Re: Hostler

Same thing happened on the Grande too. A fireman could work as a hostler after 2 years of firing. I don't know if an examination was involved. Hostler jobs could be bid on or if a vacancy existed, assgned to a man on the extra board. As a hostler job was a basic 8 hour shift, there was no overtime and firemen tended to bid on them as a last resort to being buried on the extra board and not working much at all. Some guys preferred the regular hours and relaxed pace of hostling did what they could to hang on to hostling as thier regular job. One of the guys I mentioned above, John Degani, was the regular hostler in Durango for years in the 1950's. He got forced out on the road occasionally, but not very often. Alamosa fireman often either bid on or got assigned to Chama hostler jobs.