WORKING FOR A RAILROAD can be rough and tumble, especially for rookie employees. These days things may be different, but when I was with the Chicago & North Western, training covered only the basics. New employees were expected to figure out the finer points of the job themselves, and it appeared that some supervisors believed that lessons learned the hard way stuck with you. You were always given the information you needed to be safe, but occasionally someone would forget to mention something that would have made the job simpler. A friend had tipped me that the C&NW was hiring, so I called and made an appointment with the state employment office. As it turned out, that was the day I learned the first of these lessons. I wanted to become a brakeman, but during the interview they asked whether I could type. Not understanding the significance of the question, I said yes, only to be told, "In that case, you're not a brakeman, you're a clerk." Umm, OK. On the other hand, the clerks' extra board was guaranteed, which seemed like a good thing. According to the guys at the state office, that meant the C&NW would pay us even if we didn't work. Sounded good.
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