See transcript here
An ordermust 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 bein 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 themno 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, omittingnames 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.
See transcript here
Orders should be identified byconsecutive 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; andwith each on a separate paperthey 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."
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 givingseven 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 recordingsteps 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 trainsthat 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 signifythe 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 agentand 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 doorclosing 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 thebook 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 importanceis 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.
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 operatorto 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 inChapter VI. Whether sent personallyby 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 thesystem 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 hisorders 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 readyfor 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 onarrival 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 beingto 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 purposeis 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 isnecessary 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 occurbefore 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" cannotbe 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 bethat, 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 tohold 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 operationof 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 Conventiontrain 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.
Rule 500.—Special orders directing movements varying from or additional to the time-table will be issued by the authority and over the signature of the Superintendent. They are not to be used for movements that can be provided for by rule or time-table. They must not contain information or instructions not essentially a part of them.They must be brief and clear, and the prescribed forms must be used when applicable; and there must be no erasures, alterations, or interlineations.
Rule 500.—Special orders directing movements varying from or additional to the time-table will be issued by the authority and over the signature of the Superintendent. They are not to be used for movements that can be provided for by rule or time-table. They must not contain information or instructions not essentially a part of them.
They must be brief and clear, and the prescribed forms must be used when applicable; and there must be no erasures, alterations, or interlineations.
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 ConventionCommittee, emphasizes a point hereinbefore dwelt upon as of great importance:
[Note.—On Roads whose organization provides that any other officer than the Superintendent shall direct train movements, the official title of such officer may be substituted in the above rule. The Committee considers it essential, however, that but one person's signature should be used in directing train movements on any dispatching division.]
[Note.—On Roads whose organization provides that any other officer than the Superintendent shall direct train movements, the official title of such officer may be substituted in the above rule. The Committee considers it essential, however, that but one person's signature should be used in directing train movements on any dispatching division.]
Rule 501.—Each order must be given in the same words to all persons or trains directly affected by it, so that each shall have a duplicate of what is given to the others. Preferably an order should include but one specified movement.
Rule 501.—Each order must be given in the same words to all persons or trains directly affected by it, so that each shall have a duplicate of what is given to the others. Preferably an order should include but one specified movement.
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.
Rule 502.—Orders will be numbered consecutively for each day as issued, beginning with No. 1 at midnight.
Rule 502.—Orders will be numbered consecutively for each day as issued, beginning with No. 1 at midnight.
The use of numbers for orders serves to identify each order and to indicate the priority of issue.
Rule 503.—Orders must be addressed to those who are to execute them, naming the place at which each is to receive his copy. Those for a train must be addressed to the conductor and engineman, and also to a person acting as pilot. A copy for each person addressed must be supplied by the operator.
Rule 503.—Orders must be addressed to those who are to execute them, naming the place at which each is to receive his copy. Those for a train must be addressed to the conductor and engineman, and also to a person acting as pilot. A copy for each person addressed must be supplied by the operator.
The requirement here that orders shall be addressed to those who are to execute them might seem superfluous but for some formerlooseness 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 purelylocal 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.