Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1899-09-07
AN INTRICATE TASK.
THE JOB OF CONSTRUCTING a RAIL
ROAD TIME TABLE.

ROAD TIME TABLE.
Problems Which the Trainmaster
Has to solve and Which Gail For .
Clear Head, Hard Work and Gen.
er0us Fund OF Patience.
Very few people have ever seen rail-
road time table in course Of construction.
AS matter of fact, comparatively few
have seen time table after it has been
completed. About the only piece of liter
allure OF this kind that the average citi-
zen has need OF is the little book handed
out to him by the ticket agent. But that
is very far from being complete time
table. Only small percentage of the
trains that run on the road every day
are to be found there. The table pre-
pared by every railroad division for the
use Of it's enginemen and trainmen and
other employees in need Of knowledge Of
the movements of trains is printed on
sheet of paper about four feet long and
two feet wiSe. This contains information
about every train. passenger or other,
that has regular daily, weekly or BIZ
weekly run or which is otherwise entitled
to place on the sheet.
The time table is in reality begun in
the general passenger agents Office. This
official is responsible for the through
trains and for those passenger trains
which will travel over more roud than is
under the control of single division.
He decides upon the time that these
trains shall begin and finish their runs.
Then he divides the proposed running
time according to the divisions which the
train will traverse and merely notifies
each division superintendent that after
certain date these trains will arrive at
his division and tells him what will be
expected OF him in the way Of running
time. Their the passenger agent waits
to be advised OF necessary corrections.
Formerly all the details of time table
making were done in the central Office,
tn. division superintendent being called
| in for weeks conference. OF late years
each division has come to be more and
more separate concern, the general Off
GERS exercising only the broadest supervi-
1 sion.
| This passenger train schedule from the
general Office is the basis Of the division
! time table. 1t is turned over to the train
1 master who locks himself in his Office
for two or three days and swears when
he Is disturbed. For the purpose of
| plotting his TINE table, as the vernacular
I. Of the railroad las it, the trainmaster
| has wooden board covered with stiff
paper. Ii is about 6 or Z fest long and
4 feet wide. 1t is ruled vertically in 2SS
/ spaces. each space being made to repre-
sent FIVE minutes of the "a hours of the
Z day. The hours are printed in large hg-
ures at the top and are separated by
heavier rulings. On the sides are printed
4 all the stations at which trains stop, and
these are arranged upon a scale accord
ing to the distance which separates
them.
The trainmaster proceeds to tack
threads upon the board in such way
that tie leaving time at each station be-
comes apparent. Train No. 1, for ex-
ample, is scheduled to leave at - and
to arrive at at A. The thread is tack
!. ed on the board under the figure MI. at
the top and opposite the station \ on
: the side: the other end is tackled opposite
the station 3 and directly under the fig
ure w Tacks are also inserted opposite
all intermediate stations at which the
train will stop, the vertical lines indicat
ing the time. The result is not AWAY!
a perfectly straight line. for the train
master knows that q train will max,
: slower time on one stretch of track thar
/ on another of equal length. Grades ane
t other physical characteristics of tint
2 roadbeG are to be taken into consdera
r ton. This is an important detail In the
] case Of trains of which the utmost SAT-.
: speed is required. After his passenger
: trains are all in place. the traii.naste
3 notes where the east bound and the ives
j bound trains cross. TITS must not he il
t the vicinity of station al which any O
: them makes stop. for the obvious rea
> son that it would OCCASION more or les
r delay aud for the further danger o
t mussng things up. The leaving time o
II passenger trains AT Intermediate sta
+ tons. when it is finally worked out salts
/ tactorly. is forwarded TO the genera
u passenger agent.
> When he has reached this point. u
) ftrainmaster is amiable for q brief peri5
o Then he locks his door nsaip aud wado
=, into the much more Distressing task 6
IS arranging other trains that must have
regular place on the time table. lhes
: are fast freights. milk trains and Otto
re disrinctiyely division trains. They III
+ strung over the board the same as b,
I. fore, but the result is sometimes star
pc ling They use much more string tia
.e the first kind. and they are continual
ot being interfered with by some line b.
e. OF the first things taught on the railroa
De that two trains should not be allowed
u pass on the same track. When the a
lie rangement of strings indicates that tn
1t is liable to be the result, some switch
ir siding must be provided rs a refuge II
d the less important train. Very often Il
"a trainmaster must simply experiment u
til he brings the slower train up to
lie noint where these facilities exist befol
ID it shall be overtaken By the tlier. In ma
10 ing n time table for single track ros
or the difficulties of the situation are i
Oh creased in proportion to the number
C. crossing places. There is no short cut
n. the completion of time table. 1t mu
o. be worked out exactly as one would e
el tangle ball of yarn. The trainmast
40 cannot figure it out on paper.
"a There are still a great many train
de particularly on a big freight carryil
" road. that hustle back and forth eve
o. day without appearing on the time tab
IN The number of these trains depends u
u on the varying amount of business. b
these are things that, for the time
least. do not interest the trainmastt
The situation must in each case be stu
nd led out by the conductor of the trai
ne There are two ways of running these c