Morris tribune., 1881-04-07
First Glass Facilities for Job Work
How the New York Central Time Tables
are Made.
From the Bnffalo Telepranh

The time tables of the New York Central
railway are made up in Albany, and the ac-
curacy with which they are arranged, max
ing simple what might otherwise be copfu-
sion, is certainly interesting. These time
tables show the exact minute at which all
the numerous trains are due at the various
stations between Buffalo and New York.
On the main line there are about ITO sta
tions, and great many more on all the
small branch lines. Connections are also
to be made with Is other railroads, and thus
it will be seen that in making up the time
tables the person intrusted has only to take
charge of the trains running ON the main
line from Buffalo to New York, but has to
regulate certain of them going south or north
between Albany and New York, or east and
west between Albany and Buffalo. They
make prompt connection with the branches
with the schedule time or oIner tuu-
Meeting roads. All this is puzzling
and laborious task, and no little ingenuity
has been expended on the different roads
in devising a system which could properly
regulate the intricate work connected with
promptly and safely running back and forth
between more than 100 stations as many
trains day. In the Albany depot there is
a big blackboard, upon which different
colored strings run diagonally from the top
to the bottom from left to right, and from
the bottom to the top from right to left.
Along each end are ranged the names of
stations on the road, with their distance
from each other. At the top and bottom of
the board are placed at regular intervals
figures from to -, representing hours of
the day, and are still further sub divided
into twelfths, SO as to represent five min
utes. From Buffalo, numerous strings
stretch down to lines occupied by Utica,
Syracuse, Albany and other towns all the
way to New York. For illustration, one
string from Buffalo on the top and left of
the board will reach down like hypothen-
use, and will strike the line occupied by
Albany at point on the right, showing the
trip has been made in nine hours,
and that the string represents an ex-
press train. Another string between the
same points will make a more obtuse angle,
showing by stretching down into another
column of figures further to the right, that
it is local or accommodation train. These
strings intersect local horizontal lines on
which are placed the names of the stations.
and vertical and perpendicular lines, which
represent the divisions of time into hours
and smaller intervals of five minutes. If
train is given a certain time to go from
certain point to another, a certain string in
being stretched diagonally down and across
the board from left to right to the perpen-
dicular column representing the required
time of arrival will necessarily interssct the
intermediate horizontal lines on which are
the names of stations, and at the point of
intersection at the different stations shows
the exact time at which the train should ar
rive. For trains going the other way the
process is reversed, and the string is stretch
ed from the bottom of the board to the top
and from ri eht to left. 1t is from this Gu
rious complication of strings that the elab-
crate tlme-tab are prepared, and added
to all these are indicated the kind of train
whether fast, slow or way trains.