is very seasonal. All track occupations are hazardous and accidents are frequent.