When did the railroads begin the formal processes of dispatching trains?
Are the current policies and practices determine solely by each railroad or are they governed by a government agency like the FRA?
Who if anyone licenses dispatchers?
I would suspect it would go back to a story I read years ago about a railroad telegrapher who couldn’t find the trainmaster (or some other appropriate officer) so took it on himself to make changes in the timetable line-up.
Up until that point, only such an officer could authorize such actions.
I suppose one could argue that those officials did some dispatching. I would agree.
This was from the era of TT&TO operation, where crews basically dispatched themselves, based on the timetable. If they could get to Podunk before the Limited showed up, they were free to go.
[quote user=“PJS1”]
Are the current policies and practices determine solely by each railroad or are they governed by a government agency like the FRA?
In 1851, Charles Minot, a superintendent on the Erie, issued the first train order when the train he was riding was held at a certain station because an opposing train was late. He sent a telegram to the agent at the next station, instructing the engineer of the opposing train to wait there until the train Mr. Minot was riding arrived. The engineer of Mr. Minot’s train refused to proceed on his superintent’s insgtruction, and Mr. Minot ran the engine until the opposing train was met.
A treasury of Railroad Folklore, pp.82-84.
What, if anything, has changed since I retired, I don’t know.
When I was working, new dispatchers - those off the street as well as dispatchers with experience on other railroads would attend the Dispatcher Training Program that was held at the REDI Center in Atlanta. Along the way they would be tested upon what had previously been taught - my understanding was the 90% was the minimum acceptable grade in the tests to continue on to the next phases of the cirriculuum. The first seveal weeks were oriented towards teaching the Book of Rules and how to apply the rules to real world situations. Once that phase of training was successfully accomplished the next phases were on how to use CSX’s Computer Aided Dispatching System - which is a relatively involved computer application that marries most all of the realities of real world railroading - lining switches and signals as well as handling Track Warrants on dark territory and MofW Track authorities - and what the proper procedures are when any aspect of CADS fails for whatever reason(s) - and various aspects of CADS will fail as CADS ties in the signal systems that were designed by myriad of Signal Engineers working for the multiplicity of companies that form CSX and that were designed and installed over a number of decades (with state of the art equipment for the period when the equipment was installed). In the background, CADS keeps track of every input that takes place in the system, all time stamped to the hundredth of a second, this background data can be accessed whenever it is required.
After the ‘trainee dispatcher’ successfully completes the REDI training they are sent to the Division that they are assigned to. Prior to nominally September 2017 each Division’s Dispatching office was at the Division’s field headquarters. Subsequently all Dispatching, except for Chicago Termina
If what happened to the former Selkirk territories is any indication, that would be because desks have been combined and altered so that what used to take three desks to cover, now uses just two. In fact, it’s possible that what used to take four desks now uses just two…
The soon to be former St Lawrence Sub used to be under the “NE” desk. Then it was rolled into the ND desk. Now it’s under the NB desk.
As Meredith Willsion sang in the Music Man, “You’ve GOT to KNOW the TERRITORY” How does a dispatcher learn the territory without seeing or experiencing it? A video doesn’t really present what needs to be learned in my thinking. Multiple rides over the routes or other familiariztion would be desired by me.
When the dispatchers were first centralized in Jacksonville in the late 80’s & early 90’s - for the most part experienced dispatchers held the jobs on all desks. As the first ‘round of retirements’ hit the office and it became necessary for ‘trainees’ to assume the duties of those that had departed - it was found the trainees could not manage - efficiently the territories as they existed when established in Jacksonville.
Union Switch & Signal salesmen (aka Union Switch & Swindle) sold the CADS system on the basis of how many ‘more miles’ of territory their software would permit dispatchers to control, because of the ease of lining switches and signals. The USS salesmen and CSX officials overlooked one critical element - human interaction is required in dealing with personnel in the field - both T&E and MofW personnel. No matter the efficiencies of computers - people hold conversations at the same rate as
Are these directives, mandatory and/or otherwise, also in some written form as a double check?
Yes. There is always a hard copy involved.
As Balt noted, if a dispatcher gives orders over the radio (track warrants and the like) the receiver must copy and read back the information.
In some cases, crews receive printed copies (fax, teletype, etc), all of which have identifying numbers, at their crew base. These numbers will likely be referred to later as being in effect, or perhaps being cancelled.
On my railroad, we get bulletin orders for the short line, and a daily bulletin on our track. We are expected to have these in our possession.
Said bulletins contain special instructions (usually of a temporary nature) like slow orders, crossing issues, and anything else not covered in the timetable.
On the short line, a new issue not yet covered by a bulletin order (say, a crossing recently reported to be problem) will get a “line 13 - other instructions” on any Form D’s issued. Again, this will all be dictated by the dispatcher and repeated by the crewmember taking the paper.
All trains on CSX operate on an electronic Train Sheet that is stored and manipulated in CADS. The Train Sheet contains a unique Identity for each train using the CSX Train Naming conventions. That convention in its simplest form is a first character alpha designator, three numeric characters of train designator and a 2 digit numeric date of origination. This form of Train Identification applies to all trains - Yard Jobs, Through Trains, Passenger Trains, Road Switchers, Local Freights, Mine Runs, Foreign Railroad movements - anything that has a locomotive and crew with the intent of operating on the Main Tracks. The train sheet gets filled with data from the Main Frame computer system with the Train Designation, Crew member names, On Duty time and location, the engine numbers assigned to the train, the loading statistics for the train - loads, empties, tonnage and train length (calculated from the UMLER listed lengths for each car in the trains consist, Special conditions that may apply to a train such as Key Train, High and/or Wide cars in consist, cars with individual speed restriction and about a half dozen other restricting conditions. Each train at its On Duty location will gets a set of Train Messages that contains the Train Identification including crew names and a unique number; upon receipt of the Train Messages a crew member will contact the Train Dispatcher and confirm receipt of the particular bulletin, the Train Dispatcher will then ‘activate’ that particular bulletin as being assigned to that particular train in CADS.
