There is also a consolidated train report to be
made at this time, which is a re-capitulation of the movements of all
trains for the preceding twenty-four hours, giving delays, causes
thereof, accidents, cars hauled, etc. This is submitted to the division
superintendent in the morning, and after he has perused and digested its
contents he sends a condensed copy to the general superintendent. Many a
man loses his job by a report against him on that train sheet.
To show the strain on a man's mind when he is despatching trains, let me
tell a little incident that happened to me just in the beginning of my
career as a despatcher. Every morning about five o'clock, the third
trick man begins to figure on his work train orders for the day and when
he has completed them he sends them out to the different crews. Work
train orders, it may not be amiss to explain, are orders given to the
different construction crews, such as the bridge gang, the grading gang,
the track gang, etc., to work between certain points at certain times.
They must be very full and explicit in detail as to all trains that are
to run during the continuance of the order.
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