Chicago Daily Tribune editorial, August 18, 1920
When an Hour Means Half a Day
While railroad executives of the United States, again "on their own" in the matter of railroad operation, are struggling with the general transportation problem, they might find a moment for a specific case having to do chiefly with Chicago and New York.
The Twentieth Century and Broadway Limited are extra fare passenger trains originally established largely for the use of busy business men with interests in both Chicago and New York. Originally they left Chicago at 12:40 p.m. to arrive in New York at 9:30 a.m. This schedule allowed a man to complete a morning’s business in Chicago and have a useful portion of the next morning in New York. Under daylight saving they leave Chicago at 1:40 and arrive in New York at 10:30.
The delay in leaving, coming as it does at the lunch hour, is a waste. The delay in arriving practically wastes the morning in New York. Most of their traffic is through traffic. As long as daylight saving in Chicago and New York causes this waste, we believe passengers would appreciate it if the railroads made their schedules for these trains an hour earlier. The change would mean practically half a day to men whose days are all too short.
WGN radio (AM 720) in Chicago has long been noted for its time chime which is taken from the Naval Observatory. I use it as a standard for my devices.
Quoting semper vaporo: "But ALL the other indications of time that I have... my cell phone (which sets the time from the Cell phone company), my TV (which gets the time from the TV stations), and my weather radio (which gets the time from some radio station)... ALL show different times, some of which are off only a few seconds and some of which have been off by 1 to 2 MINUTES at various times!"
Yes, years ago, radio stations were right on the minute. Apparently, being accurate as to time no longer matters. The local television station that I ususally watch starts its news broadcasts two minutes or so ahead of the hour--and the network broadcast (delayed) also starts ahead of the announced time. Gone are the days when you could trust a broadcast station to give the correct time.
Johnny
Many systems now get their time from the GPS system.
Others still use the National Bureau of Standards WWV time source. I also used to use the Naval Observatory time hack.
Both will be accurate to fractions of a second, but how quickly a given device sets itself using such a time reference can vary. And there is the issue of devices that think for themselves, as has already been mentioned.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Sam1 In this day and age, i.e. the computer age, determining the time in any time zone of the world only takes a couple of key strokes on your computer, tablet, smart phone, etc. There are all sorts of world clocks available on the Internet. Shoot, my phone and computer change their clocks automatically upon the switch from daylight savings to standard time and vice versa. Moreover, my phone changes its internal clock whenever I move from one time zone to another.
In this day and age, i.e. the computer age, determining the time in any time zone of the world only takes a couple of key strokes on your computer, tablet, smart phone, etc. There are all sorts of world clocks available on the Internet.
Shoot, my phone and computer change their clocks automatically upon the switch from daylight savings to standard time and vice versa. Moreover, my phone changes its internal clock whenever I move from one time zone to another.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
Norm48327 Phoebe Vet Aviation movements are planned and filed in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) rather than numerous local times. Why don't the railroads do the same thing? It avoids the confusion of changing time zones. Daylight savings time is a silly, pointless, tradition. Simply because most folk can't deal with the four hour (standard time) or five hour (DST) offset. Add to the mix the terms Zulu and Universal Time Coordinated and people wouldn't have a clue what time it is.
Phoebe Vet Aviation movements are planned and filed in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) rather than numerous local times. Why don't the railroads do the same thing? It avoids the confusion of changing time zones. Daylight savings time is a silly, pointless, tradition.
Aviation movements are planned and filed in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) rather than numerous local times. Why don't the railroads do the same thing? It avoids the confusion of changing time zones.
Daylight savings time is a silly, pointless, tradition.
Simply because most folk can't deal with the four hour (standard time) or five hour (DST) offset. Add to the mix the terms Zulu and Universal Time Coordinated and people wouldn't have a clue what time it is.
I have a clock which is supposed to be right on time, as it has a radio receiver in it. This past Sunday morning, it had set itself properly--but in the aftenoon, it began showing New Orleans (90th meridian) time instead of Denver (105th meridian) time. I spanked it, and reset it to the proper time--and it proceeded to disobey me, adding an hour. It was right yesterday morning, and is still obedient this morning.
Let us not forget Newfoundland time.
