Station agent duties and tasks

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Frank,

Thanks for the wonderful information and insight.

Jim
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: "N&amp,W Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2005 4:16 AM
Subject: Station agent duties and tasks


> To: "N&W Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> 
> Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 07:12:44 -0500 
> From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
> Subject:  Re: A question about waybills, switch lists
> and other paperwork.
> 
> I was always interested in the "paperwork" aspect of
> railroading, as well as the role of the station agent.
> It seems to me that a lot of us know very little
> about how this was done for real, as most of us have
> never worked on the prototype railroad and our
> experience is limited, and perhaps skewed, from what
> we have learned as modelers.
> 
> Just what did the conductor do on a freight train? 
> Certainly, he did more than ride in the caboose!  And
> just what were the responsibilities of the station
> agent?  He didn't just sell tickets to passenger
> trains.
> 
> I think this would make for a very interesting series
> of articles for the Arrow from those who are in the
> know on these matters.  In today's world of fax
> machines, e-mail and cellphones, the folks who did
> formerly did these jobs "the old fashion way" have a
> wealth of information that will be lost unless it is
> preserved.
> 
> Just my thoughts.
> 
> Jim Brewer
> Glenwood MD
> 
> 
> January 14, 2005
> 
> Hello, Jim:
> 
> I was never a station agent on the N&W but did work as
> one during summers on the C&O's Piedmont, Peninsula,
> and Rivanna Sub-Divisions.  I'll outline a few
> activities that come to mind on the assumption that
> responsibilities were similar between the roads.
> 
> The title "agent" is not one to be used loosely.  It
> comes from the concept of "principal" and "agent" in
> commercial law, which in turn is based upon common law
> master-servant relationships.  The master is
> responsible for the servant; an agent acts on behalf
> of and in place of its principal.  Because of legal
> implications, "agents" are few and far between on
> railroads --or any other business, for that matter. 
> Most railroad employees and all contractors are
> usually stipulated to not be "agents," just like
> window tellers --oops, I mean customer
> representatives-- aren't bank "vice presidents."
> 
> Railroads formed the business model of a large
> enterprise with a divisional work force and
> substantial capitalization.  One aspect that was
> needed was a person who represented the faceless
> company within individual communities and bind the
> carrier in contracts for the performance of
> transportation services.  These contracts were
> "straight" and "order" bills of lading for freight, as
> well as tickets sold for passenger services.  The
> person who could legally bind the carrier for the
> performance of these services in exchange for the
> established rates and charges was the agent.  To
> establish boundaries for their performance, agents
> were not allowed to stray from the printed terms in
> tariffs or bill of lading contracts.  They also had
> plenty of procedural rules and guidelines to keep them
> from becoming "loose cannons."
> 
> There were four different "types" of station agent,
> based upon size of station and scope of
> responsibilities.  At terminals in major cities, the
> responsibilities for carload (CL) freight, less than
> carload (LCL) freight, passenger ticketing and
> baggage-mail-express might be divided between
> separately-appointed agents for each facet.  Each
> agent commanded tiers of staff to perform the
> functions in their name.  At large stations in
> medium-sized cities, there might be just two agents;
> one who oversaw a staff dealing with passenger
> services such as ticket clerks, baggage and mail
> handlers, and custodians.  The other dealt with the
> freight side of the business, such as LCL/CL/express
> clerks, freight handlers, and the "operator."
> 
> In small cities or significant towns --such as ones
> where junctions of two or more rail lines were served
> by a single shared "union" station, there might be an
> "agent-operator" who supervised a clerk and perhaps a
> flunkie who did cleaning, light maintenance, and
> tended a coal furnace if the building was so equipped.
> 
> The smallest towns had an "agent-operator" who did
> everything that needed to be done.  I'll focus most of
> my comments on that one person's activities since the
> majority of stations I worked had that combined role.
> 
> Before I do, one should note that not every small
> station had an "agent-operator."  Some only had
> agents, such as Diascund or Pendleton.  If one sees a
> station building exterior picture and there is no
> train order or block signal on the track side, there
> was no operator inside.  Even though the agent did not
> record train passings, all employees were always
> expected to observe passing train for defects.  As an
> aside, this was also true for Doswell on the RF&P and
> C&O.  The operator sat across the RF&P track from the
> station at HN tower.  Whenever there was an
> interlocking tower in close proximity to the station,
> as with AF vis-a-vis Alexandria Union station or G
> Cabin at Gordonsville, there was seldom an operator
> within the station building.  Roanoke passenger
> station and large terminals were an exception, since
> train crews would pick up orders from an operator's
> office.  For example, DO office in Main Street was
> down the hall from the Chief Dispatcher's office, and
> adjacent to the rooms where the Piedmont-Peninsula and
> Rivanna dispatchers were located.  Those fellows were
> behind a door stenciled "strictly private." 
