Freight train crew questions

[RobertInOntario]

Hi, Rob. Another reason for larger crews in the"old days" was communication. Radios were not pervasive as individual equipment - before about 1980, they were expensive (had to be made rugged), bulky (transistorized, but not ICs yet) with large batteries (PC/CR Motorolas used 2 lantern batteries) to give usable power/range. Usually one was assigned to the Conductor. If a crew was switching, spotting industries, inspecting a road train for trouble, the Brakeman's Lantern was the communication means of necessity. If the track was curved, or fog, rain or other conditions reduced the range of vision, more lights (hence more bodies) were needed to pass signals from the work location to the engine - often to be observed and relayed to the engineer by the (obsolete) fireman from the other side of the cab. Later, smaller, more powerful, handier personal radios became available and were issued as part of each members work equipment, and lantern signals (even hand signals) were de-emphasized as the crews were reduced in size. I didn't get a radio 'til the 90s, when, due to the 2 man crew on trains, pusher engineers (working alone on their engines) were required to couple on, cut off, handle telemetry markers and give road brake tests to trains - some dangerous and scary moments there. Bob C.

Thanks, Bob. Yes, good point about communications (or lack thereof) in the old days. Rob