OK Pete you put me up to it.
Again w/o getting into specific details here's how "step offs" worked.
First and foremost keep in mind that these were written local agreements
between local management and the lodge. These were done as a convenience to
the
crews at no cost to the company.
This simplest step off I can relate was at Aurora. If you were coming east
on a "Northern Passenger turn" or a "Mainline passenger turn" and
approaching Aurora your counterpart on the opposite side would be standing on
the
platform at Aurora.in uniform .You stepped off and he stepped on to finish
the last 38 miles into CUS. You stayed on the timeslip to CUS. The guy
stepping on performed you're duties but didn't get paid. Tomorrow you did the
same thing for him.
Why ? Because you both saved the slow commute to CUS in and out on the
dinkies. If you're guy wasn't there you had to complete the run. This would
happen with extra men who weren't familiar with the routine and if the caller
didn't advise him of the practice.
Often if crews were ordered to protect extras or specials out of CUS they
would meet a eastbound at Aurora and work in on it instead of deadheading
on the dinky.If the working crew didnt have a step off because of
scheduling issues they would this particular day. It was all part of the
brotherhood
understanding.
Another step off was at Galesburg. It gets more complicated so bear with me
and if I mess up any of the points those in the "know" are free to correct
me(after all this has not existed for about 35-40 years).
At Galesburg there was not only the Galesburg lodge but also an Aurora
lodge based there. These men protected the mainline frt pool to Cicero,local
service to Mendota and the mainline passenger pool if their seniority
entilted them. How ? The job was advertised as an Aurora Div job and these men
were carried on the Aurora Div senioirty list in order of their hire/promotion
date just like men at Aurora. In fact they often bumped into Aurora when
the mainline pool would contract with the business cycle. I recall a number
of Aurora Div.engineers based at Galesburg who came to Aurora on a semi
regular basis and lived out of their mobile homes.
Mainline passenger pool jobs started out of CUS. But you live in Galesburg
and can hold a mainline passenger turn. Do you want to commute from
Galesburg to CUS every other day and then back ? Not if you can avoid it.
Thus the Galesburg step off came into being. Lets say your protecting jobs
that run CUS-Burlington. Tonight you are scheduled to be on a train out of
CUS. So you meet your counterpart as he comes east into Galesburg. He steps
off and you step on to fill his spot to CUS. Then work from CUS to
Burlington tonight and home tomorrow on your assigned turn. As you approach
Galesburg eastbound tomorrow your counterpart steps on and you step off.
Each of you saves the long commute from CUS to GT. On these runs this means
well over 50% of the job mileage is filled by men who are not "officially"
there.
Problems would develop if trains ran late,extra men were involved,etc. In
the late 70s the Galesburg step off got to be an issue as #5/6 were often
so late the hog law would catch up with step off crews or they couldn't get
to Chicago in time to protect thei own assingment.
But for the most part these step offs and many others worked well and the
men made them work in their own self interests.
Leo Phillipp
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