THE TRAIN WIRE

A DISCUSSION OF THE SCIENCE

OF

TRAIN DISPATCHING

BY

J. A. ANDERSON;

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY B. B. ADAMS, JR.

Second Edition—Revised and Enlarged.

PUBLISHED BY

The Railroad Gazette, 73 Broadway, New York.

1891.

Copyrighted, 1891,

BY

J. A. Anderson, Lambertville, N. J.

CONTENTS.

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INTRODUCTION.

In the first edition of this book, issued in 1883, Mr. Anderson, then Superintendent of the Belvidere Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, modestly disclaiming perfection for his work, ventured the prediction that the science of which he wrote would be greatly advanced as time went on. In one sense this prediction has not been fulfilled. The eight years which have passed have witnessed little or no change from the principles then laid down by the author of The Train Wire, but he has the satisfaction of now seeing their widespread adoption and a consequent great improvement in the practice of this important science; and while probably none at the present time know how to handle trains by telegraph better than the dispatchers of the Pennsylvania road did when the prediction referred to was made, the requisite knowledge and training are now possessed by many more men than were numbered among the experts of the earlier period.

The author's disavowal of exhaustive treatment is proper in view of the fact that a complete treatise on the subject would include much relating to the operation of the train rules and to points of discipline; but it must be agreed that the first edition of this book was the first thorough and precise essay on the subject which had appeared, and that it stated the principles of dispatching in substantially the form since adopted by the General Time Convention, a body composed of the General Managers and Superintendents of practically all the important roads of the country east of the Missouri River.

The inception of this book resulted from the author's work, several years earlier, in revising the rules of the company under whom he was employed; and in preparing his book he naturally took care not to trespass upon the prerogatives of that company; but it is no more than right to say that outside observers regard his work as one for which his own road and all others are as much indebted to him as he can be to any road.

During the preparation of the Rules on Train Dispatching, formulated by the eminent Managers and Superintendents composing the Time Convention Committee, Mr. Anderson acted with that Committee, and his suggestions in The Train Wire, with his other work in that line, were largely used as the basis for this portion of the Time Convention rules. The deviations in these rules from the lines laid down in the first issue of The Train Wire are chiefly in the nature of compromises as to methods of practice, made necessary to effect an agreement among railroad officers of different needs and opinions. The Standard Code avowedly falls short of perfection, but chiefly because of this necessity.

The duplicate form of order is presented by Mr. Anderson as a vital feature in the science of dispatching. When he first wrote, this form of order was in use on few roads. Many officers were ignorant of it, and most others knew of it only in a vague way or looked upon it with disfavor as impracticable for roads doing a heavy business. Now, the requirement that all trains concerned in the execution of a specific movement should receive the order in the same words, is widely recognized as an axiom, and rules based on this principle are fast coming into general use.

The first part of the book treats of general principles, while the latter part takes up the rules which embody those principles and give them effect, the Standard Code being taken as the basis of the discussion. It might at first seem unnecessary, in view of the wide acceptance of the Standard Code, to enter into a discussion of its rules, and some of this discussion may appear to be needless repetition of matter presented in earlier pages; but as there are still those who have not taken the most advanced position, and probably many who, having adopted good practice, are not thoroughly familiar with the reasons for it, the author has done well to retain this feature of his earlier work, in connection with the statement of principles. These comments serve to point out to those not thoroughly acquainted with the subject the relations of the rules to the reasons for them, and this must be useful to beginners in the science and to men on new roads. For officers of experience, whose positions remove them from personal contact with the telegraph work and yet require that they have particular knowledge of it, a book of this kind should be both elementary and full; and all readers will find in examining the rules for practice that there is an advantage in having attention directed to the conformity of the rules with the principles before enunciated.

One of the most interesting and original paragraphs in the first edition of The Train Wire was that describing the scheme for numbering switches and using those numbers in train orders, to facilitate the movement of trains at meeting-points. This plan has since been put in use to some extent and has given great satisfaction; and in connection with "lap-sidings" it has been found of marked benefit in handling a heavy traffic on a single-track road.[A]

The author of The Train Wire is no longer connected with the Operating Department,[B] and has undertaken this revision reluctantly, but his interest in his former work is still lively, and this is an enlargement as well as a revision; so that both reader and author are to be congratulated. The superintendents and dispatchers, the operators young and old, among the million railroaders of the United States, have a better handbook than ever before, while the author can justly take pride in the fact that the individual views expressed by him in 1883 are now generally accepted truth. The introduction of the Standard Code on 70,000 miles of American railroads is one of the important steps of recent years in railroad operation, resulting in greater security to life and property; and The Train Wire should be credited with a liberal share of the honor of the reform.

B. B. A., Jr.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

The views on train dispatching here offered have been arrived at during an experience of some twenty years, including a recent connection with the preparation of a set of rules for the company on whose road the writer is employed. While his agency in the formation of the rules referred to accounts for the existence of a general similarity and no radical difference between them and the present treatment of the subject, the latter is not to be taken as an authorized commentary upon those rules, but as an expression of individual views for which, with any additional matter or variations in arrangement, the writer is alone responsible.

With his first experiments in train dispatching the writer became convinced that the method of issuing train orders in the same words to all concerned in each transaction afforded greater security than that supplied by any other form of order. Another early conviction was that each step in the process of preparing and issuing train orders should be carefully and minutely arranged for by specific rules.

In here undertaking to impress these views, it is also sought to set forth the general principles upon which rules should be based, and to recommend methods of procedure for all ordinary practice. The methods proposed have been tested by the writer, and the most of them by others. If they are not found to apply to all existing circumstances, they may at least serve as guides in devising other plans.

It is not assumed that this consideration of the subject of train dispatching is exhaustive. The theme is a fruitful one and of growing interest and importance. Much remains to be said of what has already been accomplished, and the future will doubtless show advances in this science far beyond the best practice of the present.

1883.

THE TRAIN WIRE.

CHAPTER I.

TRAIN DISPATCHING.

The telegraph, as a means of directing the movements of trains, is a necessary railroad fixture. But for its agency the moving of the heavy traffic of some of our railroads would be impossible without large additions to the tracks and consequent increase in the cost of construction and transportation.

The train wire is thus a promoter of both economy and facility of operation. Under the supervision which it permits, the products of industry are rapidly and cheaply exchanged between distant points, while the traveler, unimpeded by the slower-moving trains, goes swiftly on his way. Steam is the noisy giant that shoulders the load and gets the praise; but the silent man, in some quiet place away from the rattle of the wheels, with his finger on the key, controls the ponderous and complicated movements, which proceed so harmoniously that one may almost imagine them to be the result of natural law.

Although the value, however, of the telegraph as a railroad appliance is daily becoming more fully realized, its capabilities for usefulness have not been developed to an extent commensurate with its importance. A well-informed writer has justly said: "Telegraphy as a handmaid of the railroad has not assumed any enduring form peculiarly adapted to this business."

