Every one has heard the story of Frankenstein, that unfortunate scientist who conceived the idea that he might make a man; who did really succeed in manufacturing a being something akin5 to human shape, and in animating6 it with life. But, alas7, he could not give it a soul, and the monster turned against its creator, pursuing him and his loved ones with implacable fury and torturing them with fiendish ? 212 ? delight. The railroad is such a monster; made by man to be his servant, but greater than its maker8; grinding out men’s lives, in its fury; wearing out their brains in its service, and then discarding them; for the road must have always the best, and the jaded9 and second-best must step down and out.
Nowhere is the ruthlessness of this great machine more evident than in the dispatchers’ office, for it is here that the strain is always at the highest; and it is here, too, that deterioration10 is at once apparent, and is swiftly and inexorably punished. A defect of judgment11, a momentary12 indecision, a mistake, and the delinquent’s days as a train-dispatcher are at an end.
In the office at Wadsworth there were always two dispatchers on duty. One had charge of the hundred miles of track stretching eastward13 to Parkersburg, and the other had charge of the hundred miles of track stretching southwestward to Cincinnati. The first is called the east end and the other the west end. There are six dispatchers, each of them being on duty eight hours a day. The first trick begins at seven in the morning and lasts till three in the afternoon; the second begins at three and lasts till eleven at night, and the third begins at eleven and lasts till seven in the morning. The new dispatcher begins with the third trick, east end, and gradually works up, as the other places are made vacant by promotions14 and dismissals, to the first trick, west end. From there, he graduates to ? 213 ? the chief-dispatchership, and on to trainmaster, superintendent15, general superintendent, and general manager. That is the regular ladder of promotion—a ladder which, it may be added, very few have the strength to climb.
All the men in the dispatchers’ office of course knew Allan, and liked him, and he received a hearty16 greeting when he arrived for his first morning’s instruction. He drew up a chair beside the first trick man on the west end, popularly known as “Goody,” not because of any fundamental traits of character, but because his name happened to be Goodnough. “Goody” had reached his present position of primacy by working up regularly through the various grades, and train-dispatching had become to him a sort of second nature. He was a good-humoured, companionable fellow, with an inexhaustible fund of anecdote17 and a fondness for practical jokes which not even advancing years and a twinge of rheumatism18 now and then could diminish. It is related of him—but, there, to recount half the things related of him would be to add another book to this series.
Allan, as we have said, drew up his chair beside him and took his first real lesson in train-dispatching. He had, of course, a general idea of how the thing was done, but never before had any one taken the time or trouble to explain its intricacies to him. The dispatcher sat before a long desk, on which, beside his key, sounder, bottle of ink, pens, and so ? 214 ? on, lay the train-sheet, upon which the movement of every train was entered. The sheet, reduced to its simplest form, appears on the opposite page.
Just as Allan sat down, the operator at Harper’s called up and reported that Number Seven had passed there at 7.02. The dispatcher acknowledged the message and wrote “7.02” in the column devoted19 to Train No. 7, opposite Harper’s. A moment later, the operator at Madeira reported the passage of No. 70 at 6.04. This was also duly acknowledged and noted20, and so on through the day, the columns of figures on the sheet were added to, showing the position, at that particular moment, of every train, freight or passenger, on the west end of the division. On the opposite side of the table sat the dispatcher in charge of the east end, recording21, in a precisely22 similar manner, the progress of the trains on his end of the line.
When a conductor and engineer are called, they report at once at the dispatchers’ office, where there is a registry-book which they must sign. Passenger conductors and engineers, as well as passenger-engines, have regular runs, which they always make unless some accident prevents. Freight conductors and engineers are assigned to trains in the order in which they sign the book. There are in the employ of the road two men known as “callers,” whose sole business it is to notify the trainmen when they are wanted. For instance, three freight-trains are scheduled to leave, one at ten o’clock, another at 10.10, and a third at 10.20. It is the caller’s business to see that the crews for these trains are ready to take the trains out. A freight crew consists of engineer and fireman, conductor and two brakemen. The conductor and one brakeman, known as the rear-man, ride in the caboose. The other brakeman, known as the front-man, rides in the cab of the engine, and makes himself useful by ringing the bell, watching for signals, and so on, when he is not engaged in setting or releasing the brakes, or helping23 make up the train.
? 215 ?
P. AND O. RAILWAY--Train Sheet
EAST BOUND WEST BOUND
No. 70 No. 14 No. 22 No. 102 Train No. 1 No. 7 No. 97 No. 71
Grace Hawkes Harris Smith Conductor Brown Jones Hall Hess
Hill Curry24 Rosland Jackson Engineer Snyder Hooker Price Roads
906 1836 1430 1862 Engine 1473 1416 916 912
26 6 5 6 Cars 8 5 28 32
A. M. A. M. A. M. A. M.
5:15 6:15 2:40 Cincinnati
5:50 6:45 3:00 Norwood
3:12 Madeira
3:27 Loveland
4:35 4:06 Midland City 6:42
5:07 Highland25 6:15
5:12 Leesburg 6:12
5:18 East Monroe 6:07 6:59
5:32 Greenfield 5:56 6:40
Thrifton 7:00
5:48 Lyndon 5:48 6:24 6:50
5:54 Harper’s 5:43 6:18 6:40
6:03 Roxabel 5:34 6:54 6:03 6:25
6:07 Musselman 5:31 6:48 5:48 6:07
6:12 Anderson 5:25 6:42 5:40 5:50
6:25 Wadsworth 5:14 6:30 5:24 5:34
A. M. A. M. A. M. A. M. A. M.
? 216 ?
