Probably no man in railway service comes in contact with more people or travels any farther in the course of a year than the conductor of a passenger train.
What the captain is to the steamship, the conductor is to the railway train.
He is responsible for carrying out all orders pertaining to the operation of his train, for the conduct of his crew, for the comfort and safety of passengers and for the collection of tickets and fares. He sees that his train displays the proper flags or lights and that each member of the train crew performs his duties according to well-established rules.
The conductor is under the supervision of and reports to the superintendent or the trainmaster of his division He reports for work sufficiently in advance of the scheduled time of departure to see that his train is properly made up and inspected and that other members of the crew are on duty Before leaving the terminal, the conductor inspects his train to see that the cars are clean, that there is fresh water in the coolers and that the temperature in the cars is properly regulated.
After the train is on its way, the conductor collects tickets and fares from passengers taking short trips and punches the tickets of other passengers who may be stopping off along the way, or going to another part of the railroad, or traveling over other railroads. At the end of his run, the conductor makes a detailed report of his ticket and cash receipts, and these are carefully checked later by the auditor's office.
Members of the passenger train crew who are under the conductor's supervision include an engineer, a fireman, one or more brakemen (sometimes called trainmen or flagmen), a baggageman if the train carries a baggage car, and on some railroads a porter for the coaches. The Pullman conductor, Pullman porters and dining car crew are also under the general supervision of the conductor.
The brakemen and the porters assist the conductor by announcing stations, opening and closing vestibule doors at the stations, helping passengers on and off trains with their baggage and performing such other duties as the conductor may direct...