Daily Yellowstone journal., 1890-02-15
r A ~DlSPATChEkS.
One Of Their Number Tells Something
About His Duties.

Tell me something about the train
dispatcher's work. said the young
man from The Herald TO the hand
some, brown bearded young train dis
patcherof the Ntchburg road the other
day.
There is nothing to be told" the
train dispatcher said, modestly.
Nothing more than an outline of
the details Of the work" he added.
you sec. there have been so many
queer stories told about the eXpericn-
ces that We fellows meet that every
body is disappointed in the truthful
account of our actual duties. We are
not heroes. YOU know, or anything
like that, and we do Il part of the
work thoroughly, | know, and unos,
tentatiouSly, | hope. a train dis.
patcher must be quite a perfect work
man or hc is totally valueleSs. 1t isn't
a business where a man may make a
mistake and then rcctify il and go
ahead. The excuse of didn't know
doesn't go at all, and the plea Of
never do it again can't be considered
for an instant. One mistake is fatal.
Therefore, a train dispatcher Is kept so
busy thinking all the time that he
never gets u chance 10 be romantic or
sentimental. There is a certain ex'
hilaration " conscious glory, | sup
pose, in the position of the man who
holds his hand Oh the lever and peers
steadily into the darkness, whittier his
engine is plunging. but il is the least
exciting kind of work TO sit quietly at
a little desk in "A stutfy room, and lis
ten TO the dreary monotone of the
clicking telegraph
Despite this discouraging prelude,
The Herald man found much 10 inter
est him ia what he learned of train
dispatcLers and their work. The Office
where these useful servants of the
railroad company sit is never empty,
and the sound ri the telegraph instru-
ment is never till there. AT any hour
of the day or night somebody may be-
found in the room with a pencil in
his hand and paper before him. The
train dispatcher records each train and
its position us fast as the information
comes in over the wire. The train
sheet is the record. Ii is a great sheet
of paper with blanks for the names of
the engineers and conductors, and the
numborof the engines and ears on the
road al any given time. This train
sheet is made up of the reports that
each station operator sends IN. At any
time of The day'tilat a train passes the
operator the number of the engine
and the number of the ears are tele-
graphcd Immediately Ia the train dis
patcher, with the names of the con.
ductor and engineer. BY this means
tie train dispatcher manages To keep
every train located ana To know lis
precise situation and the persons re.
sponsible for it.
TO give you an idea Of the work"
saidt the train dispatcher, "let me sub
nit some illustrations. The rule of the
road is that freight trains must keep
ten minutes away from passenger
trains. If they get nearer than ten
minutes ahead of passenger trains
they mast lay off on 10 the side track.
Sometimes the calculation of the
freight conductor is wrong. because
the train behind him is late. He would
have To keep the train shunted, never.
theless, if il were not for the train dis,
patcher, who d~isentangles what might
be serious snarls. With his knowledge
Of the situation of each train, he can
provide for the relief of the freight.
The train dispatcher's functions are an.
omalous. Whereas nearly every other
employee follows orders literally in all
things, the train dispatcher is called
upon every hour of the day to cxer.
else his individual Judgment. And
there is hardly an employe on the
road about whom the public has 50
vague and inadequate an impression.
While the details Of his work are in,
Vulnerable. they are details that are
self born every day and that cannot be
forcscen BOSOM Herald.