Grand Trunk Western Rules: Maintenance of Way, Signal Depts. (1916)

So, what did a section crew do, anyway? We can get some idea from this booklet printed in 1916 by the Grand Trunk Railway company for the use of its employees in the Maintenance of Way Department.

Grand Trunk Railway System: Rules of the Maintenance of Way Department; Signal Department Rules (Montreal,...

The section foreman took his orders from the Supervisor of Track, who was "responsible for the safe condition and proper maintenance of track, roadbed, right-of-way, station grounds and driveways," among other things.

The section foreman's specific duties start on page 28 of the booklet (p. 16 of this PDF). They included preventing and controlling fires along the track; and keeping ditches and waterways flowing freely, and fences, farm crossing gates and cattle guards in good repair. If cattle or other animals strayed onto the track and got killed, the section crew had to "bury or otherwise remove" them. They also had go along the track and collect anything fallen from the trains, whether freight or parts of the train itself. The maintenance of road crossings was another part of the crew's job, as well as working in cooperation with the signal department to protect and maintain the wires, pipelines and switches that made the crossing bells and other signals work (see p. 44 of the booklet, p. 24 of this PDF). One of the more miserable duties, besides burying dead animals, was going over the track "during storms" to make sure it was not damaged.

And in doing all this, the crews had to avoid being hit by trains themselves, without the benefit of wireless communication. They had to know the timetables and have a reliable watch. In emergencies, communication might depend on visual signals. The section on signals — hand, flag and lamp — starts on p. 9 of the booklet (p. 6 of this PDF), and the train signals described in Rule 28 are illustrated starting on p. 73 of the booklet (p. 39 of this PDF).