This is still true in a measure, although not to so great an extent as when uttered. The circumstances must be very exceptional in which the aid of the telegraph will not be of important advantage. Machinery breaks, steam fails, connections are late, storms and floods disturb the roadway; a thousand things cause delays. The difficulties may not be great or numerous where trains are few, but they increase rapidly with the growth of traffic, and vexatious delays can only be avoided by adequate means of promptly controlling the movements of the trains. Hence the importance of securing not only the best telegraphic appliances, but the best method as well of rendering them useful in the service in question.

In arranging a system of train dispatching, its relations to safety and economy require that careful consideration be given to the principles on which it should be based. Some of the methods in use indicate this careful study and a growing sense of its importance is shown in the recent general acceptance of rules on the subject, prepared with the most scrupulous care.

These rules, as will be seen, are in conformity with what was urged in the former edition of this work, and the present intention is to direct attention anew to some of the underlying principles, as well as to the practical bearing of the rules referred to.

The means of instant communication afforded by the introduction of the telegraph seemed to place at command a method of directing distant train movements with ready facility; but it soon appeared that the use of the new implement involved risks which must be carefully guarded against; hence the various "systems" which have arisen having this in view.

The distinctive feature of the "American" system of train dispatching is the issuing of orders from a central office, directing train movements, supplementary to those provided for by the time-table and "train" rules. This method is in general use, and is recognized as better adapted to our circumstances than that of moving trains by the "staff" or other means from station to station, as in European practice. In considering the application of this mode of issuing telegraphic orders for single-track, some of the methods will be seen to apply as well to roads having more than one track.

A printed time-table, showing the regular times and meeting-places of trains, may be prepared at leisure and studied by all trainmen, and is full notice as to all regular trains on the road. With rules added directing how the trains are to proceed with relation to each other, understood by all alike and faithfully observed, collisions cannot occur. If, however, it becomes necessary to issue special orders for trains that are not on the time-table, or for the forwarding of any, otherwise than by the operation of the ordinary rules, new precautions become necessary.

The conductor or engineman receiving such an order must know that it is given by competent authority.

It must be understood that others concerned have corresponding orders.

These orders should be so clearly expressed that they cannot be misunderstood, and they should be forwarded and delivered under such safeguards as to insure their certain and correct reception by the proper persons.

As these orders are to be acted upon at once, without opportunity for careful study, their form, and even the paper on which they are written, should be such that they may be easily and quickly read and comprehended.

It is now generally agreed that orders of this kind should be issued by a designated dispatcher, acting by the authority and in the name of the superintendent. For two persons to engage in this work at the same time for the same piece of road involves serious risk, and to insure safety as well as confidence on the part of the trainmen this should never occur. It may be taken as an initial principle that the success of a system depends largely upon the assurance upon the part of the trainmen that every source of danger has been carefully considered and guarded against, and that the rules adopted are strictly adhered to. If it were known, for instance, that orders were issued by the superintendent and one of his assistants alternately, as might be convenient at the moment, it would excite distrust. The author must confess to such feeling when, some years since while on a delayed passenger train at a way station, he saw the superintendent take a bit of paper from his pocket and write against the side of a building an order for the train to proceed to a certain point, regardless of another designated train. It came out all right, but the incident did not inspire confidence in the telegraphic system of that road. Within the knowledge of the author a disastrous collision resulted from an oversight in regard to the delivery of an order where a skilful official undertook to assist a dispatcher in an emergency. Between the two an important point was omitted; each thought the other had attended to it. Extreme care is necessary to carry out exactly the methods fixed upon for the proper preparation and issuing of these messages, and confusion is likely to result from interference with those charged with this duty.

In issuing a time-table in advance of the date upon which it takes effect, means can readily be used for making sure that it is received by those who are to be governed by it. The means are more complicated and subject to greater risks whereby we can be assured that a telegraphic train order reaches correctly and surely the hands of those for whom it is designed. After preparation by the Dispatcher it is transmitted in telegraphic language by mechanical agency to a distant point, there to be retranslated into plain English and written out without mistake, for record and delivery; and all this in the shortest possible time.

The details of this process should be so arranged as to guard as far as possible against every risk arising under the several steps, and nothing should be left to mere personal care that can be provided for by fixed methods of proceeding. To one who is an expert and can see in his own case no occasion for extraordinary safeguards such precautions may not seem important; but a consideration of the risks involved, of the many steps to be taken, and of the number of agents engaged in the process, many of whom are often not greatly experienced, must lead to the conclusion that a methodical following out of a carefully prepared mode of proceeding is a most valuable means of providing against many of the chances of failure.

Two general methods or "systems" of constructing train orders are in use. They have been distinguished as the "single order" and "duplicate order" system. The latter is accurately described by its title. The other title is not a strictly accurate designation, but sufficiently so for our purpose.

Although the "duplicate" method is now widely recognized as the best, the other is still in use. For purposes of comparison of these methods we will take a telegraphic order providing for the meeting of two trains at a designated point beyond which the one has, by train rules, the superior right of track as respects the other. The order is to limit the superior right, and permit the inferior train to run to a point to which it could not otherwise go without trespassing on the right of the other. If by any error or misunderstanding the superior train fails to stop at the proposed meeting-point, while the other proceeds upon the assumption that it will thus stop, the result may be a disastrous collision.

Under the "single order" system, when two opposing trains are to meet by special order, arrangements are usually first made to stop the superior train by a "holding order." An order is then given forbidding it to go beyond the designated point, and then another order is given to the inferior train authorizing it to go to that point. The holding order is addressed to an agent or operator whose station the superior train will pass, and reads substantially as follows:

Hold train No. 5 for orders.

The person receiving this is required to display a signal to stop the expected train if it is not already at the station, and not to allow it to proceed until the meeting-order is duly forwarded and delivered. This order to the superior train is usually addressed to the conductor and engineman in the following form, or its equivalent:

You will not pass Alton until train No. 4 arrives.

The corresponding order to the conductor and engineman of the inferior train, sent to some station to be passed by it, will read:

You will run to Alton regardless of train No. 5.

or perhaps—

You will meet and pass train No. 5 at Alton.

The holding order is dispensed with by some, and with some it is the practice to issue orders to inferior trains while a superior is held by a holding order until its movements can be determined on, when it receives an order covering all that have been given to trains against it.

Under the "duplicate" system the holding order may be used, but such has not been the general practice, and it would not under this system be used in the manner above described. This system, as its name implies, requires that the order given to each train shall be a duplicate of that given to every other train concerned in the movement provided for in the order. For the simple movement above described an order is addressed to the conductor and engineman of each of the two trains, in the same words, as follows:

Trains No. 4 and No. 5 will meet at Alton.

This, being in the same words to each, may be transmitted over the wire to both at the same time. This is usually done, and offers one of the chief advantages of this form of order. The trains are stopped by signals, which are required either to be displayed when an order is sent, or to stand normally in position to stop trains, which are only permitted to pass on the signal being changed or on getting proper orders.

Objection has been made to the "duplicate" form that it does not distinctly order a train to proceed farther than its schedule rights permit, nor in definite terms direct the other not to go beyond the new meeting-point. The objection has no weight, as an order to meet can only be construed as authorizing each train to go to the station named, and not beyond it until both are there; and it is easy and proper to provide a rule which shall definitely settle the point for those who are unaccustomed to this form, if it should be deemed necessary.

