Definition of Hostling. Hostling of an engine is primarily the preparation supplying of such an engine, either for entrance upon trip or shift at the Initial terminal, or for its storage maintenance during the time it Is tied up at the final terminal. At the initial terminal, such prepatory work may include, for example, bringing the engine out of the roundhouse, placing upon it the fuel, water or sand necessary to its service, and its placement upon the designated track for delivery to the outgoing crew. At the final terminal, work preparatory to tie-up may Include"dumping of the fire, movement of the engine from the designated track to the appropriate stall In the roundhouse or equivalent track, or, If the engine is to be held under steam, it may be necessary to supply it with additional fuel or water for that purpose. Such work, or any of it, so long as it Is preparatory to work or tie-up, Is hostling. However, the mere taking of fuel or water at a terminal does not, in itself constitute hostling; for an engine might be hostled and entirely ready for service, and yet additional fuel or water might be necessitated at the same terminal, before the run or shift was completed, due to subsequent delays in departure or the performance of the regular work of the road or yard crew. The securing of such additional supplies is not hostling, so long as the engine was properly supplied when the run or shift started. However, the taking on of necessary supplies cannot be removed from the hostling classification by the mere requirement of movement of the engine a few hundred feet, or the performance of a switching movement before such supplies are taken on. Officers and employees should be guided by the principle that hostling is a preparatory service, and that it necessitates the actual expenditure of some time therein. No engine can be properly hostled in five minutes, and claiming of the 24-minute arbitrary for such short periods of time is evidence that the claim Is based upon a technicality of wording and not upon an actual performance of work.
