People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1896-02-06
Stringing a Time Card .
Kansas City Times, Sunday.

Kansas City Times, Sunday.
1t took nine men two weeks to pre-.
pare the new time card on the Santa
Fe which went into effect today, and
they worked every day from six o'clock
till midnight. These men, all super.
intendents, did it: c. F. Ressequie,
Chicago division; G. F. Mcclellan,
Eastern division; Avery Turner mid.
die division; ]. L. Barnes, Southern
Kansas division; G. c. Hartman,
Southern division; Charles Dyer,
Western division; ]. E. Hurley, New
Mexico division; j. S: ROraback, Kan.
sas City terminals, and W. c. Nixon,
Chicago terminals.
"Stringing" a time card is about as
difficult a job as one finds in the rail-
road business. In the first place
when the superintendent meet they
are burdened with petitions from diff
ferent points Of the system asking for
changes. These petitions must at
least be considered and granted, if
possible, else the inhabitants will
make fuss, threaten boycott and
adverse legislation. The superintend-
ent learns how many trains are to be
run and the speed required, and then
proceed with the work of preparing
time card which will be satisfactory,
both to the company and the public.
Through passenger trains are strung
first, then the local passenger trains,
then the through freightS, then the
local freightS. In the new Santa Fe
time card the westbound flyer was
strung first, Stringing trains means
this: A chart, say six feet square, is
made with hundreds of lines. Those
running horizontally represent the
stations on the road. Those running
perpendiCularly represent time; there
are hour lines, half hour lines, quar-
ter hour lines and five minute lines.
Each chart represents a division, at
the end of the horizontal lines are
the names of the stations thereon.
The time lines are indicated by differ
ent collars. Less than five minutes of
time is determined by measuring the
distances between the five minute
lines.
The west bound flyer was strung
out of Chicago. That is, it was
scheduled to leave Chicago at a GER
tain time. A pin was stuck into the
chart at the end of the Chicago line.
A cord attached to the pin repre-
scented the train. Another pin was
stuck into the chart at a point indi-
eating the time for the train between
Chicago and the first station. The
man manipulating the string counted
two five minute lines and stuck a pin.
If it took fifteen minutes to make the
next station, the manipulation count
ed three five minutes lines and stuck
another pin. And so on. If there be
a stop of ten minutes at a station,
this is indicated by a jog Of two five
minute lines. If it be a stop of
fifteen minutes, there is jog of three
five minute lines. In this manner the
train was strung division by division
over the entire road. There is not
much trouble about stringing the
first train.
The east bound flyer was strung In
tne same way from the western
terminus of the Santa Fe. The work
OF stringing this terminus was easy,
as there was only one train, the west
bound flyer to look out for. The
other passenger trains were then
taken one at a time and strung
through by divisions until all were
scheduled. Then the trouble com
nenced. The freight trains had to
be strung so as to keep out Of the way
OF the passenger trains. When one
considers the great volume Of freight
traffic on the Santa Fe it puzzles ones
brain to understand how trains can
be operated at all. But after two
weeks labor the gentlemen named
perfected their time card, the first
issued by the new Santa Fe company.
When the work was completed the
charts could be scarcely seen for the
network Of cords which crossed il.