The fatal defect in the "single order" system is that the orders to the two trains, written separately and differently expressed, are subject to the grave danger of inadvertently giving in one a meeting-place different from that given in the other. This liability is greater if an interval of time occurs between the preparation of the two. The risk is very much increased by the usage under this system of including several meeting-points in one order, and becomes still more serious if meeting-points are to be made for several trains moving in each direction. The schedule for these must be rapidly made up and written out in parts, giving to each train its part, differing in form from all the others. There is nothing but the care and skill of the Dispatcher to prevent the opposing orders from differing in some particular. When we consider the care necessary in preparing a time-table, to properly show the running time and meeting-places of the several trains, we must see that the risk, in the process described, of getting something wrong, must far outweigh any supposed convenience in a train having an order showing a continuous schedule of its meeting-points for several opposing trains. Those unacquainted with this work would be astonished at the extent to which the skill of some dispatchers in this direction has been developed. To the uninitiated the mental operations would be simply bewildering, which are required of a brain from which issue for hours, without apparent effort, the instructions under which the trains on a busy road are moved expeditiously and harmoniously. It is not to be denied that many men have moved traffic of huge dimensions safely and with entire satisfaction by the "single order," but this does not at all prove that the system possesses inherent principles of safety. Great personal ability and skill have, with it, achieved marked success where in less able hands its defects would have become apparent; but that some have developed this remarkable ability is no reason why we should depend upon this in a matter of such vital importance. The prevalence of methods which require exceptional skill has doubtless interfered with the more extended usefulness of the railroad telegraph which would probably have resulted under a system more readily operated by men of less experience and ability.

Men who have successfully worked under the "single order" method have stated that the mental strain is very great, augmented by anxiety born of the fact that a single error may be fatal to property or life. Now, a mode of constructing orders which may be operated with safety by men of moderate skill, which relieves them of the mental strain, and which in itself provides against the most serious chance of error must at once commend itself. The "duplicate" would appear to meet these requirements; and that such is the case is the abundant testimony of those who have used it.

In preparing this order the Dispatcher cannot possibly give different meeting-points, as there is but one message for both trains, and when transmitted to both simultaneously each must get the same as the other. The mental anxiety arising from the other method is absent in this. An experienced Dispatcher under the "single" system has stated that in visiting an office where the "duplicate" was used he was surprised that those engaged there appeared to have so little on their minds. He found, on himself adopting the "duplicate," that it was readily explained. Each transaction is at once complete. On the preparation and transmission of the order in precisely the same language to both trains, and with no necessary connection with any other transaction, the mind is at once prepared to dismiss that and go on to the next. In the transmission of two separate orders for the one meeting, there is ever the feeling that an error may be or may have been committed. But where the one sentence is prepared for both trains and, as is usually done, transmitted to both at one sending, the Dispatcher may rest secure that no collision can occur from any oversight of his in preparing the orders, and superintending officers may, if necessary, commit this work to comparatively unskilled hands, with the assurance that so long as the prescribed methods are adhered to the proceeding will be at least safe, however great may be the delays arising from unskilful movements.

The power of combination and of quickly calculating the probable movements of trains and determining what shall be done is an entirely distinct matter. This power is largely the result of experience. It is essential to the full development of any system, but is exercised with much greater facility under the relief which the "duplicate" affords, it has been alleged that this method requires more telegraphing than the other, and that trains cannot be moved by it so promptly. It has, however, been for many years in use on roads where only the most expeditious methods would serve; and superintendents moving a heavy traffic, who have changed from the "single" to the "duplicate" state that the amount of telegraphing is reduced one-third. Those who have grown up with a system may have reasonable hesitation as to making a change. It is not easy to give up methods of practice in which one has been trained for those which are new; and it may seem difficult, perhaps unsafe, to undertake to re-educate operators and trainmen in so critical a matter. Nevertheless, those who have tried it have found these supposed difficulties to quickly vanish, and have discovered the result to be in every way satisfactory, and that this form of order is much to be preferred. Some officers who were with difficulty induced to change are now among the most enthusiastic supporters of the "duplicate" method.

In arranging for the issuing of train orders, experience has shown that forms may be simplified and improved methods adopted by which the work is facilitated and the orders rendered clearer to those receiving them; and disaster has taught the necessity for precautions not before thought of. These points will be considered in detail with reference to the "duplicate" system of orders, although much that follows will apply to the other.

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CHAPTER II.

THE DISPATCHER.

The Train Dispatcher holds a most important position as respects safety of life and property. He may perhaps do more than any other official to secure it by care or endanger it by lack of vigilance. His relations to economy, too, are important. As the time of engines, cars, and employÉs, and of the persons and things carried, is of value, delay avoided is money saved.

It cannot be too strongly insisted upon that the man who issues train orders should make it his especial business, and should have no interference from others. None but a very limited business will warrant the performance of this duty by the superintendent in person, or by any one engaged in other work. If it is such as to call for any approach to continuous attention, persons must be specially assigned to it. The hours of duty and the question of other occupation must depend upon the frequency and constancy of the demands of the work specially in hand. Upon a busy road where the trains are run much on orders, safety as well as efficiency will be best promoted by excluding other occupation and anything which may distract the attention of the "Train Runner," and under these circumstances a period of duty of eight hours is as long as can prudently be assigned. This conveniently divides the twenty-four hours between three men, and does not overtax them. With lighter duties a longer time may be admissible. With very heavy work, six hours may be long enough.

The importance of confining the work of dispatching, for the time being, to the individual charged with this duty, has already been referred to, and cannot be too strongly urged. The office where this work is done should be separate from others, and should not be subjected to the visits and conversation of outsiders or of employÉs whose business does not call them there. The Dispatcher should be a proficient operator. He may not himself transmit his orders, but he should be able to read all that passes on the wire, in order to have an intelligent understanding of what is going on. He should be thoroughly acquainted with the location and length of the various sidings, the grades and curves, the capacity of the engines, and other matters which may affect the movements of the trains he has in hand, and some experience as conductor will be of value. He should be a man of more than average ability, of good judgment, clear head, and strictly temperate habits. In many cases the chief Dispatcher is the right-hand man of the superintendent in all matters associated with the management of the trains; and a suitable recognition of the importance of the position will have a valuable effect in elevating the character of this service and in promoting its efficiency.

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CHAPTER III.

THE OPERATOR.

Where the work of the Dispatcher is considerable, he will require the aid of one or more operators in the work connected with the transmission of orders. In view of the importance of his duties and of the fact that he may in turn become Dispatcher, the operator should be selected with care. He too should have a clear head and correct habits, be a good pen-man, an expert telegrapher and a sound-reader. It will be his duty to transmit the orders, or write them down as transmitted by the Dispatcher, and to follow them through the subsequent steps until the process, up to delivery, is complete. He should not be charged with message or clerical work where it may interfere with his principal duty.

