Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1901-06-19


see. might have saved them; but as 1t
was things looked black! We waited a
few moments, then the instrument
clicked. The two trains had met on
curve, but had stopped within a. few
feet of each other. One of the en-
headlight on the clouds before he could
see the engine and had stopped his train
in time to send man ahead and flag
the other train.
but he was never fit for anything
afterward-lost confidence in himself.
IT is all off with dispatcher when
once he makes a mistaiie--it seems to
break his confidence in himself COM
pletely, and If he stays at it is two to
one he will make another mistake In
short time"
Another story is related by veteran
dispatcher.
Poor Sylvester was dispatcher on
the Shasta division of the Coast rail-
road. He was at my table, but had
different trick. l came in one night
and took his table while he went out to
supper Happening 10 look over his
order book discovered lap order. A
passenger and freight were booked to
run through each other between two
stations down the line. There was
plenty of time to stop the business, as
they had an hour and twenty minutes
time to do 1t, SO l sent message
changing the meeting place to one OF
the stations. with orders for the freight
to get there first and take n sidetrack.
Bohannan came back whistling about
ten minutes before the collision was
due and I called him over and showed
him the order book He looked at his
watch and made dash for the table.
Too late said l; reports from both sta
tions say they've both gone through
Great heaven! gasped the poor fellow,
and went down in heap. | had only
meant to scare him a little, but 1t pretty
nearly finished him. He had been
good dispatcher. but after that he was
SO nervous he never amounted to any
thing and three months later he made
another mistake. That ended him."
1t is n belief which the guild is fond
of expressing. that dispatchers are
born. not made. In sense this is true
enough. Successful dispatchers are
born with certain mental qualities
which fit them for the task. The facul.
ties which are brought into play In
playing chess are serviceable to the dis
patcher, but he must be equipped with
other talents rs well. The same thing
is true of men who are successful in
other pursuits requiring the exercise of
quick Judgment, the capacity for keep
Ing great and complex combinations in
mind, and the ability to concentrate
thought upon the business Mt hand and
keep track of every detail in the midst
OF Interruptions and occurrences that
have tendency to distract attention
Among train crews there is a prevail
ing idea that dispatchers are cranks.
The habit of welding absolute author
ity while on duty and the mental and
nervous strain under which they labor
may insensibly produce sort of crank
mess in the old dispatcher. But as stars
differ in magnitude, so dispatchers diff
fer in temperament. Many volumes
could be filled with stories and anec-
dotes about dispatchers.
The picnic and excursion season gives
the dispatcher nervous prostration, al
most Sometimes there will be seven
or eight trains coming one way and
three or four going the other--all in the
distance of thirty miles or $50, on a
single track road. Imagine what trou-
bic 1t is to get meeting places for them
all. and to keep them all moving SO as
to make as little delay MS possible.
Think of the troubles of the dispatcher
when your particular excursion train
does not go through like a vestibuled
limited with the right of way and a
clear track.
OF late years on some of the leading
railroads the danger of mistakes has
been minimized by the introduction Of
mechanical safeguards grouped under
the term "block system" Under this
system although the dispatcher may
give Il wrong order the engineer of n
train can know if another train is i'm.
mediately ahead of him on the same
track. The system of automatic block
signals in use on one of the leading
roads of the country is known us the