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What are the job descriptions on a passenger railway train?
I'm writing a book about a vacation on a train and need to know the crew's jobs. Porter, conductor, etc...
The terms and jobs are time frame dependant, according to what era your fiction is to take place.
If your story line takes place in the golden age of passenger train travel, 20s, 30s and 40s, the jobs and job descriptions are more plentiful. In that era you would find:
An engineer and a fireman in the cab of the locomotive. I don’t think a job description is needed here. But, sometimes, the crack passenger trains of the era power with large, hand fired coal burning steam engines, often had two firemen on the crew to keep up with the necessary, relentless shoveling of the black diamonds through the butterfly, foot lever operated firebox doors.
Next would be found baggagemen and mail sorters in the baggage cars and the RPOs (Railway Post Office cars.)
There would have been found numerous cooks and porters. The cooks were more “chefs” than the usual short-order types, as the plush dinning cars offered up legendary cuisine. The porters were kept busy making up births, supplying clean linens, serving food, assisting passengers on and off the trains by placing a small set of “steps” below the coach steps, polishing silverware and shining crystal glasses. Travelers with rooms had a compartment, accessible from the outside corridor, in which they would leave their shoes overnight, to wake in the morning and find them spit-shined and ready for the days activities by the porters as well.
Top notch bartenders were found in the lounge, club and bar cars. In the latter days of these great trains, "auto-mats" were included for snacks and the like.
On some railroads, barbers were employed for anyone needing a shave and/or haircut.
The conductors and brakemen were present as well. The conductor was responsible not only for the operation of the train, but was also held accountable for fare collections and the accompanying accounting. There were usually three or more brakemen, to handle ground work and flagging duties when required.
“Red Caps” were in evidence as well, assisting with carry-on bags when boarding and detraining or when on the station platform. Also on the platform would be found the Stationmaster from time to time, charged with the duty nof seeing that all is running smothly on the busy platforms.
Of course on today’s passenger trains, nearly all of that has gone the way of the steam engine. You will find an engineer working alone on most commute runs, or with a trainman riding along as a lookout in other operations. These days, the baggageman is called a TBM and spends his time alone in the baggage car. There are no more RPOs, barbers, and the porters duties are far fewer, with fewer of them. There is still the conductor and a brakeman, along with a couple Amtrak Service Representatives. The smiling, first class service is long gone.
If in your story the vacation train is a special train, chartered for the purpose, it would come with whatever services you are willing to pay extra for. Literary license could run wild here.
Hope this helps.
York National Railway Museum
Located in York, the National Railway Museum offers a taste of rail transport in Britain's history. It is the world's biggest railway museum, with a large collection of locomotives and other railway equipment. It is the most widely visited of all the museums located outside of London.
The museum is located near the railway station in York. A train from the center of the city provides transport to the museum. There is no admission fee and it is open from 10 in the morning to 6 in the evening.
The entire collection located in the National Railway Museum reaches almost 280 vehicles, including over 100 locomotives. The locomotives are often transferred to other museums in the area, including the Locomotion at Shidon. Perhaps the most impressive among all the displays is the "Palace on Wheels" display. It is composed of a collection of trains dating back to the time of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth. Some of the first vehicles used in that time are now on display at the museum in part to preserve them.
Another popular exhibit is the Furness Railway No. 3. The old English steam locomotive is also known as "Coppernob". One prominent feature of the "Coppernob" is the copper firebox steam engine. It is important historically due to it being a survivor of that particular period in time. The LNER Class A3 4472, more popularly known as the Flying Scotsman, is another popular exhibit. It is also slated for occasional operational use as part of a railway network. However, it is more commonly used for promotional purposes these days. It is one of the most famous locomotives due to the amount of exposure gained in both children's books and the PC game Microsoft Train Simulator.
Several vehicles are also imported. One such example of this is the Chinese Class KF Locomotive. It was originally built in Britain and was used as part of the Night Ferry service located in Paris and London. The Night Ferry is a sleeper train, which is a type of railroad passenger car that usually travels during nighttime. It is able to seat a lot of passengers per trip. Another vehicle, the Japanese 0 Series Shinkansen Bullet Train, was given by the West Japan Railway Company. It is the only bullet train located outside of Japan.
The collections are not just composed of locomotive displays. Other items of note include railway timepieces. Watches used for timekeeping purposes during railway operation are on display. Station platform clocks, guard watches and office clocks are just some of the items on display. Railway tickets are another prominent display. Different kinds of tickets are on display too, from gold passes to simple ticket stubs.
Railway models are another significant portion of the collection. The museum has a host of models with significant historical importance. There is also a substantial collection of toy trains built for commercial purposes.
Another exhibit pertains to the railway coins and medals used in the past. These coins were typically used during the construction of the railway systems themselves and were used mostly for trade.
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For accommodation in York please visit:
YorkHotels.me.uk
. For more options
HotelsYork.org.uk
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