The station operator who receives the orders must also have part in the subsequent steps, and on him is placed the duty of delivery. Besides the personal and professional qualifications required for the other, he should, with him, be thoroughly conversant with the rules and methods prescribed for this service, as well as with the time-tables and general train rules and the character and designations of the trains. A station operator may do much to keep business moving by advising the Dispatcher of arrivals, delays, and other things occurring near him, which have a bearing on train movements, but which the letter of his instructions may not require him to report. One who does this intelligently prepares and recommends himself for advancement.

It is quite important that operators be impressed with the gravity of the work in hand. Their apprenticeship and training should be such as to assure this as far as possible, and before appointment they should be thoroughly examined as to their qualifications in all respects, and afterward constantly supervised by competent officials. Young persons readily learn to telegraph, and the lowest compensation paid is something considerable to the youth just leaving home, while the salaries usually paid to railroad operators are not such as to offer fair inducement to men of years and experience to accept or retain these positions. Hence many of our operators are comparatively young. It is no disparagement to them to say that they have not ordinarily the steadiness of character and sense of responsibility which we expect in maturer years. Without these it is difficult for them to have a proper conception of the magnitude of the interests dependent on their attention to their duties, and of the importance of exactly carrying out details which to them may seem almost trivial. We have here a cogent reason for so systematizing this business as to render the working of it as nearly automatic or mechanical as possible, and thus eliminate as far as practicable the risk arising from the deficiencies of the human agency. In all systems worked by man this risk will be found. Better pay will procure better men, greater care and greater conscientiousness. Men laboring for a bare pittance and with little hope of advancement in the future do not usually cultivate these qualities to the highest point. Thus we are brought to one of the many points where the balance must be constantly sought between economy of expenditure and security of management. Each railroad officer must work it out for himself.

Operators should aim at a high standard of qualification and attention to duty. If the result is not greater remuneration in this service, their efforts may be rewarded by promotion in other directions. Reliable men are always wanted, and the consciousness of doing one's best is a source of satisfaction of more value than money. A careful study of their special work will develop a sense of its importance, leading to better attention to duties and preparation for advancement. Operators will therefore do well to make themselves masters of their business, rather than rest satisfied with a merely mechanical attention to prescribed methods, without an intelligent apprehension of their significance.

Telegraph offices should be carefully guarded against the intrusion of outsiders or employÉs off duty. Conversation or other interruptions may distract the attention at a critical moment and cause an operator to write an order incorrectly or allow a train to pass which he should stop.

CHAPTER IV.

THE ORDER.

There are some general considerations which it is important to bear in mind in the preparation and issuing of train orders. Some of these have been already pointed out. The circumstances under which they are to be acted upon render it of the utmost importance that there shall be nothing in their form or matter to obstruct in any way a clear and prompt comprehension of their intent. No instructions should be included that are not strictly running orders. Directions to take on or put off cars, or to change engines, or general instructions as to the management and stops of a train with reference to its traffic, are not properly included in such orders. Again, the language in which the orders are expressed should be simple and unmistakable. Simplicity implies brevity. Superfluous words or ambiguous terms or expressions should be carefully excluded. To avoid the use of anything of this character the precise form of expression should be determined on beforehand for all cases that can be anticipated, and strictly adhered to. This also renders the work of the Dispatchers uniform, and enables them to perform it with facility, especially if not greatly experienced; and the trainmen become accustomed to the forms, and comprehend them at sight.

There are differences of opinion among practical men as to the propriety of including more than one transaction in the same order. Some reasons have been before urged against this practice. As men generally favor the practice to which they are accustomed, it is not easy to settle this question. A number of meeting-points may be given in succession in one order more readily in the "single order" system than in the other; and this is claimed as an advantage, and as better than giving the same on as many different pieces of paper. With an order, hastily and perhaps poorly and closely written on flimsy paper, to be read by a conductor in a storm or by the dim light of a hand-lamp, there is a good deal of risk that in a long order for several meeting-points something may escape notice; a line may be skipped and a meeting-point missed. In the "duplicate" order the same danger would exist, and, in addition to the matter affecting the train receiving an order, it would get matter not at all affecting it. Thus, if A is ordered to meet B, and B to meet C, and both orders are included in one for the benefit of B, the duplicate to A would include matter for C in which A has no concern, and that to C would have matter for A which he does not require. Circumstances might make it of some use for A to know where C is to meet B; but burdening the order with this extraneous matter will be found usually to be a positive disadvantage and to cause much more work in transmission than giving each operation singly. The latter has been found to work entirely well in practice, and is theoretically the safer method. The conductor or engineman holding several of these orders arranges them in their proper succession, and each one as it is fulfilled is laid aside. It may be desired to change a meeting-place ordered, and, if this is included in an order containing several others, the change is not so readily made. The reasons would appear to be important for insisting that each order should be ordinarily confined to a single transaction, with slight exceptions, some of which are elsewhere adverted to.

The following is a sample of "duplicate" order actually and frequently given in practice on one of the principal divisions of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It is given to illustrate perhaps the least objectionable method of combining several movements in one order. It is compact, and is alleged to serve a good purpose. The principal objections to it are those above given.

An order must not be taken to allow more than it expressly authorizes. As, for instance, a train authorized by order to run in the time of another is not on this account to assume that it may run within the time of any other superior train which may be understood to have to keep out of the way of the train whose right is curtailed. Each train must be governed in all respects by train rules with relation to every other train, excepting as distinctly provided in the special orders; and as a necessary consequence of this, no train should be permitted to run under the authority or protection of an order given to another.

Every provision in an order should be held to be in force indefinitely until fulfilled or annulled, or expired by some limitation in the order or in the rules. In the orders delivered to those who are to execute them no erasures, alterations, or interlineations should be permitted. These tend to obscure the meaning and raise doubts as to accuracy. The writing should be clear and plain, the letters well formed and without flourishes. Orders must often be read in dim light or in storms, and when men are hurried, and they should not be required to decipher bad writing. Many orders have come under the author's notice which were defective in this respect. The following specimen is given, omitting names that would indicate where it was issued. The bad writing, the number of points covered by the order, the difficulty arising from these, and the flimsy character of the paper must condemn the order as utterly unfit as a reliance for the safety of life and property dependent upon its proper execution. The illustration is not wholly satisfactory, for the reproduction of the order on smooth, white paper does not adequately represent the indistinctness arising from yellow paper, thin and crumpled, on which it was written, in common with so many train orders.

Orders should be identified by consecutive numbers, as is now usual. If the regular business requires a large number it is better to begin with No. 1 each day. As a precaution against the engineman overlooking orders, and as a means for properly taking care of them, a clip should be provided for them on the engine, in a position to be readily seen by the engineman while attending to his duties. This will avoid the necessity of his putting the orders where he may forget them; and with each on a separate paper they may be arranged in proper succession and removed as executed, leaving always before the eye the next to be executed. The copies of orders retained by operators should remain in the book. These books and the copies that have been used by trainmen should be sent to headquarters for inspection. This will serve to indicate the manner in which the regulations are carried out, and the condition, as to legibility, etc., in which the orders are issued.

Forms of orders will be considered under "Forms."

