HI EVERYONE
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW MANY MILES ARE BETWEEN DIVISION POINTS
THIS IS FOR THE 1970-1980
THANK YOU
JD BLACK
Hey, JD!
First off: [#welcome] to the forum! Good to have you aboard! [:)]
Secondly, a very good question - as I will be interested in finding that out myself.
Lastly, JD, I hope that you’ll please forgive me for mentioning a minor note of forum etiquette. ALL CAPS is usually an unwritten indication that someone is either shouting or trying to make a point, loudly. It would be most appreciated if you could turn the CAPS lock off on your keyboard when posting a message. It also makes reading posts easier on the eyes.
JD, thanks for posting here and thanks for your consideration.
Tom
Welcome. Try the “caps lock” key.
A couple things, a “division” is a “political” unit on a railroad. A division may be made up of dozens of “subdivisions” Subdivisions tend to be one crew district long (crews are changed at either end.
By the 1980’s the concept of a “Division point” had blurred alot. Trains weren’t switched at the end of every division or subdivision. Subdivisions ranged from 20 miles to 200 miles long, 150 miles was pretty common. Through freights ran between 100 and 1000 miles between being switched. 250-300 miles between completely switching trains was pretty typical.
Dave H
tom and dave h
first thing sorry about the caps
thanks for the imformation on divison lenght dave
i have one more question
when do railroads change crews?
anyway thanks for your help and i hope you both had great thanksgivings
later jd
The crew changes started about 90-125 miles long. As things progessed they combined runs into interdivisional (ID) or “long” pool runs that could be anywhere from 150 to 300 miles long. 150 miles is pretty common but it varies depending on the geography and where towns are located.
Crews were paid 100 miles as a basic day and then they got overtime based on time or mileage after that.
Currently the limitation is that a crew can only be on duty 12 hours, so the length of the run has to be what a train can do in less than 12 hours.
Dave H.
thanks dave h
thats exactly the imformation i needed [:)]
jd
The 100 miles I think also had to do with the limits of a steam engine, usually after 100 mi. (I’m talking about in the 19th century) it would need to go to the roundhouse to be worked on to make it ready for the next trip. Speeds were much slower then, so 100 miles with say a freight train was pretty good. I think the 100 miles = 1 day’s pay also was tied in with speed, I think around 1900 it was determined that the average speed of a freight train was 12-point-something MPH, so multiplying it by 8 (hours) gave you about 100 miles. Of course, up until the 1940’s, if it took you 16 hours to go the 100 mi. - or if you didn’t make the 100 mi. in 16 hours, you still only got one day’s pay.
8 hours at 12 1/2 mph = 100 miles. Runs at or under 100 miles started overtime after 8 hrs on duty. Runs 101 miles or more started overtime when the time on duty exceeds the miles run divided by 12 1/2. Today the basic day is 130 miles, or 8 hours at 16 1/4 mph.
Jeff
back when my dad was working in Western Nebraska the division from alliance nebr to ravanna nebr was about 200 miles The south pool ran from alliance to sterling colorado and i think that was about 150 miles. For me I work as a conductor on the former CNW Territory here in Iowa and my territory is from Boone Iowa to either Clinton Iowa which is 197 miles or from Boone to Fremont Nebraska and that is 161 miles hope this helps Larry CNW FOREVER