Re: RR dispatchers

[Granny74]

ARe there any dispatchers on the forums? I listen to dispatchers on my scanner all day and just wondered about what the life of a dispatcher is like.

After hearing my wife read all of these messages to me and hearing about the life of railroaders, I wonder how any of the railroad employees ever get time to send messages on the forum! Do you all carry laptops with you in your hip pockets? Or do you all have a cute secretary like I do that writes the messages for you?? LOL[:D]

Bob

[Anonymous]

Hi Bob and Nance [:D]

I found the thread you emailed me about. [:)]

I am not a rr dispatcher, but I have been in a local tower and talked with and watched the tower operator. I won't say who or where to keep him from getting into trouble. It has been about 5 years since I have been in the tower with him. I used to go about once a week and he would let me stay up there and watch what was going on. I now work nights and can't go anymore. He worked nights, I doubt I could have done this during the day as too many head honchos would be around. It was amazing what I saw and heard. He had about 5 to 7 computer monitors in front of him. These showed a maze of items like what you would see on tv or in movies where they have on the wall a diagram of the tracks and red/green light to show train movement. This shows the sidings and other things. He can type in a train number and find the train, if it has left or when it is scheduled to leave. He monitors a bunch of different radios, from the trains, to people on the ground, to other towers, to other dispatchers. I hontestly didn't understand how he could tell what was going on as they might all talk at once, but he could tell you exactly what was said and by who. He also operates the local drawbridge even though he is not in sight of it. So there is another radio he has to listen to--the marine radio. Through the computer he throws switches and operates the signals for the trains. When nothing was gong on he would tell me railroad stories, this of course was just fine with me. One thing is sure, he knew his territory and worked it well. It would take awhile for someone to learn his job but it would be interesting.

[Modelcar]

...Watching a pro do his work as discribed above in the tower would really be an interesting visit...For sure. Towers are falling fast....Reading railroad material I see them being taken out of service and the responsibility of the work passed on to some other location also not near the work site...Electronics. These symbols of old time railroading are thining fast. I have a programable scanner and pick up DP chatter quite often and I wonder how much longer we'll be able to do so....

[Puckdropper]

A lot of things are taking the human element out of the equasion. The bad thing about that is simple: Computers compute based on what humans tell it. Humans have a 6th sense at times, computers are just silicon and gold.

[dehusman]

Jim : Locust St or 4th St?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dehusman

Jim : Locust St or 4th St?

I am not trying to be mean but to protect the innocent names have been changed. lol (Dragnet) . I will have to pass on answering this one. I really don't want anyone to get in trouble and answering this question here could have a repercussion. Very sorry, but some things are better left unsaid.

[kenneo]

When I worked my interlocking job I had to work with the following: Lake Yard (Northern Pacific), Vanouver Dispatcher (Spokane Portland & Seattle), VC Tower (Northern Pacific Terminal Company (Union Station)); Steel Bridge (Drawbridge Tender/Leverman - UP), EP Tower (Union Pacific), "my" yardmaster and "my" main line dispatcher and "my" branch line dispatcher; also a NP radio moniter, UP radio moniter and "my" roads switching and road radios (xmt/rcv). Each had their own "load line" (now called a land line), radio and train line (dispatcher and telegraphers phone line - party line arrangement).

Why all of those people? Well, we ran run throughs with the MILW, NP, SPS, to get them through my plant I needed to know where everybody was, what their instructions were, and how well they were moving. All of the trains on each track segment. Any one train could affect the movements of any other even though they may not come within 20 miles of oneanother. A passenger train 3 hours away would affect any movement I would make and would affect any runthrough from Vancouver. So planning would be taking place 5 to 6 hours in advance of either train arriving in my plant Even though my plant only had a physical 8 miles of track (not route, but track), I needed to know what was going on with 4 drawbridges, 4 dispatchers districts, 3 yardmasters and 2 other towers covering about 300-350 route miles. And like JHH mentioned, I needed to know it all, remember it all and explain it all (should anyone ask). And I also was the local clerk for 4 locals. And that was one of my easier positions!