Despite operating in multiple civilian time zones, my carrier operates on it's own time zone designation systemwide.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Norm
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Slightly tangential to this thread, but I seem to recall that at least the ATSF passenger timetable was on Standard Time year round at one time, which in my case would have been 1964. Of course, that's fifty years ago and I've slept since then, so my recollection might be a little faulty. I do remember good chow on a Harvey car, though.
As I recall, the car in question was loaded with mules.
I'm on vacation, so the time change didn't affect me. Except by turning back the clock I get an extra hour. Since I worked an hour and thirty minutes into vacation, they are still ahead 30 minutes. Blew the turbocharger on the DP unit coming into Omaha on the way home so it took a little longer to make it home.
Jeff
Paul_D_North_Jr Deggesty Dispatchers don't have to deal with conductors herding stock cars now, do they? Wonder if BaltACD knows of or has heard that story ? (From A Treasury of Railroad Folklore) - Paul North.
Deggesty Dispatchers don't have to deal with conductors herding stock cars now, do they?
Wonder if BaltACD knows of or has heard that story ? (From A Treasury of Railroad Folklore)
- Paul North.
Herding Conductors can be akin to herding cats.
Dispatchers don't have to deal with conductors herding stock cars now, do they?
Last stock cars I saw in revenue service were in the middle 70's.
TrainManTy BaltACD TrainManTy How does this work with track warrants/Form Ds? Let's say you get a form with a Time Effective of 0130. You leave the yard and head onto the main line as authorized by Line 2. At 0200 the clock changes back to 0100, and suddenly your D hasn't gone into effect yet. How do railroads handle this? Time base 'mandatory directives' are issued NOT to have an effective time during the time that gets affected by the time change. That's...simpler than I expected. Occam's razor at work. Thanks for the answer!
BaltACD TrainManTy How does this work with track warrants/Form Ds? Let's say you get a form with a Time Effective of 0130. You leave the yard and head onto the main line as authorized by Line 2. At 0200 the clock changes back to 0100, and suddenly your D hasn't gone into effect yet. How do railroads handle this? Time base 'mandatory directives' are issued NOT to have an effective time during the time that gets affected by the time change.
TrainManTy How does this work with track warrants/Form Ds? Let's say you get a form with a Time Effective of 0130. You leave the yard and head onto the main line as authorized by Line 2. At 0200 the clock changes back to 0100, and suddenly your D hasn't gone into effect yet. How do railroads handle this?
How does this work with track warrants/Form Ds? Let's say you get a form with a Time Effective of 0130. You leave the yard and head onto the main line as authorized by Line 2. At 0200 the clock changes back to 0100, and suddenly your D hasn't gone into effect yet. How do railroads handle this?
Time base 'mandatory directives' are issued NOT to have an effective time during the time that gets affected by the time change.
That's...simpler than I expected. Occam's razor at work. Thanks for the answer!
Train Dispatchers are paid to be 'smarter than the average bear.'
edblysard Here at the PTRA, we claim the actual required 8 hours, regardless of what the clock shows, so if you happen to go on duty just before the time change, you still only get to claim the 8 hour shift, and any subsequently works overtime, based on the actual time worked. The basis for this is that while we may “lose” an hour when the clocks are set back is offset by the fact that we gain an hour when they are set forward, so while you might argue that you “lost” an hour of off duty time, you gain it back also and that while you may work an extra hour by the clock time when it is set back, you actually only worked a true given number of hours, and you will gain that hour back when the clocks move forward again.
While reading it, I did think of the explanation as to why an upper berth cost less than a lower berth; basically, the upper is lower because it is higher.
23 17 46 11
When I worked on a shift containing the extra hour, I'd submit the claim for the extra hour. I don't remember if I ever did this under the UP's computerized tie-up process, but I never had any problems with it.One still had to pay attention to assure that one didn't run afoul of the hours-of-service laws. Going the other way, for us yard folks, it was generally not a problem to get a day's pay for seven hours' work. Some yard jobs got better quits than that on a normal day, so those of us who routinely put in eight hours a day appreciated the shorter day.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Where I live is now back on CDT, so how did the railroad deal with the changeover?
Road crews, yard crews, MOW et al - are these all done with timeslips? I am sure after all these years of changing back and forth, they must have it down to a science. (I, unfortunately, do not!)
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.