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Few if any occupations in Nineteenth century America were more dangerous to life and limb than those of the men who drove and operated the nations railroads. Because of these dangers, it was virtually impossible for railroad men to get insurance to protect themselves and their families -- even if they could afford it. To that end, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE), the first permanent trade organization for railroad workers in the United States, was founded in the early 1860's as a mutual aid society which created a variety of accident, death and burial insurance programs for its members. On December 3, 1867, the BLE also established the “Locomotive Engineers' Mutual Life Insurance Association” which provided assistance to disabled members, their widows and orphans. The BLE also negotiated contracts with railroad companies, signing the first known written railroad labor agreement with William Vanderbilt of the New York Central in 1875.
Illustrated here is a beautifully engraved early “Certificate of Membership and Policy of Life Insurance” of the “Locomotive Engineers' Mutual Life Insurance Association” issued on September 1st, 1871, to N.J. Holbrook in favor of his wife, Catherine, and signed by the Association’s President, C.H. Sherman, and Secretary, F. Abbott. -BCC
Courtesy of the Bruce C. Cooper Collection.
Also see BLE Delegate's Business Card, 1881.
Artificial Legs for RR Workers (1898)
A 19th century American railroad worker couldn't expect any
help from OSHA.
The display advertisement above appeared in the magazine The
Railroad Surgeon in August, 1898.
Courtesy of the Bruce C. Cooper Collection.
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