27 May 2004 Reporting for Duty This past week (as I write this), I was privileged to attend the annual Railroader of the Year dinner sponsored by Railway Age, a sister publication that lists the esteemed editor of RT&S as Engineering Editor on its masthead. Several hundred railroad men and women gathered to pay tribute to this year's honoree, CPR's Robert Ritchie, and to listen to his speech, "20-20 Vision: Creating the North American Railroad Network for Future Generations."   Early in his speech, Ritchie said, "In the early 1970s, the chairman of CP was a crusty old Scot, a physically-imposing man by the name of Ian Sinclair, who business leaders and union leaders alike addressed as "Big Julie". He liked to say to new recruits like myself that "people at CPR don't come to work. They report for duty". He came from that generation that knew a thing or two about self-denial and self-sacrifice - and I think his words are still true today for all railroaders."   His words triggered several responses in my mind. As I looked at the head table, I was struck by some of railroading's greatest, who are past winners of the award. Those who sat there included names such as Barriger, Jacobson, Johnson and Reed. Are they the last of a proud breed of railroaders, or are they torchbearers who made the railroad industry better by their efforts in order to pass it on to another generation? You'd be hard put to find four more diverse personalities, but each in his own way made tremendous contributions to the industry they served, and, in some cases, are still serving, so very well.   I think all four "reported for duty" rather than just coming to work.   Right now, I firmly believe the railroad industry is poised on the edge of a bright future. Or else it will plunge into an insignificant role in the nation's transportation infrastructure. It depends on those coming on the property now and how they do their jobs.   Over the next 10 years, tens of thousands of railroaders will retire. As more and more new railroaders, both men and women, take their places in track gangs, in train service, in the shops and up in the corner offices, they will usher in a new era in railroading. I'm in the over-the-hill gang myself, but I feel confident when I say that the new generation will not put up with things older railroaders take for granted: long hours, time away from home, ancient work rules designed for the steam locomotive era, etc. As both labor and management try to deal with the new employees, they're going to find they have a tiger by the tail and old-fashioned ways of dealing with them simply won't work.   Yes, it's up to us who have hung around to make sure the new people are trained in safety and work knowledge, but we're simply not going to be able to pass on our attitudes and beliefs to this new group. Ain't gonna happen.   In many ways, that's good. The industry has grown stodgy and inbred over the past couple of decades. Much sooner than we think, it will be another generation's turn, and it's going to be very, very interesting when they "report for duty".