JWG –
First, thanks for the interesting question! Knowing that you're
familiar with IT engineering, I'll dwell on defining the roles of a
train crew and how railroad technology changed how business was
conducted in the 19th Century. There's a rich literature on railroads
and modern business, as you'll see from the resources below.
STEAM ENGINE CREWS
-------------------
The first 100 years of railroading were dominated by steam engines,
which were supplanted by diesel engines in the industrial countries
only after World War II. The train's engineer was part of team of
specialized employees on the train, backed by specialists at the
station and in the yards. In this respect, the operation of a
locomotive was initially as specialized as an IT project.
As processes were automated on the train, jobs were eliminated
progressively, resulting in years of battles with railroad unions over
what management considered 'featherbedding.' One of the most visible
examples is that the caboose has finally disappeared from trains,
along with the rear brakeman or flagman who manned it.
ENGINEER – supervisory control of train operation, especially while in
motion
FIREMAN – responsible for firing the engine with fuel; keeping the
steam levels adequate; recharging water levels. On older coal or
wood-fired boilers, a stoker or the brakeman may assist the fireman
BRAKEMAN – braking operation of individual cars as well as entire
train; tail end brakeman or flag was in the caboose and responsible
for monitoring condition of rails and signals
PASSENGER STAFF – porters, conductors, stewards, chefs, baggage
handlers
STATION STAFF – dispatchers, ticket agents, baggage/freight handlers
YARD STAFF – linemen, signalmen, switchmen, oilers
LINE STAFF – construction engineer, gang boss or foreman, laborers
COMPANY STAFF – accounting, payroll, accounts payable, accounts
receivable, safety inspectors
For an overview of historical information about the operation of steam
engines and railroad workers,
Canada Museum of Science and Technology
"Background Information for Trains" (2002)
http://www.science-tech.nmstc.ca/english/schoolzone/Info_Trains.cfm#crew
For a modern look at train crews and the limited role of the "train
driver," the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook
gives up-to-date requirements:
U.S. Department of Labor
"Rail Transportation Occupations"
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos244.htm
The most-direct comparisons with the transportation employees could be
computer support specialists (as opposed to software engineers,
responsible for building new computer infrastructure). The BLS
describes these occupations as well:
U.S. Department of Labor
"Computer Support Specialists and Systems Administrators"
http://www.bls.gov/oco/pdf/ocos268.pdf
RAILROADS AND MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
-----------------------------------
Building out the railroad structure occurred in a similar fashion to
computer technology, though it took about 65 years for U.S. and U.K.
rail structures to reach "saturation." You may find it interesting to
compare the building of computer or network infrastructure with the
rate at which railroads built infrastructure. Below are track miles
for the U.K., which was the first country to fully exploit the
railroad:
1825: 26 miles
1844: 2,236
1850: 6,635
1860: 10,410
1870: 15,320
1880: 18,935
1890: 20,073
1900: 21,855
1920: 23,387
1933: 20,251
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica
And just as the Internet and networking have dramatically changed the
usefulness of computers, the telegraph is closely related to better
utilization of railroads. The telegraph permitted active management
of railroad resources at a distance and simultaneous scheduling of a
single line for multiple trains. You might even say it enabled
"multi-tasking!"
For all of its advantages, the telegraph was simply one communications
technology. Like earlu network technologies such as Arcnet, the
telegraph went through its own period of growth, speculation,
consolidation and decline:
Economic History Encyclopedia
"History of the U.S. Telegraph Industry"
http://www.eh.net/encyclopedia/nonnenmacher.industry.telegraphic.us.php
Prior to the establishment of railroads, businesses had been primarily
local enterprises. Even where they covered larger geographies, such
as in shipping, it was not necessary to coordinate activities
simultaneously. Just as computers and networks have done, railroads
compressed time scales and required coordination across time zones.
The changes brought about included new management structures;
specialized job definitions; new cost accounting procedures; new
financial and pricing practices. Many of the changes are detailed in
a series of three articles by Keith Poole, with the most-dramatic
being the page on corporate structure:
Prof. Keith Poole, University of Houston
"Railroads, The First Big Business"
http://voteview.uh.edu/railroad.htm
"Corporate Structure"
http://voteview.uh.edu/rtopic4c.htm
Probably the most-popular book on railroads and their impact on
business is Alfred Chandler's, "The Visible Hand," Harvard University
Press, 1977. Chandler's work, which won a Pulitzer,
makes a number of arguments that may flavor how you look at IT and its
professions:
* once established, management becomes its own source of power and
growth
* management hierarchies become increasingly technical and
professional
* professionals are not entrepreneurs or speculators and prefer
stability to risk
* as businesses dominate sectors of the economy, they change the
structure of the economy
A good synopsis of 'The Visible Hand' is on the Economic History site
as well:
Economic History Project
"Significant Works in 20th Century Economic History" (Feb. 12, 2001)
http://www.eh.net/bookreviews/library/landes.shtml
For more sources on railroad and business history, Richard Jensen of
the UIC has this excellent bibliography online:
Prof. Richard Jensen, University of Illinois-Chicago
"Railroad History" (Dec. 3, 2002)
http://tigger.uic.edu/~rjensen/railroad.htm
Google search strategy:
railroads + "business history"
"train crew" + "steam engine"
"railroad engineer" + computer
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA |
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