 THERE
are many reasons why my job is important if I am honest with myself and my employers. I
shall attempt to outline a few of the most pertinent in this article. As a conductor, on
any class of train, I come in contact with the public. If I conduct myself in a courteous
manner in performing the service of the company, I make friends for the company and for
myself. These friendships pay dividends. To my mind courtesy. is the very magnet of
business. By always being ready and willing to meet the public more than half way, I am
conducing to the progress and prosperity of the railroad. As the railroad prospers and
progresses, so do its employes prosper and progress.
The conductor, when on duty, is an operating officer in charge of one particular train and
must decide all questions of movement and operation of that train in a safe and sane
manner. Many lives, as well as thousands of dollars worth of property and goods, depend
upon his ability to efficiently handle his train. One small mistake may cause a great loss
of life and property.
AS A PASSENGER CONDUCTOR
THE passenger conductor has many
thousands of human beings that use our trains to make comfortable and to protect from
accidents while in his charge. This responsibility never ceases and is very necessary to
the success of the company. Many questions are asked conductors that must be answered with
diplomacy. If he endeavors, at all times, to be congenial and obliging, his efforts will
be appreciated and result in a kindly feeling toward our railroad. The passengers usually
judge the entire railroad by the treatment they receive at the hands of the conductor. If
he assumes a "don't give a care" attitude while dealing with passengers, they
will feel that the entire organization is indifferent to their patronage and they, in
turn, will assume an indifferent attitude toward that railroad.
The Rio Grande spends thousands of dollars each year advertising our service and it is my
duty to co-operate with them in doing all I can to fulfill the promises they make. One of
the poorest advertisements a railroad can have is an untidy and uncivil passenger
conductor. I, therefore, endeavor to be neat in my appearance and considerate in my
treatment of passengers, thereby satisfying the patronage our advertising has secured, at
the same time creating a lasting reputation for the railroad.
AS A FREIGHT CONDUCTOR
THERE is no limit to the
responsibilities of a freight conductor and he must be on the alert at all times. He
leaves a terminal with thousands of dollars worth of property in his charge, and it is his
duty, during the trip, to see that this property is properly handled and safe guarded, at
all times. It must be protected from rough handling, from pilfering and from delay. All
unnecessary switching must be eliminated to save time, and sudden stops caused by faulty
air and misjudgment should be guarded against to avoid damage. The conductor can also do
much to encourage greater cooperation between all employes, with a view to moving his
train over the division safely and on schedule time.
If we are to attract more business to the railroad, we must give our patrons dependable
service. The responsibility for that kind of service is largely dependent upon the actions
of the conductor. Through carelessness and indifference he can very easily contribute to a
very unsatisfactory service. Poor service will not get business.
In handling stock trains the conductor should see that the men in charge of the stock are
given every available comfort. He should also assist them, at every opportunity, in the
inspection and care of stock and endeavor, at all times, to get them to their destination
with the least possible delay. The men in charge of live stock are walking advertisements.
Whether they do good advertising for the company, or bad, largely depends upon the
treatment they received while moving over the line.
At terminals, stockmen should be informed as to the time their train will depart, where
the caboose or drovers' car will be, so that they will be permitted to get a hot meal
without the thought of being left. In handling stockmen, the conductor should try to put
himself in their place and give them the same consideration he would expect if lie were
traveling over a strange railroad, ignorant of conditions that enter into and affect the
movement of their stock over the line and through the various terminals.
In handling fruit trains and other perishable freight, the conductor plays an important
part in avoiding damage claims. The great losses attendant to the handling of perishable
commodities by the railroad through temperature failures and other causes would be greatly
reduced if all conductors would interest themselves in paving strict attention to vents,
icing and other safeguards. The conductor can also save many unnecessary delays to
perishable freight by keeping his head cut in at all times.
IT is hard to determine just how
important the services of a conductor are in the profitable conduct of a railroad, if be
is sufficiently interested in his work to become acquainted with this responsibility and
try to illustrate the importance of his work in his daily actions. A little thought about
his work will cause any conductor to realize his great responsibility and encourage him to
put forth greater efforts to handle the traffic that is intrusted to his care more
expeditiously, safely and economically.
A few of the "thinkers" on this railroad have grasped the opportunity to better
themselves and the organization through the formation of service clubs in their efforts to
devise new ways and means to handle our business and to encourage the solicitation of more
traffic for the railroad.
To my mind, these clubs are of great benefit to all, in that they show us the importance
of our jobs. Many men go on working day after day in the same humdrum and uninterested
way, simply because they have never realized the importance of the work they are doing and
how even the humblest occupation is of great importance to the well-working of the whole.
Every employe should realize the importance of his work and interest himself in it for the
benefit of all concerned. A conductor, through pleasing our patrons, assists the traffic
department in getting more business. He also assists the traffic department when, through
his actions, he is contributing to a superior service. It is service that sells
transportation and transportation is all we have to sell. The operating department also
shares in the conductor's efficiency and co-operation in the way of reduced costs and the
smooth running of the railroad. All other departments enjoy the fruits of the conductor's
efforts through the manner in which his actions have contributed to the general
development and prosperity of the road.
On a railroad there are many interests and all these interests are mutual. We are each
dependent upon the other and all are dependent upon the railroad.
LOCAL FREIGHT CONDUCTOR
A local freight conductor is a very
important link in the transportation chain if, be conducts himself in the interests of the
company. By making "spots" at certain points for patrons and assisting them in
every way to quickly unload and load their freight, he is contributing to sounder public
relations. He must do this willingly, because it is not always the case where the agent or
yardmaster know the exact need- of the patron or just where he wants his car placed.
Some conductors are so arbitrary that they will not perform these local duties unless they
have a switch list from the agent or an order from the dispatcher. These fellows are
driving away business that the more interested employes are trying to secure. While they
may not think so, they are hurting themselves, because anything that injures the
relationsbip of the railroad with the public injures every person in the employ of that
railroad. I have always gone out of my way to assist a patron of the company without hope
of any other reward than that of the general good I derive from strengthening our
organization.
CO-OPERATION WITH ALL
By working with the dispatcher and other officials in handling a train, the conductor is
fulfilling a very great and important need. In so doing, the dispatcher is enabled to make
advantageous meeting points with other trains, allow work trains, extra gangs and other
miscellaneous train and track employes to do more work and, at the same time. assist you
in. getting your train over the road without unnecessary delay and inconvenience, which
all contributes, to an improved operating record for your division. When you assist a
dispatcher to make a better showing on his train sheet, when you assist a superintendent
to make a better showing on his division, you can rest assured that these officials will
do everything in their power to help you in your work.
WHILE a conductor may not be more
important than many other employes who go to make tip the great organization that conducts
the affairs of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, I firmly believe that the
realization of hi; importance makes him more important to the success of the railroad.
What I have said here is for the good of the cause. I have not meant to be egotistical. My
remarks are the result of a lot of thinking about my job, and I hope that they will
encourage others to do likewise. When we begin to think about our work, we begin to do
better work, and it is the better work of employes that enables es the company to give
better service and to attain greater success.
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