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Transition era crew size.
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I read in a history of the Southern RR that there was a spirited argument over whether a fireman was neccessary on diesel locomotives. In the late 40's, the president of the Southern put firemen into diesels- he went out and hired old African Americans and told them their job was just to sit there and look out the window. <br /> <br />In the deep South of that time, this was the equivalent of sticking your finger in the eyes of the BLE and make it look like the BLE was racist as well. That's Dixie union busting at it's best. <br /> <br />I have also read that Pullman porters were almost exclusively African-Americans. Again, I have seen photos of white Pullman supervisors checking attendants for clean fingernails. I've even read a joke that was current at the time where "black" colleges were filled up with the sons of porters. <br /> <br />During World War II, there were plenty of women in the work force as well. I have seen photos of women cleaning locomotives and running stations, but none of them actually operating a train. After the war, most of them left the jobs they held and went home to become the June Cleavers of the fifties. <br /> <br />Erik
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