New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1883-10-24
how Time TABLES Are Made.

One of the most laborious things con-
nected with the management of rail-
road is the insttuting of changes in the
timetable governing the running of
trains. Instead of It being done with
pen and paper, as many may suppose,
the entire running management Of all
passenger and freight trains, their cross
ing of other tracks, or passage of other
trains, their stops, and lost time, are all
calculated by simple, common pins and
spools of different colored threads. Be-
fore timetable or schedule is prepared
the time chart is first perfected. To
prepare time chart, a large sheet of
drawing paper is first stretched on a
smooth surface and mounted on an
easel. The chart is ruled either for two,
five, or ten-minute time by horizontal
lines and perpendicular CROSSINGS. The
''time'' is marked above tho horizontal
line, and the distances, or stations and
terminals, down the first perpendicular
line
For illustration, II midnight is the
mark on the first horizontal line, and
each hour is marked until tho twenty
fourth, or the following midnight hour,
is reached on the last horizontal line.
Between the hour lines the space is di-
vided into minutes and graduated as
fine as desired. On a two-minute chart
the space between the hours is divided
into ten minutes time and the ten min
utes' time into two minutes time. The
hour lines are made heavy, and the les
ser time lines are of a lighter shade to
distinguish them. The one terminus of
the road, Milwaukee, for instance, is
marked on the first line beside the first
time mark, II midnight. The other
| stations follow down the perpendicular
line until the other terminal is reached.
Then all is ready to prepare for the
running arrangement, provided the pins
and thread are ready. A blue thread
means a passenger train, red thread q
freight train, and if the trains of other
roads use part OF the track they are
designated by adiffercnt colored thread.
1t is calculated that the running time
shall be, say, twenty-five miles an hour,
and for the purpose of illustration, tho
tracing OF one passenger train will ans
wer the purpose of explaining them all.
A passenger train leaves Milwaukee at
a. m. A pin is placed on the horizon
tai line at the 8 a. m. time mark, and
the end of the blue thread fastened
thereto. If the train runs without
stopping for fifty miles, the blue thread
is stretched over opposite to the station
at which the stop is made, and directly
under the 10 a. m. time mark another
pin is stuck, and the blue thread wrap
ped about it to keep it taut. If this is
q stop, say, of forty minutes, the blue
thread is stretched to the 1910 a. m.
mark on direct line with the same
station, and another pin stuck and the
blue thread wrapped. The train starts
and its entire course is thus timed and
distributed along the road. If the rail-
road has, say, forty or sixty passenger
and freight trains running daily, tho
time chart, when it is completed, looks
like great SPIDERS web stretched out
with pins. But little work then remains
to transfer the time and stations to the
timetable, and the schedule is ready
for the printer. -Mils0aukee Sentinel.