Railroad Housing?

[chuff_n_puff]

I was just wondering if the old Southern Railway, in NC, was the only RR that furnished housing for their employees? It wasn't elaborate and I would dare say people wouldn't even live in these conditions now, but it was something SRR did out of pride in their employees, back in the 30s and 40s. My Dad spent most of his entire life on the SRR, but as a "section forman", in charge of about a 30 mile stretch of rail. SRR took old "beyond repair" box cars, placed them on side rails and converted them into housing for employees. I was born in one of those "box car houses'! In the early 40s, they started building 2 room regular houses along the rails at depots. After I was born my Dad had built up enough seniority to move into one of these real houses. He loved SRR and his job, but in 1948 he lost 15 men of a 17 man crew to a terrible wreck on the SRR and was in a comma for 6 months himself. This was all caused by one stupid employee who thought time tables wasn't important! Dad was never able to work on the railroad again, but SRR took care of him until his death in 1979. Lawyers hounded him continueously to sue SRR, but Dad never would. Times and peoples' attitudes sure have changed. How many would be that loyal to an employer this day and time? I am retired now, and since 2002, have built a $16,000 HO scale model layout, and of coarse, it is all SRR! I just wanted a model train set that my Dad could never afford and it kind of got out of hand! But I was just wondering if this housing thing was a common practice at all railroads, in by-gone days, or did the Southern have the market cornered?

[SteamGene]

I believe it was fairly common.  I seem to remember that C&O had housing for some employees.  After all, it serviced the coal mines where workers lived in company towns.   Maybe in other parts of the country it wasn't as common.
Gene

[Nathan]

The logging railroads had a number of 'company' towns, both for the railroad and logging workers.  Many were less the good, but sum were quite good.  If you get a chance visit the Cass Scenic Railway in WV a good portion of the company town has been restored.

[brad]

Both CN and CP had company housing

brad

[Woody Elmore]

On a visit to the B&O Museum I learned that much of the neighborhood around the roundhouse and yard (that is gone) was all owned by the B&O. They are mostly two story row houses.

In a number of places in South Carolina there are small one room buildings built by the various railroads. My dad pointed out some houses that were built by the C&WC (Charleston and Western Carolina) which was owned by the ACL.

[BillD53A]

In Fort Myers, FL, the Atlantic Coast Line had a village where their employees could live.  They also provided rooms for away-from-home train crews on their rest period between runs.  Two of these houses are still standing...they are just ordinary 'shotgun' houses.  They were within easy walking distance of the depot, yard and loco shops.  Of course if an employee wanted to live elsewhere that was up to him.  
I dont know if the Seaboard had similar facilities here or not.  
In North Fort Myers there was a lumber company that built a sawmill and company town.  First it was the JW McWilliams Lumber Co, which was purchased by the Dowling & Camp Lumber Co.    They provided housing for 350 workers and their families.  The town had a hotel, boarding houses, dining halls, schools, churches, a post office, commissary store, auto repair garage, and housing.  The buildings had lights, running water, and telephones.  The company operated a logging railroad with 14 locomotives, and hauled logs more than 40 miles to the mill.  There are 2 buildings left that I know of...both were moved in 1944.  There is not a single building left at the original site.

[Pacific Northern]

I had the opportunity years ago to visit/inspect in British Columbia the town of Field.  It is a CPR company town located in a Federal Park (Yoho/Banff). The round house supplied a lot of the houses with steam heat from its boilers.  The old survey plans showing the various CPR buildings were even labeled as to which houses were designated to which railroad positions. Many of the towns owed there existence to the railroads.

[RAM]

I am sure that most railroads had housing for some employees.  Like operators and section crews in out of the way places.  It was common for the section foremen to have housing.  If they need them they had to know where to find them.  You young people might not know it, but they did not have cell phones twenty years ago.  In fact at one time the call boy had to go to the train crews house on a bike or on foot. We had trains before phones.

[chuff_n_puff]

I appreciate all the postings and have learned a lot about railroad housing I didn't know. I especially liked RAM's post about the call boy's job in those days. Back during the depression a friend of Dad's owed him $10 and went into service. He gave Dad a claim check for a new Indian motorcycle that was delivered in a crate to the depot. Dad had to pay $1.75 to pick it up, and with the gas rationing situation like it was, Dad traded it for a bicycle and never uncrated it. He gave the bike to the company's call boy to make his job easier.

[Tyke]

My step father worked for the Santa Fe during '39-'40 from Albuquerque to Los Angeles. He worked first on an "Extra Gang" on the long stretches of track in the desert. The Extra Gang travelled with a MOW train with bunk cars, and commissary cars. However, since my Stepfather had my mother and me in tow, he was not eligible to live in the MOW train-that was for bachelors only; as we followed the train around from repair site to repair site, we lived wherever we could scrounge around to find places to live (mostly in our car). When he worked on a "Yard Gang", we lived in houses grouped in a small "village" of ATSF duplexes. "Section Gangs", assigned responsibility for track maintenance between yards had small ATSF villages along their assigned sections of track.

Tyke

[ebtnut]

As noted, section houses and even company housing were fairly common, especially in the 19th Century.  Also note that many statons included a residential section for the station agent and his family. 

[anoldrail]

GN NP and CBQ all had employee housing as well and hotels for train crews that were laid up at then end of their away leg of the run.

[scottychaos]

Lehigh Valley Railroad, Sayre PA.
several streets of "company houses" all built to the same pattern.

quality, if basic, brick homes.
nearly all still stand and are still in use today.

Scot

[Paul M.]

You can buy HO models of railroad housing structures. One of the more well known kits is the Tyco Railroad hotel

[SteamGene]

A railroad hotel and company housing are not really the same thing.  The first is transient, while the second is for the family of an employee.
Gene