Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 October 1884 — Scrubbing Railroad Cars. [ARTICLE]

Scrubbing Railroad Cars.

“It’s no small job cleaning these cars,” said an eipploye to a reporter, while vigorously scrubbing an expresscar on the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks. “Every inch of the exposed woodwork must be gone over, even to the narrow strip above the ventilators. Water of itself is of small consequence in removing this coat of black. You might rub this car for a week, using only water, and then not do the work properly. We dip our brushes in lye and that cuts the dirt, so that when we use the sponge, soaked in water, everything but the paint is removed. It is very hard on the paints. As a rule we scrub a car twice before it requires a new coat of paint and varnish. Two of us can clean a baggage-car in a day. They don’t have so many windows. The windows add greatly to the work, as they make so many little corners that require an extra amount of rubbing. It takes longer to clean a passengercar. It takes two men about two days, although when we are in a hurry to get a car out we have four at work, two on each side. The work is very hard on the arms. The scrubbing takes nearly all the varnish off and makes a car look old and common. The lettering in gold leaf loses its bright appearance and frequently has to be relettered, as the edges of the leaf pull off. We are kept busy all the year round. In the ■winter time we have to use warm water.

“There is no funny business about the work then. You ought to see our hands when the weather is cold. Hack is no name for it. We clean the cars of all the roads running into the Union Depot. Sometimes when we are rushed we only scrub a circular spot over the number of the car. We clean the cabooses occasionally. After getting accustomed to the work it is not very hard, hub it’s the same thing over and over. After the car is newly painted it will run several years without being cleaned. Alter one scrubbing the dirt catches more readily and is harder to get off the second time.”— Pittsburgh Dispatch.