In the old days, trains that ran through western ranch country were often late. The crew who had orders to pull onto a siding knew they might have to wait a long time. So they could just take a walk to the nearest house, wake the rancher and settle down for a visit. If their host was in a good humor, he’d build a fire and cook them a meal. Then, when they heard the whistle of the approaching train, they’d start back in plenty of time to signal as it passed their siding. Railroaders have fun talking about those early times, but they’d really rather have the safety of Centralized Traffic Control.
CTC helps to keep passenger trains moving safely into big cities, too. The man at the board—he’s called the dispatcher—decides which track each train should use. He pushes the levers. Electric switches move. Signals flash to the engineer, and lights on the board show every train moving along.
THE CAPTAIN AND THE CARS
Maybe you think the conductor of a passenger train is only the man who takes tickets and says “All Aboard.” But he really is the boss of the whole train. Even the engineer must follow his signals. That’s why they call the conductor the Captain.
The brakeman is the conductor’s helper. Together they collect tickets or fares and help passengers on and off at stations.
On the slick, fast trains called streamliners the conductor has quite a job to do. Many of the passengers are making long trips, so they have complicated tickets that allow them to stop at several places and then come home again. The conductor has to check the tickets and make sure they are right.
For short trips, conductors and brakemen take care of everything. But a streamliner needs a lot of other people who do special jobs.
The first one you’re likely to meet is the stewardess. She makes passengers comfortable. She answers questions and points out things that are particularly interesting to look at through the window.