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CHAPTER V.

THE MANIFOLD.

Under the common practice there must be prepared at least three copies of each train order received for delivery. The conductor and engineman are each supplied with a copy, and the operator retains one. To make three several copies by pen and ink, as heretofore practiced by some, takes a good deal of time, and there is danger that they may not be all alike, and the time and risk are increased if more than three copies are required. To obviate this, the manifold system of writing has come into general use and with very great advantage. As used by many, however, it has serious defects. The tissue paper frequently used is very objectionable, especially the yellow variety. Messages written on it are quite difficult to read, especially in a poor light; it is easily crumpled, rendering it still more indistinct; it is difficult to handle in the wind, and it is easily damaged by wet. In the use of the manifold for some seventeen years the author found it entirely practicable to use an opaque white paper, of sufficient body to be free from the above objections and yet capable of giving seven distinct copies with a good pencil of the hardness of No. 4 Faber. This is now recognized as the best and is prescribed in the specifications connected with the Time Convention rules.

Operators should not be permitted to receive orders on separate slips and copy them on the manifold, but should take the order down at once in the manifold-book. A sheet of tin placed in the book enables them to make all the copies perfectly distinct. Of course none but "sound" operators can do this. It takes but little more time and application to make a "sound" than a "paper" operator, and the advantage of the former is so great in this as well as in other respects in this service that it should always be required. Operators readily become able to take the requisite number of copies in manifold without the use of intermediate slips, and the risks of copying are thus avoided. When more copies are wanted than are made at the first writing they should be traced from one of the original copies. In the case of a general order, as in annulling a train, operators would usually make but one copy, and others required for delivery should be traced from this. Careful supervision should be had as to the actual practice of operators in the proper use of the manifold, and as to frequently changing the carbon paper to secure distinctness.

CHAPTER VI.

THE RECORD.

A careful record ought to be kept of each step in the issuing of an order, as well as of its exact terms. This record should be made on the original copies held by the Dispatcher, and by the operator who receives and delivers the order. The Dispatcher's copy should show who issued it, and both should indicate what operators were engaged in its transmission, and the time at which each step was taken, as well as the proper address, etc.

The Dispatcher's train sheet should constantly show the movements of the several trains, which should be promptly reported by the operators and recorded by them in the prescribed forms. A practical difficulty occurs in making the Dispatcher's record of all the steps in the issuing of an order, which it may be well to refer to here. When the Dispatcher is assisted by an operator, the most of the steps will be taken and recorded by the latter. They should be at once recorded on the original copy of the order, so as to leave nothing to be remembered or copied. Now, if the Dispatcher must write the order out in the book before transmission, the operator may have occasion to use the book at the same time for recording steps then in progress with reference to other orders; and if he does not, the passing of the books back and forth between them is inconvenient. It has, partly on this account, doubtless, become the custom with many for the Dispatcher himself to telegraph the orders without first writing them down, his operator taking them down as repeated back and writing them in the book of record. The operator thus has the book all the time in his hands. The objections to the Dispatcher transmitting orders himself are elsewhere considered, and it is designed here to point out a method by which the other plan can be pursued and the inconvenience referred to avoided. The Dispatcher is provided with a manifold-book and some loose sheets properly headed. With these, by the manifold process, he prepares two copies of the order, one in his book and the other on a loose sheet which he hands to the operator for use in transmitting. On this all the subsequent record is made by the operator, and at the close of each day all the orders for that day are fastened together and filed away. The numbers and manifold writing sufficiently identify the two copies if subsequent comparison is necessary, each being in fact an original. This method has the further advantage that the Dispatcher has by him all the time copies of orders he has issued, for reference if needed.

CHAPTER VII.

THE TRAIN-ORDER SIGNAL.

A method much used for signaling a train to stop for orders is to display a flag or light of suitable color, after receiving the direction to "hold the train." This is often done by holding the signal in the hand or placing it on the platform or ground or in some fixed place. If placed on the platform, without attendance, it is liable to be obscured or removed by persons about the place. If held, in the hand of the agent or operator it is a poor arrangement for performing so important an office. The operator is usually required to report that the signal is displayed. He evidently cannot do this without leaving the signal unattended, and in fact when he is alone he must so leave it, as, after it is displayed, he must return to the office to receive the order, and he must also often be engaged in his office while expecting a train. It will frequently occur that trains will pass his station after he has received an order for some subsequent train; in which case he must temporarily remove the signal, or stop a train which might otherwise not be required to stop. When this plan is used all trains that arrive before that for which the order is held are actually stopped. A serious accident occurred some years since from the hand-lamp going out as it was swung as a signal to stop a train for which orders had been received. The signal failed, and the train went on and collided with the opposing train. Lanterns and flags are the only available movable signals to be put in the hands of train and track men, but they should not be relied upon where anything better can be used. The evils attending this use of hand signals are so manifest that the practice is fast disappearing, and the reference to it here may before long be only a reminder of what has been done.

A signal for this purpose should be distinctive and of the most substantial character. A fixed signal manipulated from within the office is greatly to be preferred. Several such have been devised. The signal should be such as to be distinctly seen at proper distances; it should be as little as possible liable to confusion with other objects, and it should be an adornment rather than a disfigurement to the landscape in which it forms a prominent feature. The most satisfactory signal within the author's knowledge is the simple semaphore arm, extending horizontally from a post and showing a red light to signify "stop," and inclined and showing a white light to signify the opposite, and operated by a handle within the telegraph office.

Much discussion has been had in the past as to whether a danger signal, which this preeminently is, should stand normally at safety or danger. The earlier practice favored the former, as indicated, above, the absence of a signal, in the plan described, being the rule. In more recent years the weight of opinion has been that in all systems of danger signals the normal position, and that to which such signals should automatically move, is that indicating danger. So arranged, the indicator will always be in a position to stop trains unless it is moved to another position to show that there are no orders for them. It becomes a standing order to "hold," and, when an order is forwarded for a train, the fact of its receipt requires that the signal be simply left in its normal position and the train thus stopped. It will be then the rule and the habit of trainmen to observe all these signals and to stop when they are not placed, on their approach, in the position permitting them to proceed.

