Break One-Nine. This is the Rubber Ducky. Can I borrow some tracks?

[Murphy Siding]

      Can someone explain a little bit of dispatching etiquette for me? As an example, every day The Ellis & Eastern runs a trainload of pink gravel from their owner's gravel pit on the west side of town to their owner's asphalt plant on the east side of town. To do that, the train crosses BNSF tracks, then rides on BNSF rails for a couple of miles before returning to E&E tracks.

     How does the dispatching for this work? E&E is local (Sioux Falls, S.D.) BNSF dispatching is, I believe, in Fort Worth Texas(?). Does the E&E engineer call BNSF on the phone? On the radio? (Break One-Nine, this is the little gravel train. Come-on, come-on.) Is it handled online? Does E&E get the line for a set time period, or do they call back at the other end? Maybe someone in the E&E office lines it up with BNSF? I presume the switches would be thrown remotely from Fort Worth?

[Shadow the Cats owner]

Murphy Siding

      Can someone explain a little bit of dispatching etiquette for me? As an example, every day The Ellis & Eastern runs a trainload of pink gravel from their owner's gravel pit on the west side of town to their owner's asphalt plant on the east side of town. To do that, the train crosses BNSF tracks, then rides on BNSF rails for a couple of miles before returning to E&E tracks.

     How does the dispatching for this work? E&E is local (Sioux Falls, S.D.) BNSF dispatching is, I believe, in Fort Worth Texas(?). Does the E&E engineer call BNSF on the phone? On the radio? (Break One-Nine, this is the little gravel train. Come-on, come-on.) Is it handled online? Does E&E get the line for a set time period, or do they call back at the other end? Maybe someone in the E&E office lines it up with BNSF? I presume the switches would be thrown remotely from Fort Worth?

 

 I would imagine they call the dispatcher on the radio request the required access then when granted run as required.  That is how the NS and BNSF interchange whole trains less than a mile from my house on the old Streator Connection of the Kankakee line to the Transcon. 

 

[edblysard]

Since it is a daily occurrence, the BNSF dispatch desk that handles your area will be expecting the request for the signals from the short line out onto the BNSF tracks.

As long as the short line guys are trained and tested for BNSF’s rules and signals, have a current track warrant and bulletin, are qualified for that area, it’s just a normal day in the life of a railroad!

Most likely the crew on the local train will contact the dispatcher via radio and request  track/signal, and unless there are some mitigating circumstances, ( slow orders/work crews) most likely they will be told to proceed on signal indication.

 

If that trackage is CTC, then yes, the dispatcher lines the switch, if simply a ABS with a CTC overlay, then the crew may be required to line switches…

[SD70M-2Dude]

What Ed said, and it works the same in Canada.  In Edmonton the Imperial Oil Refinery's yard crew makes daily trips to a tank car storage yard located 10 miles away down a CN line (half CTC, half dark territory).  The only difference between them and a CN yard crew is that the dispatcher will consider them an even lower priority.  The Imperial crews are CN rules-qualified and carry radios with the CN channels pre-programmed in. 

[dehusman]

They also just can't pop onto the BNSF tracks.  The shortline should be giving the BNSF "train sheet" information, engine number, train symbol, crew names, times on duty, loads, empties, tons.  That may be done electronically or by fax, in which case the dispatcher may have notice of the train coming hours before it calls for a signal or authority to enter the main track.

Once the dispatcher has the train sheet info they can issue track bulletins to a printer for the crew.  Once again all this occurs hours before the train calls for authority on the BNSF.

Rail fans see a train just show up, but in reality, they railroads have been talking about the train for hours.  

The BNSF and UP give each other approximately 48 hours notice of when they estimate they will be running a typical trackage rights train.

[samfp1943]

dehusman

They also just can't pop onto the BNSF tracks.  The shortline should be giving the BNSF "train sheet" information, engine number, train symbol, crew names, times on duty, loads, empties, tons.  That may be done electronically or by fax, in which case the dispatcher may have notice of the train coming hours before it calls for a signal or authority to enter the main track.

Once the dispatcher has the train sheet info they can issue track bulletins to a printer for the crew.  Once again all this occurs hours before the train calls for authority on the BNSF.

Rail fans see a train just show up, but in reality, they railroads have been talking about the train for hours.  

The BNSF and UP give each other approximately 48 hours notice of when they estimate they will be running a typical trackage rights train.

 

Here in this area SK&O ( a Watco line) runs a regular train, several week days, each week. Consists are usually 2 or three 6 axle units, and varying numbers of older,open, bottom dump type,coal cars, along with tank cars. It runs from the area of Moline Kansas(line is former MoP), to Winfield and then picks up the BNSF (Ark City sub) to Wichita. Its cargo is mainly crushed rock.  Interestingly, there is very little  stone aggregate available in this area, so aggregates for concrete, and asphalt gets hauled in.   

[tree68]

The Mohawk, Adirondack & Northern uses trackage rights pretty much daily to reach Rome from their base (and yard) in Utica.  I know they get an EC1 (track warrant).  The switch out of the Utica Yard and onto the Chicago Line main is manual but interlocked.  The usual routine is to check in with the DS when they are ready to go.  The DS lets them know when they can open up and head out (based on traffic at the time).  

Haven't been in Rome for their moves there, but I think the routine is the same there for their return trips.