Corps of Engineers. The work force should be supplemented by local labor whenever it is available.
Section II. Management
5.15.
INTRODUCTION
Any work force requires management even if it consists only of a single individual who plans,
coordinates, and does his own work. Track maintenance is a complex business, and this section explains its
management in terms of how it is organized, how the work forces are distributed, how the work is programmed,
and how track charts are used are used.
5.16.
ORGANIZATION
Railway systems, military or civilian, are divided geographically into divisions. The organization of a
typical civilian maintenance-of-way division is described in subparagraph a; that of a military division in
subparagraph b.
a. Typical civilian railway division. On a civilian line, the overall authority and responsibility for all
phases of maintenance of a rail division rest in the hands of the division engineer. On some lines, he may have
the title of maintenance-of -way superintendent. He is thus one of several members of the division
superintendent's staff.
The division engineer further delegates his work to several supervisors. There will usually be two or
more track supervisors, sometimes called roadmasters, per division, along with a bridges and buildings supervisor
and a signal supervisor. The work is divided geographically among the track supervisors; that is, each supervisor
is charged with track maintenance on a portion of the division known as a subdivision. Each subdivision has
definite physical boundaries, usually designated by mileposts. Each superior then divides his territory into
sections and places them under section foremen. There may be as many as eight main-line section foremen, each
in charge of a section gang. In addition, the supervisor has at his disposal several branch-line section foremen and
an extra gang and foreman which he uses anywhere on the subdivision.
b. Military rail division. The area covered by a military rail division ranges from 144 to 240 kilometers.
In charge of the division's maintenance of way is the maintenance-of-way superintendent. He is also the
company commander of the transportation
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