The rules of many railroads still indicate a usage contrary to this. The lamp, flag, or other stop signal is displayed only when a train is to be stopped for orders. It appears that under some circumstances, especially where the duties of the agent and operator are performed by the same person, the telegraphic duties being comparatively small, it is thought better to retain this method, and the rules of the Time Convention were so framed as to provide for either, leaving the choice to those concerned. Under the "normal at danger" plan, when an order is received in advance of the arrival of the train for which it is designed, and has been properly verified and prepared for delivery, it remains in the hands of the operator until the train arrives, the signal showing "stop." If, in the mean time, other trains pass for which there are no orders, the signal must be placed, as they approach, so as to indicate that they may pass. But there is then the danger that the operator may inadvertently allow the train to pass for which he has an order. This has actually occurred, and should be provided against. This should be done by requiring that, as soon as an order for a train not arrived is ready for the signatures of the trainmen, or for delivery when signatures are not taken, the copies designed for them shall be removed from the book, folded, and marked with the train number, and put in a designated place and in such position that the signal handle cannot be moved without the eye and hand being directed to the orders. This is readily effected by a rack to hold the orders placed on a small door closing by a spring and catch over the handle by which the operator moves the signal. The handle cannot be moved without unfastening the door and so opening it as to bring the orders, which are on it, under the eye and hand of the operator. This precaution may appear trivial, but while it is of great importance to adopt such routine that its mechanical performance will lead to a correct result, it is equally important to interpose such obstacles as are necessary to prevent a mechanical inadvertence that may lead to disaster. The same kind of risk exists in the use of block signals, and several plans have been used to obviate it by suitable mechanical means. In the other use of the train-order signal there is, to a certain extent, the same liability to this unconscious movement when it has been placed at danger, and a like precaution is needed to guard against it. It often happens that there are orders on hand for several trains. A definite place for them prevents their getting mixed with each other or with other papers; and removing them from the book avoids the necessity of leafing them over to find the particular order which men may be waiting to sign, and possible mistake in getting the wrong order.

The only reason of apparent moment that could be assigned for leaving the orders in the book is that the trainmen may sign all the copies. There does not appear to be any good reason for requiring their signatures on their own copies, and the manifold writing by them would be unsatisfactory. Again, it will often happen that more than one train is to receive a copy of the order, in which case the same signatures are not wanted on all the copies. The point here urged as of paramount importance is that the order itself shall be interposed between the operator and the instrument by which he might give a signal permitting a train to pass improperly. In this view the discussion of the point is pertinent to the subject of "Signal." It may be added that the final indorsement of "complete" after signature on each copy takes but a moment, and perhaps no longer than a careful writing of it over several copies in the manifold-book; and as the men should read and compare their copies before the final steps, it is difficult to see how they could do this properly if the orders remain in the book.

The train-order signal should be used for no other than its legitimate purpose. It will not be inconsistent with this to use it for holding a train the required time after the passage of another train in the same direction.

Upon some roads, trains passing while the stop signal is shown receive a "clearance" card stating that orders in hand are not for them. This is included as a part of the plan presented in the Time Convention rules for the use of the signal with its normal position at safety. It would seem to be necessary with this method; and in any case where it can be used it is a valuable precaution, the only objection being that it requires the stopping of fast or heavy trains which it might be quite objectionable to stop. This would seem, however, to be proper for any train stopped by the signal for time.

Where the plan is adopted of keeping the train-order signal normally at safety it should still, as in the other system, be so arranged that it will move automatically to danger if any of the mechanical parts fail. If this is not done and dependence is placed on fastening it at danger, the fastenings or some of the connections may fail and the signal move to safety without the fact being observed. One important advantage of the other plan of using the signal is that it is never at safety excepting when held in that position by the operator. Where the usual position is safety it cannot be arranged for the operator to actually hold the signal while it occupies the danger position.

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CHAPTER VIII.

THE TRANSMISSION.

The transmission of orders will be taken to include all the steps after preparation by the Dispatcher until final delivery.

These are:

1. Telegraphing the order to the stations to which it is to be sent.

2. Writing down as received.

3. Repeating it back to the Dispatcher.

4. The response of the Dispatcher indicating that it is correctly repeated.

5. The acknowledgment of this response.

6. Comparing copies of the order with the persons to whom it is addressed, and taking their signatures.

7. Telegraphing the signatures to the Dispatcher's office.

8. The Dispatcher's reply, acknowledging the receipt of the signatures, and indicating that the order may now be delivered.

9. The indorsement of this reply on the order.

10. The delivery to the trainmen.

Some Dispatchers prefer to personally telegraph their orders, having an assistant operator to copy them as transmitted or as repeated, and to perform the subsequent work of verification, record, etc. Those who are accustomed to transmit their own orders strongly contend for that practice. Those who pursue a different course are equally strong for theirs. In arranging for those, at least, who have not become wedded to any particular method, general consideration should govern. If contests or inquiries arise on the wire when the Dispatcher is sending, time is occupied which he may very much need, and where the amount of work is large it will leave the Dispatcher more at liberty to attend to his special duty if he simply prepares his orders and hands them to an operator for the subsequent steps, and this is by some carefully insisted upon.

The Dispatcher's duty is not simply to direct each movement as the exigency arrives. He should be constantly on the alert to provide as far as possible in advance for the arrangements necessary for keeping his trains moving, and his mind should be free from anything that may interfere with this. Attention by him to the merely mechanical duties detracts from his usefulness and the benefits which the road should derive from the talents which are supposed to fit him for his position. Some points connected with this subject are referred to in Chapter VI. Whether sent personally by the Dispatcher or by an operator from a written sheet, the order should, whenever practicable, be transmitted simultaneously to all the offices to which it is to be sent. Ordinarily this will be to but two offices. An order annulling a train may have to be sent to all the offices on the division. The simultaneous transmission is a most valuable safeguard and a saving in telegraphing only practicable with the duplicate order. It has been urged as an objection to the duplicate order that where agents act as operators their duties as agents may sometimes interfere with their attendance as operators when wanted for simultaneous transmission. This furnishes no ground for objecting to this form of order, as simultaneous transmission is not essential, and it is only necessary in such case that the precaution be observed of sending first to the train of superior right.

On calling an office a special signal should be used to indicate that a train-order is to be sent. The numerals 31 or 19 are now generally used for this purpose, the former for orders to be signed by the trainmen before delivery and the latter for orders to be delivered without such signature. After this signal the word "copy" should follow, with a number indicating how many copies are to be made. This maybe omitted when three is the number required, that being the most usual. If the system in use does not provide that the train-order signal shall stand normally in the "danger" position, the operator who is to receive the order must, at this point, place it in that position and report that he has done so. He then prepares his manifold-book for the requisite number of copies and takes the order down as sent, with the proper address for his station, immediately repeating it back word for word, reading from the order as actually written on the paper to be delivered, and not from a slip to be afterward copied. A "paper" operator should write the order in manifold before repeating. Some defer the repeating until the signatures of the trainmen are to be reported. But it is on many accounts preferable to repeat and verify the order at once and before signatures are taken, even if the trainmen are present. It assures its accuracy before they have read and signed it. The repeating operators can listen to each other better than if they repeat at different times, and the sender of the order can better attend to its verification while the original lies before him. There will also be less detention to trains if the repeating is done before their arrival. The importance of this will further appear from the consideration elsewhere of the effect of an order where the telegraph fails after but one train has received and proceeded on it.

The relative succession in which the offices are to repeat should be fixed by rule or usage, to avoid doubt or conflict. It is better that the repeating be done in the same succession as that in which the several offices are addressed. This assures the repeating first by the office receiving for the superior train. As a valuable precaution against error, each should be required to listen while the others repeat. An operator has been known to hear the name of a meeting-place correctly, write it down incorrectly in the order and repeat it back correctly. If he had looked at his copy as the other repeated, he would probably have noticed his error.

