The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1896-10-24
DlsrArCnING TRAINS BY TELEPHONE
4 Feature In Railroadng That Is by No
Means impossible.

4 Feature In Ralroading That Is BY No
Means impossible.
The recent strike of operators and train
dispatchers on the Canadian Pacific will
doubtless turn increased attention TO the
question whether the telephone may not
eventually take the place Of or n least
supplement. the telegraph in the trausmls-
sion OF orders Tor train movements. As
skilled workmen. whose places can not be
nllod by noVIces, telegraph operators have
specially strong hoid upon their positions
and their detection in a body Instantly
Ties up the operations oil the road. W ncn
almost simultaneously nearly all the oper
ators over the long line OIL the Canadian
tactic went out, some of them leaving
their keys open. the train movement from
Atlantic to Pacific was paralyzed
There We're superrtendents. clerks STA
tion agents and traInmen all along the line
who knew enough OF the principles of DIS
patching to keen the whole train service in
motion II only means OF communication
could be had and it is not strange that
some have raised the question whether. in
the course of inventive development the
! time viii not come when no class of em-
ploycs will be able 10 stop the operations
of a railway because they possess the Sc
crct of transmitting information along the
line
The idea of using the telephone in train
dispatching is not new. For ten years or
more the suffolk and Carolina railroad in
Virginia has depended upon the telephone
for conducting business along the Fifty
mile line although it is true that the train
movements have been extremely few and
far between. short road, which, however,
moves a large number OF trains in subur-
tan passenger business, the Boston Revere
Beach and Lynn. is said TO be sending all
. ,.al.. raraI. stFr.a
lug nc difficulty in making written copies
and records thereof. The Queen Annc's
( railroad a new line under construction in
I MARYLAND and Delaware. viii, II is under
stood dispense with the telegraph entirely
| and use the telephone for all communici-
tons for which the train mail viii not an
swer
Not altogether different in possible ef-
feet upon the art of dlspatching is the
/ idea of the train staff modification OF
] which was described at the recent conNen-
/ ton of the Superintendents association at
/ Niagara Falls. the inventor adding the
: opinion that the train stan might III time
/ supersede the train dispatcher lie arsueu
that the space interval is far safer than
! tho time interval and that by use of the
! divided train staff carried BY each engineer
( and conductor. over the portion OF road
( given them the right TO enter. meeting or
dors can he issued by any OFFICER iamiilar
] with the road ana the uoNel"'n, VI H"'''
Apparonily the telephone would serve IN
lieu Of the telegraph in that connection
! That the telephone is destined TO nuch
more general and varied use than at pres
ent can not be doubted. The western 'hioh
1 TELEGRAPH company. by It's contract WIN
Thomas A. Edison. controls 1t is SAID,
some three hundred inventions pertaining
TO the telephone, patented by that genius
of electricity. These include recording
/ nhone which not only records the message
I'M, repeats it back 10 the sender to insure
correctness. and another instrument which
enables the stationary mouthpiece to- talk
out its message so that IT can be hearu
| across room t
Although telegraph operators and train
dispatchers need not fear any tmmediate
displacement from the work whioh 'he,
perform with such admirable skill anu
,bou m consider some possibilities 81 the
future in connection with the use OF cleo
trlcity for the purpose of communication