The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-11-10
MAKING UP A TIME TABLE.
The Movement of Trains Plotted Out
n blackboard,
From the New York Tribune

FROM the New York Tribune.
To the average man a railway time
table is a more or less perplexing thing.
from which the desired information can
only be wrested after much careful
study. Even when all seems plain sail
ing a little asterisk often carries the
traveller to the bottom of the page with
diabolical glee and there informs him that
the train upon which he has set his heart
runs only Sundays, or does not run Sat
urdays, or in some way upsets his plans.
Railway men say that time tables are
simpler than they were ten years ago.
Americans have an advantage over their
British cousins in this matter, for no
more fearfully and wonderfully complied
book exists on this earth than Brad
shaw's Guide" Where an American
would get time table issued by the
road upon which he wishes to travel an
Englshman always flies to Bradshaw s.
The operation of making up a time
table IS a comparatively simple one as
pursued by most roads. As a rule the
passenger time table Is made up twice
year, for the summer and winter sea
sons. In the general superintendent
room In the Grand Central station there
stands a huge time board, which has
made up a great many tables for the
New York Central and Hudson River
railroad. 1t occupies half one side of the
room, and extends from the floor to the
ceiling. Upon 1t are ruled vertically
tWenty-fOur heavy black lines which cut
the hour up into spaces of five minutes
each, the quarter-hours being green and
the haf-hourS blue. From the bottom
of the board, extending upward, the
names of all the stations on the line are
printed along the side They are at va
rying intervals. corresponding to the dis
lance in miles between eacn station
From each station heavy black line
runs horizontally across the board When
a table is made up a pin is stuck in the
interval at the bottom of the board, rep
resenting the exact time at which each
train starts. Another pin is placed at
which it will arrive. A string is then
stretched from one pin to the other, and
points at which the string intersects the
horizontal lines leading across the board
from the different stations represent the
time a which it will pass each station.
Trains running into New York are rep
resented by strings running from left
to right and those going out are shown
from right to left. Supposing 1t is de-
sired to start train from New York at
4 O'Clock which will arrive in Albany bv
s o'clOck, a pin is placed at the O'Clock
line at the bottom of the board and an
other on the o'clock line opposite AL
bany. All the horizontal lines cut by the
string which stretches from pin to pin
will show the time of arrival at each sta.
ton on the route The faster the train
the nearer to vertical is the string, while
the slower It is the greater angle will the
string make with the horizontal lines
across the board. When the trains are all
placed on the board It presents a perfect
network of strings. Intricate as If an
pears, finger can instantly be put m
on the time of arrival of train al any
given station. The movements of all
trains are thus shown for the Who'll
twenty-four hours. and any discrepa nov
is Immediately apparent, such as trains
running dangerously close together.
This simplicity is only found on roads
with four or six tracks. Where there -
only single track the board is n1ien
more complex, As soon as the tables arr
shown on the board and everything is
seen to he all right. the results are prin,9
ed in the timetables and the board ,s
rarely used until another table is mad
up Where there is only one track Tho
strings are always kept on the boar5
" n40n t0nt rro