I'm looking for a book that will give me a picture of being a fireman/boiler man on a train around 1920.?

Question

The info will be used for background and developing a character in the book I'm writing. I need some specifics of the job, but more of a picture of the life of a fireman. Also information regarding the union disputes of that era would be helpful.

Answer 1

wow, neat subject, should be a great book

really, i think going to a book store and looking through the picture type books would be best.

You can look in amazon or other online book sellers but you still wont know exactly what photos are in there without actually opening the covers and looking inside.

I heard my Dad talking about the "old days" but I never knew what specific era they would have been.

Early 1920's would have been a boom time for the RR's right after WWI.

Dad said the Fireman had the strongest Union contract before deisels. If there was not steam nothign happened. If a fireman siad we are going to eat, the train stopped and they ate LOL.

sorry this isnt much for specifics.

Good Luck with your research

Answer 2

This won't help all that much but it will give you some background -

http://www.sdrm.org/faqs/hostling.html

Firemen were usually "drivers in training".  As firemen they were responsible for stoking the firebox by shovel in most coal - fired locos and making sure that the boiler had enough water.  Other duties probably varied from one railway to another and could have included making sure brake pressures were correct.    

http://www.festrail.co.uk/GDFiles/Guest%...

http://afu.com/steam/

http://www.afule.org.au/reps.htm

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_D46SV-Igcw

Most steam locomotives were in fact coal burners, the fact that two of the sites I linked talk about oil burners is not characteristic.

A steam loco used far more water than coal, so the tender behind locomotives was mostly a water tank.  

Labour strikes were common at times but usually did not last very long, 48 hours would have been considered "long".  While strikes for higher pay did happen, it was more usually problems with labour relations.  "Unfair" sackings, changes in railway rules, perceived safety problems, that sort of thing.  The driver and firemen unions were generally more conservative than unions covering railway labourers, at least in Australia.

Drivers and to some extent firemen were considered "knights of labour"  because of their skilled occupation and were fairly well respected in small communities.  Many were  community leaders in smaller towns, often active members of sports clubs, churches and other organisations.

AFULE - Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen.

Eating aboard steam locos - they did not stop for that, though of course at scheduled stops the crew might eat if it was convenient.  One trick was to wash off the fireman's shovel, rub some fat over it and fry eggs on the shovel in the firebox.  You could also boil water for tea or coffee in a can held in the firebox on an iron bar.  Another was to wrap meat or potatoes in waxed paper and tuck the food in behind one of the hot gauges in the loco where it would cook.  All this depended on the layout of the loco cab.  

Locomotive men usually had large metal boxes containing a variety of food for a day or two away from home, this  depended on the facilities at the town on a main line at the end of their shift.