In this connection it may be observed that too much importance cannot be attached to the cultivation of a careful habit in telegraphing orders. A certain degree of rapidity in handling the key is not inconsistent with distinctness, but the latter should never be sacrificed to haste and a hurried and careless style of telegraphing should never be permitted.

The operator in the Dispatcher's office should carefully observe each word as repeated by each, to make sure that all is repeated correctly. Some observe the commendable practice of underscoring each word as repeated, thus making sure that their attention is not withdrawn. If the Dispatcher transmits his orders himself and his copy for record is made as the order is repeated, as is the practice of some, his copy can hardly be said to be an original. It may vary from what was sent or designed to be sent, and his operator taking it down has not the opportunity of checking as above, and may himself make a mistake in receiving it. All offices required at the time to repeat an order should do so before the Dispatcher replies. The signal for this reply now generally used, and adopted for the "Standard" Code, is "O K." This is given simultaneously to all, naming each, and each should acknowledge it. It is important that the Dispatcher should know that each has received the "O K." It is not necessary that the Dispatcher personally authorize this reply. It may be properly done by his operator who has watched the repeating. Where the order is not repeated back until the signatures are obtained and sent with it, the response, "O K" and sometimes "complete" is used to cover the whole, but where the practice herein recommended is pursued, the use of two signals is necessary, "O K" being the first. The time at which the order is sent and "O K" given should be noted on all the copies, with the initials or signals of the operators sending and receiving, and the name or initials of the superintendent. The order is then ready for signature and delivery, and, if the train for which it is designed has not arrived, the train copies should be removed from the book, folded and marked on the outside with the train number, and placed in the rack provided, as indicated under The Train-Order Signal.

Practice has varied very much in the method of delivering orders. Some have simply had them authenticated by repeating back as above, with perhaps the proviso that the trainmen compare their copies with that of the operator, and in some cases sign for them. The transmitting of signatures has not in all cases been required. Many rules, especially those of early date, appear to be based on the idea that the whole process of sending, verifying, and acknowledging an order is to be continuous and while the train is at the station. Much that appears in some rules gives the impression that either this idea prevailed or that the phraseology used in connection with it was retained while the practice had changed. On a busy road it would certainly be impracticable to carry out this idea, and it is not now usually attempted.

In early days of train telegraphy, when orders were not prepared with the precision of the present day, it was the custom to add to the order the phrase "how do you understand?" This came to be represented by a signal, the most generally used perhaps being the numeral "31." The reply to this, preceded by "we understand we are to," represented by "13" or other numeral, was required to be written out by the trainmen as their "understanding." This was probably in most cases a verbatim copy of the order. Whether this was actually done by the conductor and engineman is doubtful. Some allowed the operator to do it. With the definite forms of orders now used and well understood, there is certainly no necessity for men to write out their "understanding." The manifold copies, authenticated by repeating back and compared by reading aloud, which also serves to impress the order on the men, must certainly be better than anything written by or for them. There would seem to be no reason for perpetuating a fiction by referring to the repeating of the order as the "understanding" or by the use of "31" and "13" in their original sense, when the question and answer which they represent are no longer designed to be used, and this practice and the expressions which arose under it have almost entirely given place to the improved methods.

Following, then, the practice here recommended and now generally used, the message has been placed in the hands of the operator and its verbal accuracy assured, and the train-order signal being in position to stop the train, the conductor and engineman understand that on arrival they are to go to the office "for orders." One of them (or the operator) should read the order aloud while each looks at his copy, the object being to guard against a hurried reading of the order, to acquaint them fully with its exact terms, and to impress its purport upon them. It is to be hoped that no man would willfully disregard a train order, but there are many who would proceed upon a hasty examination or none at all, if permitted to do so, and perhaps on a wrong impression as to what it directs to be done.

The order having been thus read and compared, the signatures should be taken on the operator's copy. From the many rules forbidding operators to sign for trainmen, and conductors for enginemen, it would seem probable that this is sometimes done. This is a practice which no considerations of convenience can justify. Personal signatures should be insisted upon. Without this there is danger that men will hastily "grab" an order and fail to get its meaning. Time is well spent in securing their particular attention to it, and their signatures attest that this has been done.

There is much difference of opinion as to whether it is important to take the signature of the engineman. Much time is often lost by taking him from his engine, particularly on very long trains, and some think that the purpose is as well served by having his copy delivered to him by the conductor. In the latter plan there is some danger that the attention of the engineman may not be particularly called to the purport of the order, and for this reason the author believes that the practice is best where both signatures are required. The Time Convention code leaves the choice optional.

The signatures having been obtained, the Dispatcher is to be advised, by their transmission to him, in connection with the number of the order signed for and the train number or designation. The reply that all is satisfactory, authorized by the Dispatcher personally, is then to be given in some prescribed form. The word "complete" has been adopted in the "Standard Code," superseding "correct," which was formerly used.

The selected word should be written on each copy, with the exact time at which it was given. The order may then be delivered, and the train order signal so placed as to allow the train to proceed. If the Dispatcher's office is also used as an office for delivering orders, the same formalities in delivery should be observed as at way offices.

It will sometimes occur that an order must be sent to a disabled or other train away from a telegraph station. It must, in that case, pass through additional hands, and great care is necessary to guard against error. The conductor or messenger who carries the order should be made accountable for its delivery in proper form, by himself signing for it and getting "complete." The order being addressed to the conductor and engineman of the train "in care of" the messenger selected, the latter should be furnished with an additional copy, on which he is to take the signatures of the conductor and engineman, as if they were at a telegraph office. This copy should be delivered as soon as practicable to an operator, who should forward the signatures, completing the process.

Although when these paragraphs were first written the method of transmission described did not correspond entirely with any practice that might be termed general, it agreed in essential points with the practice upon several roads where most careful consideration has been given to the various risks in train dispatching and to methods for avoiding them. The process detailed indicates the points to be guarded, and furnishes what has proved a practicable and satisfactory method, and corresponds with the regulations now being rapidly adopted on our principal roads.

The rules should determine the course to be pursued if the telegraph fails during the process of transmitting an order. If this occur before its correct reception is assured by repeating back and giving and acknowledging "O K" for any office concerned, the process is not sufficiently complete for the men of a train at such office to be allowed to sign for and act upon it. If, therefore, communication is not quickly restored it is perfectly safe and proper to provide that an operator shall permit a train, in such case, to proceed on its schedule rights without orders. If, on the other hand, "O K" has been given and acknowledged, the correct reception of the order is assured, and a period is reached when the men of a train may, and often must, be permitted, on arrival, to sign for and act on the order before the arrival of the other at the point where the order is awaiting it. If the men of one train have thus proceeded, and the other on arrival cannot be communicated with, it would be obviously unsafe for it to proceed upon the order awaiting it for which signatures cannot be transmitted, because, although the opposing train may be on the way to execute the order, this is not known to the train that is cut off from communication. It would therefore be improper for it to proceed either in accordance with the order or on schedule rights. It would appear, therefore, that an order wholly or partly sent by the process detailed, and for which "O K" cannot be given and acknowledged by reason of the telegraph failing, should not operate to hold the train addressed, but that an order for which "O K" has been given and acknowledged should have this effect. The rule should therefore be that, after "O K" is given to an order and acknowledged, the train to which the order is addressed shall not be permitted to pass until the signatures are transmitted and "complete" obtained, or until the train can be communicated with by the Dispatcher. This is based, of course, upon the presumption that the plan is followed of assuring the accurate transmission for both trains, and that each operator has acknowledged the "O K" before "complete" is given to either. The delays arising from the operation of this rule cannot be frequent, and it is better to submit to these than to run the risk involved in a different course.

