Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 195, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 August 1913 — KEEP TAB ON TRACK WALKER [ARTICLE]

KEEP TAB ON TRACK WALKER

Clocks Placed Along Line Make It Imperative for Men to Be Always “On the Job." “Move along! Move along! Move along!” incessantly chirp the little clocks with which the track welkers on sections of a prominent eastern railroad have been equipped. A track walker is supposed to walk. His title is not honorary, and his job is not a sinecure—unless he transforms it" into one, and that is against orders. On his walking and his watchfulness depend the lives or thousands of travelers, for he is supposed to ascertain that every inch of rail on his “beat” is fit for the safe passage of locomotive and cars. Until recently, the company relied solely on a card system to keep tab on these employes. This was an excellent incentive to good walking until some track walker, who some day may be president of a railroad, discovered that a friendly station operator, with a few strokes of his pen, could cover miles of ground. The operators were instructed to sign the cards of the track walkers when they appeared at their stations. Collusion between the card bearer and the signer was possible, and the company cast about for a system which would eliminate it The “move along”, clocks were the answer. Patrol stations have been placed along the track walkers’ beats. Each station has a different key. Each key registers differently from every other key. To have a clean sheet in his clock the walker must visit each patrol station. There is no possibility of collusion between him and keys, whereby he can sit on a pile of ties and dream away the time that should be spent in walking. “Move along! Move along!" chirp the clocks.