> 
> Since I've mentioned the title "operator," I should
> describe what that person did.  This individual was
> usually an arm of the operating department for train
> movement.  She --as in the case of women telegraphers
> hired during war years when men were scarce-- or he
> was the eyes and ears of the dispatcher and worked
> under that person's direction, not the agent.  The
> operator's role is mostly described in the railroad's
> operating rules within sections regarding train orders
> or manual block rules.
> 
> There were three types of operators.  Most common were
> those one normally thinks of, who sat in the bay
> window area of a station with responsibilities that
> I'll outline below as a part of an "agent-operator"
> discussion.  Next, some worked in an interlocking
> tower and often performed the function of a leverman. 
> Finally, there's Abram Burnett's favorite: the young
> buck hot ace who carried a Vibroplex to work and
> scorched the wires at the telegraph (later reformed
> into teletype) offices that were major communications
> hubs of a railroad.  This last operator category
> sometimes had limited railroad knowledge, instead work
> experience worked on news wires or commodity exchanges
> that had high message volume and demanded fast
> word-per-minute throughput.  They were valued for
> their speed and accuracy, usually using a "mill"
> (read: typewriter having only upper-case letters and
> numerals) when receiving messages instead of copying
> them in long-hand.  They also did not work for a
> dispatcher; instead, they reported adminstratively to
> an office manager and functionally to the wire chief. 
> When they wanted to slow down in life or settle in a
> family way (read: they reached "thirty-something"),
> they drifted into the other types of operator jobs
> mentioned above.
> 
> Here's an off-the-top-of-my-head list of
> agent-operator tasks that I believe were commonly
> performed in stations of Pocahontas Region railroads. 
> No doubt, others can add to the list or perhaps adjust
> it based upon N&W-specific knowledge.  I performed
> these activies at stations such as Columbia, Sabot,
> Mineral, Beaverdam, and Providence Forge during 1971,
> 1972, and 1973.  That said, railroads were more like
> they were 35 years earlier than they are now 35 years
> later.
> 
> Agent - freight:
> 
> Several activities were performed routinely during
> mornings, such as...
> 
> Count the money in the safe if one was not the person
> on duty during the preceding shift
> 
> Perform yard check of cars on the house track, team
> track, plus any blind sidings the agency was
> responsible for
> 
> Retrieve waybills left by local freight conductor in
> phone or bill box for cars spotted overnight
> 
> Pick up mail from post office lock box
> 
> Prepare transmittal of payments received on freight
> bills for the zone accounting bureau
> 
> Inspect shipment for damage claim submitted by
> consignee
> 
> Update demurrage records
> 
> Read and file tariff updates, bulletins, memorandums,
> and embargoes
> 
> Handle official correspondence
> 
> 
> In the afternoons, responsibilities shifted to...
> 
> Receive car order for following day from shippers
> 
> Call in car order to the car distribution clerk
> 
> Prepare bills of lading for outbound shipments based
> upon information provided by consignor
> 
> Split out the waybill copy, fold vertically in half
> with car initial and number facing upward, and stack
> in car order on the spur
> 
> Send message to yard clerk where local freight is made
> up to advise the number of cars to be picked up and
> the location of the waybills
> 
> Put copy of message around waybills and place in
> designated spot for retrieval by local conductor
> 
> Send freight bill of lading invoice copy for collect 
> shipments to zone accounting bureau
> 
> Mail any outbound correspondence before the last mail
> collection
> 
> Where there was no passenger service, receive Railroad
> Business (R.R.B.) mail from the local freight
> conductor, or submit outbound mail to the local
> freight conductor.
