218 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



a prescribed form a "Train Order" to the engineer and con- 

 ductor of each train (Nos. 1 and 2) which conveys to them 

 the information that No. 2 will "go in the hole" (go in on 

 sidetrack) at "F" and let No. 1 meet and go by it. 



For the purpose of enabling the operator to inform en- 

 gineers when they have "Train Orders" to deliver to them, 

 there are provided what are known as "Train Order Boards." 

 which, on most roads, at night display green when there are 

 no orders and red when trains are to stop. The day indication 

 for "no orders" is a board inclined downward from a hori- 

 zontal position; and at right angles to the post when there 

 are orders. 



We understand then that the engineer of train No. 1, 

 when he reaches "D," finds this "Train Order Board" dis- 



Near Kearney, Neb., obeying a "stop" signal. 



playing red, and he knows there are orders for htm, so he 

 stops; the same with No. 2 at "H." The conductors of these 

 two trains then go into the depots and sign for orders, which 

 the operators have for them. Copies of these are handed to 

 the engineer on each train and they proceed. 



They are thereby informed as to where they are to meet, 

 and should No. 1 reach "F" first, it will stop and wait on the 

 main line until No. 2 arrives and pulls in on the passing 

 track. 



Had one or both of these trains been on time it would 

 not have been necessary for the dispatcher to "put out" this 

 order, nor for the trains to have stopped for same, as the 

 time card would have been sufficient, unless for some reason 

 the dispatcher wanted them to run other than as called for 

 by their printed schedules. This sometimes happens when 

 it is desired to give preference to a "president's special," or 

 other important train. 



You wonder why the operator at 

 "F" also gets a copy of this order? 

 That is required on most railroads 

 to afford additional precaution in the 

 event of the remote possibility of 

 the engine and train crews of either 

 train forgetting that they are to 

 meet at that station. 



On double track, of course, the 

 problem is less complicated, as trains 

 do not have to meet only thing the 

 dispatcher has to look out for is to 

 let a fast train get by a slower one. 



The foregoing explains the gen- 

 eral problem of train dispatching. 

 There are modified forms of substi- 

 tutes for the "Train Order"; but they 

 all center around this scheme of be- 

 ing directed by a dispatcher located 

 at some point, and by keeping him 

 informed by '.'O. S.'s" of the where- 

 abouts of the trains, so that if a per- 

 son understands the above he will 

 have a knowledge sufficient to enable 

 him to know how a train he may be 

 ridins on Is being run over at least 

 eighty or ninety per cent of the rail- 

 road mileage In the United States. 



The method described has funda- 

 mentally been in use for the past 

 forty years. That there is room for 

 improvement is unquestioned, and 

 that it is not devoid of dangerous 

 possibilities is to be admitted, for 

 it deals entirely with the uncertain 



"human equation," but innovation Is difficult of accomplish- 

 ment on railroads owing to the necessity In many cases for 

 unity of action of the entire railroad profession. In no other 

 vocation is there such a close harmony of practices; for 

 instance, in the matter of rolling stock, which Is maintained 



according to the requirements of the safety appliance act 

 and must run over practically every standard gauge railroad 

 in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The officials are 

 banded together into powerful associations, the recommenda- 

 tions of which are common law to the entire profession. 

 Hence it will be seen how a particularly progressive manager 

 will hesitate In inaugurating a practice which is radically 

 different from that in vogue on all of the railroads in the 

 country, for fear he will "lose face" should the new system, 

 through some oversight or unforseen imperfection, res'ult in 

 a disastrous wreck. A railroad official regards "losing face" 

 in his profession, probably as seriously as would a Chinaman 

 to "lose face" in his country. There are also dire possibili- 

 ties for him in the investigation, when one considers the 

 tendency of the public mind now to hold the railroad presi- 

 dent or general manager criminally responsible for the killing 

 of passengers when it can be shown that they were killed 

 through a practice which he may have inaugurated and 

 which is not substantiated by the practice on ninety-nine per 

 cent of the other railroads in the United States. 



However, I stated that it was possible to surround this 

 method of operating trains with additional precautions which 

 make cpllisions almost a thing of the past, and the officials 

 are not blind to the imperfections of the system. Thorough 

 indeed is the code of discipline and drill for perfecting the 

 individuals who are entrusted with the handling of trains. 

 However, there was but one perfect man, and no one Is 

 immune from an occasional error, momentary oversight, or 

 lapse of memory. In the case of an engineer, a mistake on 

 his part might result in a wreck, but the possibility would 

 be ten thousand times removed, if some one else were warned 

 of his error, so that he could be set right in time, and this is 

 accomplished by automatic block signals. I have an example 

 in mind. Just a few weeks ago a certain railroad had a 

 serious collision in which many persons were killed and a 

 large number injured. This resulted from an engineer incor- 

 rectly reading his watch and in such a way that he went by 

 a station at; which he should have met an opposing train. 

 Had this line been protected with automatic electric block 

 signals his mistake would have been caught either by himself, 

 the fireman, or surely by the crew on the other train, from 

 the warning which the signals would give of another train 

 encroaching on their rights. 



Until recent years disciplining the individual in an 

 attempt to make him absolutely perfect and reliable has been 

 about the only factor in the obtainment of safety (other 

 than improvement in rolling stock and track), but broad- 

 minded managements have surrendered to the inevitable trait 

 of human nature to err, and are today providing means to 

 check errors before it is too late. 



The first railroad to be operated was born in Knslund 

 in October, 1829. On account of the very few number of trains 

 which passed over this piece of track, and the slow speed 

 at which they ran they were protected from other trains or 

 objects on the track by a horseman preceding the train wav- 

 ing a flag. 



Any one understanding the manipulation of the simple 

 engines used at that time could handle a train safely, but as 

 the number and speed of trains increased such simple methods 

 had to be abolished, and today the position of engineer and 

 conductor requires an extensive experience and a keen vigi- 

 lence, which is the product only of constant and stern disci- 

 pline. 



For instance, in the movement of the trains which I 

 described from observations in the dispatcher's office, had the 

 engineer of either or both of the trains overlooked to stop 

 at the meeting point, a collision more or less serious would 

 have been remotely impending. These failures are possible, 

 but statistics of a well disciplined railroad show that a train 

 could run around the world on the equator one hundred and 



Fig I 



Home 5nrul 

 Indicotirjj Stop 



Home Signal 

 Indenting Procttd 



Distant Signal Indicating 



Proceed with Caution 



twenty times, passing a station every seven miles before a 

 hazard of this kind would occur. 



This perfection of discipline has been secured by period- 

 ical examinations on the rules and regulations affecting the 

 movement of trains; by frequent tests conducted by the 



