The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-11-13
MAKING A TIME TABLE.
An Interesting Game Played Only by
RaiIrOnd Officials.
From the Kansas City Star.

From the Kansas City Star.
To the casual traveller a railroad time
table is a thing of dreadful mystery. If
he is going to Ponkapog, on the skluse di-
vision of the X. Y and q railroad he
studies the time table to learn where his
train leaves and when it reaches his des-
tination. After some inquiry he finds that
No. departs at 7:40 o'clock p. m. and
he follows ats course through numerous
towns to the end of the road, but discov-
! ers no seTnblance of Ponxapog, although he
knows it is on the X, and q.
Halfway down the time table, however,
! he finds a line drawn across where the
town of zippity is reached at 11:3O o'clock
p m. But the train departs also at II 80
o'clock This is a clew, for why should
Zippity be on the table twice at the same
hour? All, hah! Zppity is a junction
point, of course.
On the next page, after much search, ne
finds the Skiuse division time table. and,
running his finger down it, discovers the
town of Ponkapog. The division begins
at Zippity and ends at Skiuse. His train
reaches Zippity at II 80 o clock p. m. The
division train departs at 4:3S o'clock D. M.
and reaches Ponkapog at 7:22 O'Clock. This
is not a pleasant outlook, but he has
unraveled the mystery of the time of his
departure from home and his arrival at
Ponkapog. II has taken good half hour
and he has cursed the maker of the time
table until he has a headache.
But a time table is easier cursed than
composed. The man who makes up time
table plays a game that it not in Hoyle
but which is more difficult than whist and
quite as interesting. 1t is a game in which
number of trains going in opposite di-
rections, and all starting from different
points at different times reach their sew
eral destinations without destruction.
These trains must pass each other at CIV
en- points without delaying one another
and special trains must not throw them
out of their running time TO any unprotit-
able extent.
How is the game played? The casual
man thinks of figures and eternal cipher
ing up and down the line trying to keep
in mind hundred stations, hundreds of
moves of trains and thousand hours and
fractions of hours If he keeps on he
will become jibbering idiot.
The ingenuity of man, however, has dis
covered mechanical, and, therefore,
simpler and surer plan for making UP a
time card. The Kansas City, Pittsburg
and Gulf railroad Is now making a new
time table of it's whole line from Kansas
City to Port Arthur. This covers 1888 miles
of track, over which twelve trains are
running and stopping at 1872 stations, and
as many or more crossings, sidings and
water tanks. This is how 1t is done:
The chief engineer prepares large dia-
grams of the road. ON the left side of
these are the names of all the stations and
sidings in rotation, beginning at Kansas
City and ending at Port Arthur Run
ming across the diagram is the time, be-
ginning at midnight and continuing until
midnight, ruled in hours. Between black
lines, running from top to bottom arc
the hours. Inside of each hour are blue
lines indicating quarter hours, and between
these red lines denoting five minute spaces.
In the middle of the board is the noon
line. To the right of the diagram is a
profile of the road, showing all grades.
The time of all trains is based on and
must not interfere with the time of
through passenger trains Passenger
trains are graded at twenty-four miles an
hour; fast freight trains at eighteen miles
an hour, and ordinary freight trains at
fifteen miles an hour. The time table is
made up by the superintendent and train
masters Of the various divisions, and is
approved by the general manager of the
road.
The passenger business of the road has,
for instance, so increased that a new time
table is necessary to handle it probably.
The freight business demands more trains
The general passenger and freight agents
notify the transportation department to
that effect and a new time table is or
dered. The superintendent then go to
work on IT,
The diagrams of the road are tackled
on large boards. The most important
passenger train Is taken as an index. It is
determined that it shall leave Kansas City
at $50 o'clock p. m, for the reason that
at the rate of twenty-four miles an hour
It will reach the other terminus of the
road at 1880 o'clock in the morning, at the
same time reaching eating stations along
the road at reasonable hours The arrv-
al in Kansas City OF trains on other rail-
roads is also taken into consideration as
bringing In possible passengers, who must