When a Track Inspector puts out a Slow Order on a particular track location, CADS will search the activated Train Bulletins that operate over that particular track l
It is overrated.
Given the number of EC-1’s I’ve heard dictated to crews, I’m pretty sure they have a book of them on hand.
I carry blank Form D’s in my grip.
On the other hand, I’m pretty sure more than a few Form D’s (and likely EC-1’s) have been copied on whatever paper was available.
Road Review is definately overrated by those that are not involved with Dispatching. Dispatchers contend with the layout of Control Points as displayed on the Model Board, they contend with the length of sidings, they contend with the length of trains and the holding points for train exceeding certain lengths, they contend with First Class Schedules, they contend with Priority trains, they contend with Mechanical issues on the trains on their territories etc. etc etc. The reality is very little Road Review actually is done by riding trains.
In most cases, Dispatchers are sent to ride with Roadmasters in their hi-rail vehicles - from a time standpoint that is most efficient, from learning what happens when a tonnage train attacks the territory, not so much. Setting up Road Review for a Dispatcher encompasses the better part of a full week, a full week of the Dispatcher being paid, in many cases airline travel and hotel expenses. Road Review in the 21st Century is not not cheap for the carrier.
The job of train di
A few years ago I had a trainee (who now holds a regular trick) ride with us. He got on with us at Fremont and was planning on riding to Missouri Valley via Omaha. Once there, he was going to ride a westbound the short way back to Fremont, then finish up the day with one of the local yard jobs there.
It took us 8 hours that day to go from Fremont to Missouri Valley. Our train was (for back then) a large ugly manifest. We were held at a couple of points in Omaha for hours because there was no route through town for us. Then a dynamiter put us into emergency when I set air to stop and drop him off at Mo Valley. He got the real view that day.
He asked us if we had any tips, and I shared a few. Telling him I understood that sometimes circumstances won’t allow, but sometimes from the crew’s perspective there are places where it’s better to be on a specific track if we’re going to be held. Due to curvature or other obstructions, sometimes when we stop back off crossings you can see the next signal only if you’re on said specific track. Working PTC now kind of makes this irrelevant.
I also told him about one crossover that, when possible, try to avoid using for heavy trains. The best signal you can get to crossover is a restricting. It’s coming off of a heavy grade and then once through the x-over the tracks make a sharp turn. Sight distance on the curve isn’t the best. If there’s a train there on the other track it’s practically nonexistant.
Jeff
Keeping the train sheet is the FRA mandate. I don’t know if it’s still true, but the regulation requires a physical sheet, but most railroads just keep an electronic version as Balt described.
Railroads with CADS have designed their systems in accordance with FRA regulations. I believe all Class 1’s are using CADS on either a system wide (centralized) or localized (distributed) basis.
In addition to the items I have previously discribed as being on the electronic Train Sheet - all the OS reports from all the Control Points that the train operates through are also recorded as well as any Track Warrants that are issued and released; recrews, when necessary are also added to the train sheet - when the crews on a Train Sheet register their Off Duty times on their electronic Time Tickets the CADS gets the data and adds it to the Train Sheet.
There is more, more accurate data on today’s electronic Train Sheets than it was even possible to enter on the paper Train Sheets of old. Watching ‘olde time’ Dispatcher, especially the Third Trick Dispatcher who had to manage two paper Train Sheets that were nominally 24 to 36 inches top to bottom and 6 to 8 to 10 or more feet wide. Train Sheets were started for movements originating 12:01 AM and later each day. Once a train was started on a Train Sheet its movement would be recorded on that Train Sheet until it arrived at the destination of its run. Any train or engine moving on the Main Track(s) had to have its movements recorded on the Train Sheet, that includes all ‘through’ trains, yard engines, helpers and trackage rights trains. Data entered on the train sheet was to be made in ink, without erasure, alteration or interlineation. A pocket knife was used as a ‘eraser’ to remove so
As to reading an order back after it is received and written down, the same practice was followed when orders were sent to operators via telegraph or telephone, thus assuring that the recipient KNEW the content of the orders. Also, if the recipient made a mistake when receiving an order, it could be quickly corrected.
The 2 desks that remained in Calumet City moved to Jacksonville in September.
Wasn’t aware of that - I thought all the Class 1’s serving the Chicago area were supposed to have their Chicago area Dispatchers in a common facility to facilitate interlocking operations of all the carriers. I guess PSR kills carrier cooperation too.
CSX left the RA and the RB desks in the Chicago area so they could be moved to a common location should one ever be worked out. In the time period from when the other 4 desks moved to Jax, the NS moved their one dispatcher located in Chicago to Atlanta, the UP moved their two to Omaha, and the CN stated they had no interest in having their dispatchers in a neutral site. Neither the BNSF nor the CP have had dispatchers located in the Chicago area for years. There was no reason to keep the two desks there anymore.
As an aside your last remark is so off the mark, it makes me question your time dispatching. One does not need to be in the same building, the same state, nor does one even need to have met someone to have cooperation. In all my years in Chicago, I was only in the BRC dispatching office once, however that does not prevent myself from working with the Belt dispatchers. I have never been to the CN’s Homewood facility, even though it was less than 10 mi