The question about painting depots got me to thinking and I realized a lot of
those on this list and the younger fellows especially don't understand how the
railroads operated. Most major railroads, the Q included were self contained,
self suffient machines. After the Civil War when railroads really began to
grow, there was only one model for large organizations in America. That was the
military. This is not always efficient, as any of us who have served in the
military can atest. The railroads not only built much of their physical plant
but they maintained it as well. The same can be said for equipment. They built
most of it and maintained all of it including cleaning up wrecks. They
maintained huge stores departments and transported their supplies. They
maintained and operated their own telephone and telegraph system. They had
their own mail system. They housed, fed and tranported many of their employees.
Many railroads ( not the Q however) had their own hospitals. The Q did have an
employee health insurance plan, the Burlington Relief. BTW on the railroad, the
word "employee" was spelled "employe". Much of the way the railroad was run was
reflected in the working agreement rules for the various crafts. The railroad
had it own police force and at many terminals there were fire brigades. Steam
switch engines carried fire hoses. The company had water systems many places
and at a few points generated their own electrical power. They had their own
sales force (the traffic department). They even had their own real estate
agents. On the Q, there were baseball/softball teams, shop bands, and in the
general office in Chicago there was a choral club. Many railroads had social
clubs. On the Q, they were called Burlington Boosters. So you see it was a lot
more than just running trains!
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