Trainman leaving mid-trip

Something strange the other day. I won't mention the specific day or train. On the way home, we had a trainman working my part of the train I had never seen before (I'm at the point where I generally don't see anyone new on my regular trains). As we approached Roselle, he came through with hat off and with his personal belongings and, after everyone else left the train, got off himself and watched the train depart (heading to the other side and, I assume, his car). As far as I know, it just left one trainman working the train.

So what the heck was that about? The only thing I can guess is that he had a short call in the morning and to avoid a delay, the train started short a trainman with this guy told to join it at Roselle and then leave in Roselle (but surprised he wouldn't work all the way to Elgin, then deadhead back to Roselle although that would have added 1-1/2 hours to the trip).

Not strange at all, it was probably a "swing collector", helping out the crew with duties that include, but aren't limited to, collecting fares during busier segments of rush hour trains. They usually don't ride the entire route, instead they'll get on and off at certain points along the way, typically in zone D, E, or F locations as the crowds build or diminish during rush....

That's the first I've heard of swing collectors on Metra. But this trainman seemed to be taking the place of the regular conductor (front of train; I've been told by one trainman that the head position is "The" conductor and the rear is the "Rear Brakeman" to use traditional railroad trainman terms). The regular guy I've talked to numerous times. I normally ride his runs both ways and as far as I know, it's an Elgin-Elgin trip (with mid-day break in Chicago). I've ridden his first train a couple of times and he was not boarding in Roselle nor have I seen anyone get off that train in Roselle before.

What is normal Metra staffing for trainman (conductors, assistant conductors, brakemen, etc. Not engineers who, at least in my time in railroad service, are enginemen, not trainmen)? From what I've observed, the six and seven car sets have two, no idea about the four and eight, and the nine and ten cars have three.

lstone19 wrote:What is normal Metra staffing for trainman (conductors, assistant conductors, brakemen, etc. Not engineers who, at least in my time in railroad service, are enginemen, not trainmen)? From what I've observed, the six and seven car sets have two, no idea about the four and eight, and the nine and ten cars have three.

Metra staffs all of its trains with at least three crew members: One engineer, one conductor, and one brakeman (using UP terminology; not sure if Metra uses this term universally; they may refer to them as "assistant conductors" on other non-contract routes). While most UP/W trains operate with this minimum, during the summer festival season, an extra "swing" collector can be added to the crew on some weekend trains, and they'll ride the entire route, mostly to help out with fare collection. And some of these trains can indeed become busier than normal rush hour runs due to the mostly cash-paying crowds; it isn't uncommon for eight cars of a nine-car set to be open by the time the train hits OTC, after leaving Elburn with just three cars open, so the extra staffing is justified for the most part. But otherwise, they'll only ride part of the route, and periodically, I've observed some of them either getting on or off at Wheaton...