The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1883-07-11

telegraph can follow him from place
t. place in the park, if it should be
thought best, with much greater rapi-
dity.
What It Is 10 Be Train.Dlspatcher.
Eyes, sir, I don't mind telling you why
it is" answered the conductor of one of
the accommodation trains running out
Of the city, in response to reporters in
quiry as to why his hair was so stocked
with gray, while his face indicated a
Young man scarcely over thirty. "At 20
my hair was as. black as a coal. Those
streaks of gray were caused by my three
or four years experience as train-dis-
patcher on great trunk line running out
of Chicago.
"People who climb on a passenger
train when she is two or three hours late
little imagine what endless planning and
management it takes to get her through
safely. Let a freight get behind time,
and we can handle her by running on
another trains time, but passenger
breaks up everything on the road. A
train-dispatcher must be familiar with
every circumstance and every possible
combination of circumstances. He must
know just on what portions of the road
fast time can be made, and give orders
accordingly. He must never give an or
der for certain time to be made unless he
is positively certain that the grade and
condition of the weather will permit of
such time being made. To-day I may
order q train to run from station A to
station B, and another for train to run
from B to A, when the same order to-
morrow would precipitate a collision.
You have got to know all the men on the
road. Why, on that line that l worked
on there would be engineers and con-
ductors that could never get train
through on time. Then there were
others that would never be late exeeptin
case of faccident. Why, sometimes during
my eight hours Of duty, would give 25O
train orders. Just think of that mo-
ment. Here is passenger train four
hours late and freight train side track
ed at almost every station. OF course
that puts every train behind time. First
1 have to order the operator to put out
his flag and hold the train for orders, and
then have to send the order and wait
for it to be repeated back. At the same
time train may be passing station five
miles away, when 1 want to hold and
side track her. All this time must not
only keep clear track for the passenger
train, but must unnecessarily detain the
freights. Sometimes right in the middle
Of a rush of business like this, the wire
will break or some operator will leave
his key open. Then everything is to pay.
Fortunately the train-dispatcher's order
is the law. Every employe is bound to
obey it. So we do not have to worry
about that.
ibid ever have an accident7 No ;
but I've come mighty near it. Once l
left the office. by permission, in care Of
my assistant, and when returned l
found that he had two trains running to-
ward each other on single track, and
only station between them. Fortunate
1y got message to the station in time
to flag the first train that got there, but
if one of them had happened to pass
there would have been fearful accident.
It was a very natural mistake. My assist
ant has been with me two years. He had
everything side-tracked all right, but had
forgotten the 'unwritten law of the road
prohibiting two trains on a single
track. On another occasion lost a
train"
"Lost a train?"
eyes, sir, lost it completely. It was a
local freight; it was a little late. 1t left
F twenty minutes behind time, and was
due at NJ in forty minutes, when it was
ordered to side-track for No. 3, fast ex-
press. F and NJ were eleven miles apart,
and No. 8 could not leave F until the
local was reported side-tracked at M.
Well, I waited an hour, and then called
M, who had the message for the locals,
and aeked him wnere the freight was.
He didn't know. In the meantime the
express was at F. and the passengers
were getting mad. Thirty minutes more
and still no train. Then I ordered No. 8
to run cautiously to NJ. She did 80, but
found no local. To say that we were
paralyzed is puttingit mildly. Ten min
utes later W, little station near the
city, reported the local there. She had
got by NJ in some way without disturb
ing the operator. Diogenes never hunted
so diligently for an honest man in the
degenerate days in which he lived as we
did for that train.
"Why did you leave the business ?"
because was growing year older
every week. l had the work of ten men
on my shoulders. You often here Of the
brave engineer clinging with firm resolve
and calm resignation to the throttle
while the engine is plunging on toward
inevitable destruction. His responsible
lity is nothing. He has only a single
tram, and he has no duty only to obey
rules. The train-dispatcher has hum
dred trains under his finger that presses
ugon the key. A moments delay to a
passenger train, a trifaing accident to q
freight, and the dispatcher is cussed.
The eight hours you put in bending over
your keys seem like a week. Your head
swims and grows dizzy beneath its awful
responsibility. No more train-dispatch-
ing for me, if you please. I was offered
that position on this road with COM
Portable salary, but told them all !
wanted was a train. All those gray
hairs that you notice were caused by
my short experience as q train-dis'
patcher."
A hot shovel held over furniture re-
moves white spots.
Tnrpentine applied to q cut IL . pre-
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