Railway Accounting Volume 2 (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV STATION ACCOUNTING A great many meritorious books have been written in regard to the station agent and station accounting. This subject, however, is one of such vast importance, cover-' ing as it does almost every line of railroad activity, that it is safe to assert no one has thus far been able to describe and define fully and correctly in every particular the many duties of the station agent and the complicated and vexing questions which oftentimes confront him. The writer can, therefore, only endeavor in this short chapter to deal with this question in a very brief and general way. Station Agent The station agent should be, and usually is, a man of more than ordinary intelligence. In his particular domain he is the representative of every department of the railroad. He comes in personal contact with the general public. It is his duty to furnish information of all kinds to shippers and patrons of the railroad. He receives complaints which should be handled in such a diplomatic manner that all may become satisfied. While the station agent reports direct to the division superintendent, he is at the same time responsible to the traffic, legal, operating, and accounting departments pertaining to matters affecting those departments. He checks, receipts for, and delivers freight. Oftentimes at a one-man station he is required to do the trucking andheavy work, as well as his own janitor work, handle baggage, sell passenger tickets, collect freight charges, report the movement of trains to the dispatcher, check the cars in the yard, render car reports, and keep the station accounts; in fact, he is required to be alive to every situation. In addition to all this he is usually a man of importance in the average town or village, and his advice is often sought. In ...