The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-01-30
The TRAIN DISPATCHER.
Facts About His Work and How
He Performs It.
From the Boston Herald.

haNV a SUDDEN IOET OL al AEOn UlOlsIGT,
Wild shrek of piercing whistle, the daz-
inc fash of the engines headlight, the hot
r,Ish of air and the slowly ceasing thunder
IF vibrating rails. What else does il sup-
castg To the unreasoningly timid it brings
5isions of the horrible crash and shock of
o0lliding trains, the deafening reverOera-
non of the last mad wild echoes that hover
above the wrecked coaches on the lonely
road To those VINO have confidence in the
ave that looks out beyond the glsring head
ligbt. and in the hand that handles the shin
irq lever, it brings the comfortable rsdec-
non of conscious safety, and as the tired
ewes close dreamingly, the last thought is
one of perfect trust in the providence of
intelligent waIchtulnesS that SITS in the
glowing cab.
Once in a while, however, the long train
carries somebody whose duties in life are
those which the solitary engineer is per-
forming. If he thinks about the matter at
aU BIS thoughts do not center in the figure
in the cab ahead. They revert 10 e loag room
in a big depot where the only sound that dis
turb5 the weird stiffness of the place is that
of sharply clicking telegraph instruments
A white-sleeved young man sits at his hrtIe
brass arrangements of keys, or PAGES the
floor overlooking the leborS of his assistants
at the boards. This Is the train dispatcher.
and on him devolves the responsibility for
every engine and every car that travels
along the road. 1t IS he who must provide
against possible disaster or delay, and with
his fingers he speaks to every glistening rail
and every grimy smokestack on the long
lines of railroad. The engineer rests his
hand on the throttle with an easy mind.
His thoughts may wonder away to the crib
of his sleeping babe or the couch that awaits
his weary limbs when his labors are over.
and the reflection of tho light that streams
from the lamp above him may be to his
faded eye the glows of the hearthstone But
for tae train dispatcher there is no surcease
of mental effort. He can not browse for
an instant. and he may not permit his fancy
TO roam from the business in hand even for
the space of time occupied by the
stroke Of the clock on the wall. Ten miles
an hour or sixty miles an hour-it matters
very little to the husband -oil-Stained figure
in the cab. He knows where he is expected
at a certain moment; he knows, too, that
the young man who directs his movements
has cleared the way for him and made
everything safe for an easy run. The ro-
mantle passenger doesn't think Of these
things He feels that he has intrusted his
life to the engineer, and when ne has
reached bis destination he alights with a
feeling Of admiration and gratitude for the
man thai sits among the blazing Goals and
fOudles the bar of iron that regulates his
strange steed
"Tell mo something about the train dis
patcher's work" said the young man from
the Herald to the handsome, brown bearded
young train dispatcher of the Fitchburg
road yesterday afternoon.
There is nothing TO be t9ld,n the train
dispatcher said, modestly. Nothing more
than an outline of the details Of the work"
he added. "You see there have been SO MANY |
queer stories told about the experiences
that we fellows meet, that everybody is dis |
appointed in the truthful account of our |
actual duties. We are not heroes, you
know, or anything like that, and we do our |
part of the company's work thoroughly, [ |
know, and Inostentatiously, [ hope A |
train dispatcher must be quite a perfect |
workman or he is totally valueless. 1t isn't |
a business where a man may make mis-
take and then rectify il and go ahead. The
excuse of didn't know don't go at all, and |
the plea of ever-do-it-again' can't bs con-
sdered for an Instant. One mistake is
fatal. Therefore q train dispatcher is kept
so busy thinking all the time that he never
gets a chance to be romantic or sentimental.
There is a certain exhilaration of conscious
glory, | suppose. il the position of the man |
who holds his hands on the lever aud peers
steadily into the darkness, whittier his |
engine is plunging, but it is the least ex-
citing kind of work to set quietly at a
little desk in a stuffy room, and listen to
Tie dreary monotone of the clicking tele-
graph"
Despite the discouraging prelude, the
Herald man found much to interest him in
what he learned of train dispatchers and
heir work. The office were these useful
ervants of the railroad company sit is
never empty, and the sound of the tele-
graph instrument is never still there At
my hour of the day or night somebody
hf,f in |
lis hand and paper before him. The train
dispatcher records each train and its posi-
Ion as fast as the information comes in
,ver the wire. The train Sheet is the
ecord. lt is a great sheet of
,aper with blanks for the
names of the engineers andTconductors, and
he number of the engines and cars on the
Dad at any given time. This train sheet is
made up of the reports that each station
operator sends in. At any time of the day
hat a train passes the operator, the num-
Der of the engine and the number of the cars
ire telegraphed Immediately to the train
dispatcher, with the names of the conductor
Ind engineer. By this means the train dis
catcher manages to keep every train located
and to know its precise situation, and the
PERSONS responsible for it.
ITO give you an idea of the work said
,he train dispatcher, ''let me submit some
Illustrations. The rule of the road is that
reight trains must keep ten minutes away
rom passenger trains. If they get nearer
han ten minutes ahead of passenger trains
hey must Law off onto the side track. Some
lines the calculation of the freight con-
iuctor is wrong, because the train behind
nm is late. He would have to keep his train
hunted, nevertheless, if it were not for the
rain dispatcher, who disadvantages what
might be serious snarls. With his knowledge
1t the situation of each train he can pro
vide for the relief of the freight. The train
Whereas nearly every other employee fol-
owS orders literally in all things, the train
dispatcher is called upon every hour of the
lay to exercise his individual judgment.
And there is hardly an employe on the road
about whom the public has SO vague and
Inadequate an impression. While the de-
tails of the work are innumerable, they are
details that are self-born every day and
that cannot be foreseen.
There is one thing that the public prob
ably does not understand, that the train
1ispatcher's work is something about which
.he passenger on the train never thinks.
Suppose freight train is disabled on the
road between two stations. The fact is
made known to the train dispatcher, who
knows that passenger trains are due along
hat way in both directions.
He telegraphs orders to west-bound trains
70 travel upon the last track, and holds the
EAST bound trains out of the way. There is
no apparent delay, and the passengers who