The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1904-10-12
GRAY HAIRS COME SOON.
THE TRAIN pisPATcHER's CARES
AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
Their Duties Are Probably More Try.
ing Than Those Of Any Other Rail-
road Position-ield for Errors Of
Opcrators and Trainmen,

Operators and Trainmen.
The duties of train dispatcher are
probably more trying than any other
railroad position. Some years ago
President Ledyard, of the Michigan
Central remarked:
Il wonder why II is that all of our
train dispatchers are gray-haired-
even those under 80 years Of age"
A division superintendent who was
with the party and who had himself
been promoted from dispatcher re-
piled:
"Mr. President, think that II there
Is anything calculated to encourage
gray hairs 1t is to sit over train sheets
for eight consecutive hours and deal
out train orders, and do the other nee
essary work incumbent on the posi-
tion. The dispatcher is practically
the sponsor for every railroad man on
his division.
'1n case of wreck he has to know
the address of the nearest section fore
man, how TO reach him with a mes
sage and about how many ties and
rails are on the section. Also at what
particular point this material is piled
up. If the accident happens at night
the dispatcher must know what tele-
graphers can be depended on to exc
cute his orders promptly. Some night
operators get 'dozy' after midnight,
and il would be considered poor pol
icy to put out an order at their sta
tion, as a serious delay might occur.
"The train dispatcher is the only Of
fetal who knows the pecularities of
the operators along the line and has to
be governed accordingly. It would
naturally be thought that 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 officials like recent north
ern case, where the superintendent
called down a dispatcher for putting
out an order at a certain station. The
dispatcher tried to justify his actions
by saying that the operator was regu-
larly employed at that point and had
been holding down 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 name) cannot keep awake
after midnight
"As n matter of equity the dispatch
er was not at fault any more than an
| other dispatcher, who gave a slow
train little time on fast train and
the latter was delayed 15 minutes. The
superintendent, asking for an explain
alton from the dispatcher, was told
that the slow train only had a dozen
cars and engine No. 233, which ought
to have handled forty 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 II
takes about 20 minutes to get him
from the caboose to the telegraph Of
fce.'
Another dispatcher put out an or
| der once to an operator who could not
keep awake after 1l.59 p. m, and while
in his usual somnambulistic state the
train he was to hold ran by the sta
tion, heavy windstorm having put
| out his signal. OF course, it was
the duty of the engineer to have
stopped when he discovered the sig
nal light was out. 1t was the duty of
the fireman to have called the atten-
tion of the engineer to the fact that
the light was out. The conductor and
| two brakemen were also supposed to
be on the lookout for such evidences
OF dereliction or freaks of nature-but
| as matter of fact, the engineer, con-
ductor and both brakemen were asleep
| and as the station where the order
was out happened to be on the top of a
hill the poor fireman was so busy
| shoveling coal he did not notice the
signal light being out as the train ap.
| preached the station, and very unfor-
tunately the fireman was tho only man
killed in the wreck which subsequent
ly occurred.
'Who was to blame? Most people
would say the sleepy operator and
| train crew, but the officials held that
the train dispatcher should not have
put ont his order to an operator he
| ought to have known could not keep
awake, directed to the conductor and
| engineer of the train early in the
morning-both of whom were known
to be redhot in their pursuit of the
goddess. Morpheus. 1t did not do any
good fer the dispatcher to ask why
such men were kept in the service Of
the company; he was cody informed
that he ought to have foreordained
what would have happened and that
his services were no longer required.
'Yes, the dispatcher has to be a
first-class clock regulator. The clock
| in his Office that he runs trains by
is supposed to be accurate-at least it
is used to settle all disputes about
time. No. 6, which has just left Old
Point Comfort at 6.15 p. m, is sudden
ly reported by the operator at Fairfax,
4