Twenty-five years ago, supervision in the Transportation Department consisted of two superintendents (passenger service and train movement), a trainmaster and three assistant trainmasters. In engine service there was a superintendent, a road foreman of engines and three assistant road foremen. That's eleven managers.
Today, there are roughly eleven superintendents, two general superintendents, a CTO, eighty-six transportation managers, twelve road foremen of engines, eighteen transportation supervisors, seven supervisors-train movement about fifteen other managers and three assistant trainmasters. I can't count that high.
Twenty-five years ago, the assistant trainmasters and assistant road foremen petitioned the government to unionize. The road foremen took a buy-out and relinquished their union rights, the assistant trainmasters did not.
Today the assistant trainmasters retain union work rules which make them a well paid lot. Their agreements put them in charge of a division, i.e. Southern / Northern. They work long hours mostly in the field and do much of the hands-on service restoration, rerailing, etc. They all have many years' seniority.
The Trainmaster title was restored after an absence of several years for what used to be car control clerks, who keep tally of what car is where. They are paid less than the assistants and have no field duties.
Both titles appear to predate the Pennsy acqusition -- there seem to have been trainmasters and assistant trainmasters as far back as at least 1870.