In the use of the "19" order, to which the signatures of the trainmen are not taken, the order becomes of effect only when "complete" has been given and acknowledged; and until this is accomplished it should be treated as of the same effect as a "31" order for which "O K" has not been given and acknowledged.

If the practice is followed of delaying the repeating of the order until the signatures are obtained and sent, then the presence of the order in the operator's hands should serve to hold either train if the telegraph fails, as neither can know but that the other train has received the order and proceeded on it. It must be seen, however, that there is some risk in depending on a train being held by the mere presence of an order, the correct reception of which has not been fully acknowledged, as the receiving operator may even have made an error in receiving the number of the train for which the order is designed; and this offers an additional reason for repeating back at once on the receipt of the order. These considerations as to the holding effect of an order when the telegraph fails, do not, of course, apply to a general order, as one annulling a train, until such order is specially addressed to a train. It should be understood that operators hold trains a reasonable time for the resumption of communication broken during the transmission of orders.

It is important that the holding effect of an order not signed for should be clearly understood, so that the Dispatcher may run trains with confidence against a train so held.

A careful Dispatcher will observe that the inconveniences arising from a train being held by the incomplete transmission of an order will be greater as the distance is greater between the point to which the order is sent for delivery and the point where it is to take effect.

CHAPTER IX.

RULES.

Many books of Rules have borne evidence that the ability to construct rules is not always commensurate with the many other gifts of successful railroad officers. To know what is to be done and how is one thing, but it is quite another to express the intention clearly and concisely. A scholar might present the subject in precise and grammatical form, and yet fail to so render it as to make it plain to practical men of limited education; and yet, while the language must be clear to the untrained mind, there should be no expressions that are not within the bounds of rhetorical propriety. The evident difficulties surrounding the subject render more conspicuous the admirable results of the work of the able committee of the General Time Convention in the production of the "Standard" code of train and telegraph rules contributed by that body to the railroad service. To have produced a set of rules that should be accepted for general adoption, in which so few deficiencies have been pointed out, is a work worthy of the highest commendation. Under the operation of these rules will disappear the uncertainty often appearing in anxious inquiries by "Conductor" or "Train-Master," in the railroad papers, as to how this rule or that order is to be understood under given circumstances. There will be fewer occasions for trainmen to reconcile conflicting regulations and fewer cases of "doubt," in which to "take the safe course and run no risks."

No one, however, feels that entire perfection has been reached, in practice or statement, or that even in the near future, additions or changes may not be found desirable; and, as methods of operation improve, scope will doubtless still be found for fresh talent in the production of regulations for new combinations of circumstances as well as improvement in those prepared by earlier hands.

The Telegraph Rules of the Time Convention, adopted October 12th, 1887, are here given, with some discussion relating to them. In considering these rules mention will necessarily be made of points referred to on previous pages and which are here embodied in form for practical use. This necessarily involves some apparent repetition. The rules are here designated by the numbers given to them by the Time Convention Committee; and it may be here stated that, in conformity with the method followed in the Time Convention train rules, the term "time-table" is herein applied to the issue governing the movements of all regular trains, while "schedule" is used to designate that part of the time-table which applies to any one train.

This rule indicates the proper function of a Telegraphic Train Order, the authority under which it is to be given, and the essential features of its construction, with the requirement that the prescribed forms are to be used when applicable. While in the fixed forms provision is made for the majority at least of the cases likely to occur, occasions will doubtless arise when other forms or modifications of these will be required. It is therefore important that the principles on which these forms are to be constructed be distinctly stated. The provisions as to how orders shall be issued and as to the use of the forms, when applicable, and the absence of alterations, are all necessary as tending to secure uniformity and accuracy. The following note, attached by the Time Convention Committee, emphasizes a point hereinbefore dwelt upon as of great importance:

Here is determined the feature essential to the "duplicate" system, viz., that the order shall be "in the same words" to all concerned; and the preference is here given to the point urged by the author, of covering but one movement by an order.

The use of numbers for orders serves to identify each order and to indicate the priority of issue.

The requirement here that orders shall be addressed to those who are to execute them might seem superfluous but for some former looseness in this respect and the necessity for exactness in prescribing each step in the process of issue. The address, including the place of delivery, is necessary as indicating, in simultaneous transmission, which operators are to receive for those respectively to whom the orders are sent. The introduction of the Pilot here is valuable. As the one under whose special direction the train is for the time being, he should be directly informed of orders controlling its movements. The conductor and engineman who are in charge of the train subject to his control, are also necessarily advised. The relations of the Pilot to the train are much the same as those of the pilot to a vessel of which he has control for the time being. He is placed there because of his having special knowledge, not possessed by the conductor and engineman, of circumstances which necessarily affect the movement, and has entire control of the train in this respect. He may or may not be an engineman. He may or may not run the engine. He, however, is to say when it may or may not run, and is the person by whose authority the movements are to be regulated with reference to the signals and the physical features of the road and with respect to other trains as well as the established rules. He does not assume the duties of the conductor as to those things which are purely local to the train, and the brakemen and fireman are properly held to be under his orders through the conductor and engineman. The trainmen are not, by the presence of the Pilot, relieved from the usual obligation to protect the train and perform other duties connected with it or required by the rules.

The requirement here as to the record of each order in a book is usually now fulfilled by the preservation of a manifold copy in the book in which the blanks are bound. This, in fact, is the method contemplated, although the rule is so drawn as to admit of other methods. The record of the various points specified is requisite for a complete history of each transaction.

This rule is rather an authoritative statement of a logical conclusion from the facts, but very properly gives this prominence to a point that must be constantly borne in mind. When the rights of trains are reversed by an order, as is usually the case, the inferior becomes for a time the superior, and this definition emphasizes this. In this connection it may be again noted that a very important and necessary part of the training of those engaged in operating the railroad telegraph is the acquisition of an intimate knowledge of the rules governing the rights and movements of trains when acting independently of telegraphic control. The legitimate use of the telegraph is to facilitate movement when, under the unaided operation of the rules, there might be delay, and to give preference, for special reasons, to trains which, under the rules are inferior. An exact knowledge of the effect of the rules, and what may be done by trains under their provisions, is therefore important, so that there shall be no unnecessary use of special orders, and that those used shall be the most appropriate to the circumstances.

Rule 506.—When an order is to be transmitted, the signal "31" (as provided in Rule 509) or the signal "19" (as provided in Rule 511), meaning "Train Order," will be given to each office addressed, followed by the word "copy," and a figure indicating the number of copies to be made, if more or less than three—thus, "31 copy 5," or "19 copy 5."