"Wolf Kirchmeir" <wolfkir@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote
> Yes, and road dirt, too, which is why in the Good Old Days engine crew
> wiped down the engine as often as possible, with an oily rag, which gave
a
> nice glossy sheen.
If by "engine crew" you mean the engineer and fireman, they would probably
have done the job way back when locos were still semi-permanently assigned
to specific crews and cosmetic upkeep was one of their responsibilities;
but
that situation generally ended well before the turn of (the last) century.
Ever since then the railroads have generally employed specialized crews to
clean engines, and in steam days they were known as either "engine wipers"
or just plain "wipers".
On page 84 of his book "Beaumont Hill", John Signor shows a picture of the
Southern Pacific's Colton roundhouse crew in 1944, prominently featuring
five Mexican women who'd been hired as wipers to replace the men who were
off to war.
According to my dear old dad, the remaining men on the roundhouse crew
were
suitably scandalized....
-Pete
|
