The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1883-10-10
AN AWFUL RESPONSIBILITY


People who climb on n passenger train
when she is two or three hours late,
little imagine what endless planning and
management il takes to get her through
safely. Let 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. lie must
know Just on what portions of the road
fast time can I've made, and give orders
accordingly. He must never give an
order for certain time to he made unless
he is positively certain that the grade
and condition OF the weather will permit
of such time being made. To-day may
order n 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 collision.
You have got to know all the men on
the line. Why, on the road that |
worked on there would be engineers and
conductors that could never get train
throguh' on time. Then there were others
thai would never be late except in case Of
accident. Why, sometimes during my
eight months Of duty j would give $50
train orders. Just think Of that mo-
rent. Here is n passenger train four
hours late, and freight train sidc.trackcd
at almost every station. OF course that
puts every train behind time. First !
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 pass.
ing n station five miles away, when
want to hold and side. track her. al
this time must not only keep clear
track for the passenger train, but must
not unnecessarily detain the frcights.
Sometimes, right in the middle Of II rush
of business like this, the wirc would
break, or some operator would leave his
key open. Then everything is to pay.
Fortunately, the train dispatchcr's order
is the law. Every employee is bound to
obey it. So we do not have to worry
about that.
Once / left the office, by permission,
in care Of M assistant, and when | re-
turned found that nc hpd two trains
running toward each other OH q single
track, and only a station between them.
Fortunately | fot u message to the sta
ton in time to flag the 1rst t+ain that got
there; hut if one of them had happened
to pass there would have been fearful
accident. 1t was a tery natural error
On another occasion 'nst train. /
was little late. 1t left i. twenty min
utcs behind time, when it was ORDERED
to side track for No. 2, u fast express
+. and M. were eleven miles arrrt, an,
No. 3 could not leave +. until the loca
was reported sidc-trackcd ut NJ Well
| waited an hour, and then called NJ.
who had the tncssnge for the locals, anG
asked him where the freight was. He
didn't know. In the meantime the ex,
press was at r., and the passengers were
getting mNd, Thirty minutes moro ant
still no train. Then | ordered No. 3 t,
run cautiously to NJ. She did 80, bu
found no local. To say that We wer
paralyzed is putting it mildly. re,
minutes later W., little station nca
the city, reported the LEGAL there. Sh
had gone by M. in some way withon
disturbing the operator.