For each train that goes out, then, five men must be in readiness. The caller looks through his book, sees whose turn it is, goes to the dwellings26 of the men to be called, and notifies them of the hour they must be on duty. If any of them are ill or absent, he goes on and calls some one else. The passenger-trainmen, having regular runs, know, of course, the hours they must report for duty and do not need to be called. They are also paid a monthly salary, whereas the earnings27 of the freight crews vary with the amount of business done by the road. For each man must wait his turn. When business is slack and few freight-trains are needed, that turn is often a long time coming; but when business is heavy it frequently happens that the road finds itself short of men and the same crew which has just brought in one train is compelled to take out another, and is sometimes on duty for sixteen, twenty-four, and even thirty-six hours at a stretch. It is ? 217 ? then that nerves give way, that memories fail, that eyes which should be alert grow dim and weary,—orders are forgotten, signals are unseen, and a bad accident follows. Freight-men are paid by the trip, and not infrequently, in busy seasons, they make double time—that is, get in two days’ work in every twenty-four hours.
As has been said, the engineers and conductors register at once at the dispatchers’ office. Then the engineer goes on to the lower yards to look over his engine and see that it is in good shape, while the conductor waits for his orders. These are given to him in duplicate, one copy for himself and one for the engineer. He reads his copy aloud to the dispatcher, compares his watch with the big official clock, and then goes down to his train. As soon as the engine is coupled on, he gives the engineer his copy of the orders, which the engineer must read aloud to him. Then they compare watches, and the conductor goes off to show the orders to the rear brakeman, while the engineer shows his copy to the fireman and front brakeman. Thus every member of the crew knows under what orders the train is to proceed and its movement is not dependent upon the memory of one man alone. The dispatcher has also kept a copy of the orders, which he files away. At the time appointed in the orders, the conductor gives the word and the train starts on its journey.
The dispatcher has, meanwhile, entered the number ? 218 ? of the train, the names of conductor and engineer, the number of the engine and the number of cars on the train-sheet, as well as the hour and minute of the train’s departure. When it passes the first station, the operator there calls up the dispatcher and reports the hour and minute at which it passed. This also is entered on the sheet, and as the train proceeds, the column of figures devoted to it grows. The record of east-bound trains starts at the top of the sheet and grows downward, while that of west-bound trains starts at the bottom of the sheet and grows upward. It should be remembered that east-bound trains always bear even numbers, and west-bound trains odd numbers.
By this method, the dispatcher keeps a record on the sheet before him of the progress of every train. He knows the exact position of every train, or, at least, he knows the last station passed by each, and the probable time of its arrival, barring accident, at the next station. His problem is to keep all the trains moving, to keep a clear track for the passengers so that they can run on time, and to arrange meeting-points for trains going in opposite directions so that there will be no unnecessary delays.
It should be understood that, while a few of the larger railroads are double-tracked, the great bulk of the railroad business of this country is done over single-track roads. On these roads, points of meeting or passing must be at sidings, upon which one train can run while the other passes on the main ? 219 ? track. Such sidings are usually at stations, and the problem of making the trains meet there is a very delicate one.
In order to accomplish this with the least delay, the trains are divided into classes. The east-bound passengers always have the right of way, and expect a clear track. West-bound passengers must make arrangements to get out of the way of east-bound ones, but have precedence over all other trains. Regular freight-trains must make provision to leave the track clear for the passengers, while the extra freights, which have no regular schedule, creep from station to station as best they can, giving all the other trains a clear track—a sort of yellow dog which every one is privileged to kick.
All the regular trains, passenger and freight, run by the time-card. That is, each of them has its regular time for reaching and leaving every station on the road, and as long as all the trains are on time, things move smoothly and the dispatcher has an easy time of it. But it is indeed a red-letter day when all trains are on time. So many things may happen, there are so many possible causes of delay, that almost inevitably28 some of the trains will run behind. It is then that the dispatcher shows the stuff that is in him; if he knows his business thoroughly29, he will not only keep the trains moving promptly30, but will give those that are behind a chance to make up some of the time which they have lost.
? 220 ?
The rules given for dispatchers in the book of rules are short—only about a third as long as those for section-foremen. They state that the dispatcher reports to the superintendent, that it is his duty to issue orders for the movement of trains and to see that they are transmitted and recorded, that he may not go off duty until another dispatcher relieves him and that he must explain to the dispatcher coming on the train-orders in force.
But how small a portion of the dispatcher’s duty this really represents! He must “know the road,”—every grade, siding, and curve. Nay31, more; he must know the pitch of every grade, or he will give his engines such heavy loads that they will not be able to get over the road. He must know the capacity of every siding, or he may name one as a meeting-point for trains too long to pass there, except by breaking the trains up and see-sawing by a few cars at a time. He must know the capacity of every engine, so that he can tell just how many cars it can handle. He must know the disposition32 of every conductor and engineer, for some will complain without cause, while some will never ask for help until they absolutely need it. As a telegrapher, he must be expert in the highest degree; he must be quick and sure of decision, of an iron nerve and with a calmness which nothing can disturb.
None of which things are mentioned in the book of rules!
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inefficient
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| adj.效率低的，无效的 | |
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clogged
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| （使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞 | |
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smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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animating
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| v.使有生气( animate的现在分词 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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jaded
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| adj.精疲力竭的；厌倦的；（因过饱或过多而）腻烦的；迟钝的 | |
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10
deterioration
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| n.退化；恶化；变坏 | |
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11
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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12
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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13
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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14
promotions
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| 促进( promotion的名词复数 )； 提升； 推广； 宣传 | |
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superintendent
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| n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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rheumatism
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| n.风湿病 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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recording
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| n.录音，记录 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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curry
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| n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革 | |
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highland
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| n.(pl.)高地，山地 | |
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dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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earnings
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| n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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29
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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31
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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