Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-09-13
HAS HIS TROUBLES
Cares OF Train Dispatcher Usually
Bring Him Early Gray
HairF.
TAKES ALL RESPONSIBILITY
Must Know What Men Under Him
Will Do Under Given
Conditions.

The duties of a train dispatcher are
probably more trying than any other
railroad position. Some years ago
| President Ledyard, of the Michigan
Central remarked:
81 wonder why it is that all of our
train dispatchers are grey-bearded-
even those under so years of age" a
division superintendent who was with
the party and who had himself been
promoted from a dispatcher replied:
MIR. President, | think that if there
is anything calculated to encourage
gray hairs it is to sit over train sheets
for eight consecutive hours and deal
out train orders and do the other ne
cessary work incumbent upon the posi-
ton. The dispatcher is practically the
sponsor for every railroad man on his
division.
"In case of wreck he has to know
the address of the nearest section fore
man, how to reach him with a message
and about how many ties and rails are
on the section. Also at what particu-
lar point this material is piled up. If
the accident happens at night the dis
patcher must know what telegrapherS
C.: be depended on TO execute his or
ders promptly. Some night operators
get 'dozy' after midnight and it would
be considered poor policy TO put out
an order at their station, as a serious
delay might occur.
Must Know Operators Ways.
THE train dispatcher is the only Of
ioI ,vb ritinc of
the operators along the line and has TO
be governed accordingly. II would nat
urally be thought that a dispatcher
could put out train order to any OPP
orator on the line who was regularly
employed by the company, but an at
tempt to do so might be received by
the head official like a recent northern
case. where the superintendent called
down dispatcher for putting out an
order TO u ccrtai nstation. The dis
patchcr tried to Justify his actions by
saying that the operator was regularly
employed at that point and had been
holding the job for several years. Yes.
| know that replied the official. and
you ought to have learned by this time
that Jones (the operators supposed
nameD cannot keep awake after mid
night
AS a matter of equity the dispatcher
is not at fault any more than another
dispatcher. who gave a slow train lit
tie time on a fast train and the latter
was delayed - minutes. The superin
tendent. asking for an explanation
from the dispatcher. was told that the
slow train only had dozen cars and
engine No. 233. which ought to have
handled 40 cars and made the run.
They ought to have made it. re-
piled the superintendent. but did You
ever know Engineer Slowboy to make
time-and furthermore, he had Con
ductor Awful Tired behind him and it
takes him about % minutes 10 get from
the caboose to the telegraph Office
Operator Agnin BInmed.
Another dispatcher put OFT an order
once to an operator who could not keep
awake after 11:53 p. m. and while in
his usual sOmnambulistic state the
train that he was to hold ran by the
station. heavy windstorm having
put ont his signals. OF course it was
the duty of the engineer to have stop
ped when he discovered the signal
light ont. 1t was the duty of the fire
man to have called the attention of
the engineer to the fact that the light
was ont. The conductor and two
brakemcn were also supposed to be on
the lookout for such evidences of dere-
LECTION or freaks of nature-but as a
matter of fact the engineer. Conduc-
tor and both brakemen were asleep.
and as the station where the order