Working for the Railroad: The Organization of Work in the Nineteenth Century

350 Pages·2014·22.817 MB·English

by  Walter Licht

WORKING FOR THE RAILROAD

WALTER LICHT
WORKING FOR THE
RAILROAD
The Organization of
Work in the Nineteenth
Century
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
Copyright © 1983 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, NewJersey
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, Guildford, Surrey
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data will be found on the last
printed page of this book
ISBN 0-691-04700-6
Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from The Andrew
W. Mellon Foundation
This book has been composed in Linotron Sabon
Clothbound editions of Princeton University Press books are printed on
acid-free paper, and binding materials are chosen for strength and durability.
Paperbacks, although satisfactory for personal collections, are not usually
suitable for library rebinding.
Printed in the United States of America by Princeton University Press,
Princeton, New Jersey
Dedicated to My Mother
and the Memory of My Father

CONTENTS
List of Tables ix
List of Illustrations xi
Preface xiii
1 The View from the Top 3
2 The Supply of Labor 31
3 Working to Rule 79
4 The Rewards of Labor 125
5 The Perils of Labor 164
6 The Railwaymen: A Social Profile 214
7 The Legacy of the Early Years: Conclusions 244
Appendixes 273
Bibliography 306
Index 321

LIST OF TABLES
2.1. Estimates of Total Railway Employment, 1840—80 33
2.2. Total Railway Employment by Grade, 1880 34
2.3. Size of Work Place by Number Employed, 1880 35
2.4. Wage Averages and Differentials, 1839-73 64
2.5. Turnover Analysis for the Hartford & New Haven Rail­
road, 1845-47, 1851-53, 1868-70 75
3.1. Number and Percentage of Employees Discharged from
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, February
1877-December 1878, and the Erie Railroad, January
1873—March 1873, by the Reasons Given for Dismissal 106
3.2. Number and Percentage of Employees Discharged from
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, February
1877-December 1878, and the Erie Railroad, January
1873—March 1873, by Grade of Employ 110
4.1. Average Daily Wages in Dollars of Twenty Railway and
Nonrailway Occupations, 1840-79 126
4.2. Percentage Changes in the Average Daily Wages of Rail­
way and Nonrailway Labor Compared with Similar
Changes in Cost-of-Living Indices, 1840-79 128
4.3. Average Age of Illinois Central Employees upon Reaching
Their Career Destinations 153
4.4. Career Dispositions of 1,987 Railwaymen over a Two-
Year Period 159
5.1. Number and Percentage of Railway Employees Working
Stated Number of Days in 1889 168
5.2. Average Number of Days Worked Each Month for Nine
Grades of Railwaymen, Hartford & New Haven Rail­
road, 1852 170