> 
> 
> 
> Operator:
> 
> Receive calls from dispatcher to copy train orders,
> repeat the order back, and record time of completion
> 
> Acknowledge display of train order signal according to
> dispatcher's instruction 
> 
> Prepare clearance card for approaching train, if
> required, and "make it complete" with dispatcher
> 
> Observe passing trains for defects and watch for
> markers on the final car
> 
> Record time of train passing on movement record
> 
> Report time of train passing to dispatcher, including
> classification signal if displayed
> 
> Report time of train passing to the next operator on
> duty in the direction of travel
> 
> Answer and handle calls receive on message line or
> block line
> 
> 
> Other duties as assigned:
> 
> Periodically sweep floors and cobwebs
> 
> Pick up litter around building perimeter
> 
> Clean inside toilet facilities or periodically put a
> scoop of lime in outhouse chamber
> 
> Burn trash
> 
> Remove ashes from coal stove and keep two scuttles of
> coal on hand
> 
> Oil wooden floors once a year
> 
> Periodically order supplies and receive from the
> supply train (in later years, it was a parcel post
> delivery from a central stores department)
> 
> 
> 
> Some things I didn't do but will mention in passing
> based upon early training or awareness:
> 
> 
> Agent - Western Union:
> 
> Receive message copied off wire by operator
> 
> Arrange for delivery
> 
> Receive message from public, calculate charge
> according to tariff, and collect funds
> 
> Record payments received on ledger and remit funds
> 
> Give message to operator for transmission
> 
> Retain record copies of messages received and
> dispatched
> 
> 
> Agent - Railway Express:
> 
> Receive shipments from express messenger or driver and
> inspect for condition and count according to the
> waybill
> 
> Notify consignee of arrival
> 
> Receive shipments from public, prepare bill of lading,
> and collect payment
> 
> Tender outbound shipments to express messenger or
> driver
> 
> Record payment and remit funds from day's transactions
> 
> Calculate storage charges on shipments not picked up
> 
> Forward any unclaimed shipments to Railway Express
> terminal
> 
> 
> Agent - passenger
> 
> Account for ticket stock and sold tickets daily
> 
> Provide rate and schedule information upon request
> 
> Reserve sleeping car or reserved coach accommodations
> 
> Issue tickets for coach, Pullman, or human remains
> 
> Receive, handle, or deliver passenger baggage
> 
> Calculate storage for baggage left beyond free time
> 
> Periodically send unclaimed baggage to designated
> location
> 
> Announce expected arrival of passenger trains and
> where patrons should be on platform for their type of
> accommodation
> 
> Update arrivals board based upon information provided
> by operator in conversation with dispatcher
> 
> Observe station premises for loafers and ask to see
> their ticket; if none, ask the person to leave
> 
> Place newly-received public timetables in rack and
> discard obsolete copies
> 
> Update tariff, instructions, and memorandum files with
> supplements received via company mail
> 
> Receive and dispatch passenger baggage or human
> remains to/from the baggage master on a train
> 
> Receive Railroad Business (R.R.B.) mail from the
> baggage master on a train, or submit outbound mail to
> the baggage master.
> 
> 
> Agent - LCL
> 
> Receive shipments from local freight conductor and
> inspect for condition and count according to the
> waybill
> 
> Notify consignee of arrival
> 
> Receive shipments from public, prepare bill of lading,
> and collect payment
> 
> Tender outbound shipments to local freight conductor
> 
> Record payment and remit funds from day's transactions
> 
> Calculate storage charges on shipments not picked up
> 
> Forward any unclaimed shipments and damaged freight
> (if claim proceeds paid to consignee and the items
> become railroad property) to nearest LCL terminal for
> disposition
> 
> 
> Agent - U.S. Mail
> 
> Receive pouch(s) and/or sack(s) from mail messenger
> and record quantity and train to which they are to be
> dispatched
> 
> Keep in secure area (usually the agent's locked
> office) until train arrival
> 
> Turn over mail to the Railway Post Office (RPO) clerk
> on a train, or the baggage master if there is no RPO
> 
> Hold mail received from train in secure area until
> claimed by the mail messenger
> 
> Note: a mail messenger may have made these exchanges
> directly without involvement of railroad personnel
> 
> 
> In closing, there is much more to be said about this
> topic.  Jim, some aspects of what I've briefly touched
> on are covered in 20th correspondence school training
> course or textbooks published by the College of
> Advanced Traffic.  The multi-volume SCIENCE OF THE
> RAILWAYS is a good example of something that can be a
> useful reference for people interested in agency work.
> 
> Hmmm, train 1 on the night trick has a flag stop for
> one of the Gilpin clan at Boyce to Knoxville.  It's
> always "steak and sleeper" for those folks.  I'd
> better get outside with my green and white
> lanterns....
> 
> GN&GM,
> 
> Frank
> 
> 
> =====
> Dr. Frank R. Scheer, Curator
> Railway Mail Service Library, Inc.
> f_scheer at yahoo.com
> (202) 268-2121 - weekday office
> (540) 837-9090 - weekend afternoons 
> in the former N&W station on VA rte 723 
> 117 East Main Street 
> Boyce  VA  22620-9639
> 
> Visit at http://www.railwaymailservicelibrary.org
> 
> 
> 
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