Name: Charles J. Spears, 59
Occupation: Chicago Transit Authority motorman
Background: Born in New Orleans, Spears has been a Chicago resident since 1954. He began working for the CTA in 1955 and became a motorman a year later. The father of two and grandfather of one, Spears has been married for 34 years.
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Years in present position: 32
This is one of the most involved, most challenging jobs that I know of. We make it look easy because we`re trained that way. Every little sign, number and light you see on those tracks means something. It looks like the motorman is just sitting there, but all these signals are going through his mind like a computer.
We have to be nurses and policemen; we have to be able to communicate with people who can`t speak English. At the same time, we have to move the train safely. We have stricter rules than the airline pilots.
There is no way you can get bored doing this. If you`re experienced, you might get lulled into a false sense of security and take the wrong line up or hit a trip, which is a safety device that stops the train if the motorman ignores a danger signal. Some psychologists say you can get hypnotized by looking at the track, but in a split second something can happen. So I can never allow myself to be lulled that way.
Our goal is to give good service. Basically, it`s the little complaints, like fare disputes, and crime that cause the most delay. Even if it`s just some disgruntled passenger, we have to report it. It`s not up to us to determine what`s to be done. The thing that takes the longest is waiting for the police. The Chicago police do the best they can, but it`s just too difficult.
My typical day is a little different from most people`s because my wife leaves for work very early in the morning. We wake up at about 1:30 a.m., and at 20 minutes to 3 we`re standing on the corner waiting for the bus. My run doesn`t start until 4:14 a.m., so I have time to catch up on my reading after I get to work.
My run starts at 61st and Calumet, goes to University Avenue, then north to Howard Street. On an ordinary day I take three trips from University to Howard and back. There are other runs that work four trips.
With my seniority I can pick whatever days I want to work. It took me 13 years to get Saturday and Sunday off. Now I work Monday through Thursday and Saturday, by my own choice. I work until 12:30 p.m. I get a half-hour lunch with this run. Some runs allow for an hour lunch. Someone relieves me, and then I get another train when I`m done.
The trains are 8 to 10 minutes apart during the rush hour and 14 minutes apart during the non-rush hour. At night they run about a half hour apart. You`re supposed to get a break for a cup of coffee at each end of the run, but we usually don`t because of a shortage of equipment and the closeness of the runs. We`re trying to give decent services to the public, so we usually just turn around and go right out.
When I retire in a few years, I`d like to take a few courses in English because I`d like to write a book about my experiences. Anything you`ve ever heard about the train, negative or positive, I`ve seen it. Some situations are comical, and some are dangerous. You can see bullet holes in the sides of the train, so you know we go through some pretty dangerous places.
I got hit with a brick in my windshield once. You talk about a frightening experience! I think most people are more afraid of a brick than they are of getting shot because the percentage of shootings is not as great as the percentage of brick-throwing. People throw bricks and bottles, usually from the ground. We`re a moving target. Summertime is when it gets bad. The motorman has a better chance of getting out of the way because he can see it coming. The conductor doesn`t know anything until he gets hit.
The noise level is very bad. On the newer trains the wheels don`t make as much noise, and other parts of the train are also made to be quieter. But the older trains where the windows can be opened are unbelievable in the summer. I`m used to it; you can`t use earplugs when you drive the train because you need all five senses to tell you if something is going wrong. You smell the brakes burning or you smell a fire or you see some indication of trouble on your panel or you hear someone screaming for help, caught in the doors, perhaps.
There was an incident once where a lady came rushing out at the train as it pulled into the station, and with one fluid motion she just dived onto the center of the tracks. So I used all the emergency systems we have and stopped the train and jumped off. She was crawling over to the third rail side, and I caught her by the arm and said: ”Where are you trying to go? Did someone push you?” She said, ”You stupid fool. I jumped. And if I get another chance, I`m going to jump again.”
So the police came, and we found out she was an escapee from an asylum. Later we learned that she escaped another time and went to a different line and jumped again. She wasn`t so lucky that time. Anytime that anybody jumps or is pushed and you can`t stop the train, you don`t forget the sound or sight. Veterans of war will know what I`m talking about. I wish people would find some other way to do it.
You meet all kinds of deranged people on this job. Three years ago a lady came running up to me while I was driving the train and said, ”He`s flashing back there.” I was coming through a section where there are a lot of lights on the track, and I was concentrating on all the lights flashing, and I just didn`t get what she meant.
So I said: ”I can`t talk to you until I make a stop. Then I`ll explain it to you.” And she said: ”No, he`s back in the second car. He`s flashing.” My mind was still wrapped up in what I was doing, and I still didn`t know what she was talking about. So then I made my stop, and I started to try to explain the flashing lights to her, and she said, ”I`m talking about the guy in the second car,” and all of a sudden it dawned on me. Boy, did I feel stupid.
So I told her: ”Don`t go back there, because he knows you came up here to tell me. Just stay up here with me, and I`ll radio for the police.” We have a system where we call for the police and then we wait at the next station to meet them. The police met us and got on the front and the back and found the man sitting back there with nothing but a raincoat on. The last I saw of him he was being taken off in handcuffs.
We have a very good system with the police. There is a control center that can tell where every train is. We have a radio system where we call control and they get the police for us. We`re working on a system where the police are right there with the controller and they get the information, the description, at the same time that the controller gets it. Then help will come even faster.
For safety, I advise people to ride in the front car. Usually the motorman can see what`s going on by looking at the reflection in the windshield, and he can hear if there`s a lot of noise or some commotion in the car, and he`ll investigate. Or ride in the third or fourth car, where the conductor is. He has a radio; we have a buzzer system that we use between the conductor and the motorman. We also have telephones out on the platform. So he can get help in a hurry, too. That`s one of the reasons we only run two cars on a train on the midnight service; then there is protection in each car.
Whatever happens to the conductor happens to the motorman because they have to solve the problem together. The conductor`s job is to open and close the doors and to call out the stations. My job is to operate the train. We can talk to each other, and we also have signals where we know to help each other out if one of us is having a problem. If I sit there for a couple of seconds and I don`t have the green light on my panel, I`m supposed to get out and start walking back there to find out what his problem is. He might be in some kind of trouble. Somebody might be pointing a .45 at him, so you have to mind your p`s and q`s when you go back there.
There are motormen with all kinds of degrees, from ministers to engineers. Most of them are very interesting to talk to. And we all care about providing good service. Since I don`t have a driver`s license, I take public transportation. So I understand the system from both sides. I just hope that the working people who ride the ”L” know that someone out there is thinking about them.
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