Term

[Anonymous]

What does the term "O/S" mean?

[wabash1]

o/s is a term used in location of your train such as in dark territory where flag protection is not required . if you have a track warrent before dispatcher can give someone else a track warrent for limits occupied over several miles he must o/s the train head end then can only give a warrent to a location 3 miles behind him. this is where exact location is a must.its also used in abs territory also.

[Anonymous]

Somewhat helpful, but what do the initials stand for?

[john7470]

O/S is an abbreviation for "On Sheet". This derives from the days when dispatchers had large paper sheets with station listings,etc. in front of them to keep track of train movements. Whenever a train would go by a station, the station operator would report the passage to the dispatcher, who would, in turn, record the train's progress on the sheet. Versions of this are still used on some railroads.

By the way, O/S can also stand for "out of service" with regard to rolling stock.

[Anonymous]

Makes sense now.I often hear CSX personnell refer to a particular area as being near the O/S shack,which I ascertained was in proximity of Main St.Station in Richmond,VA but didn'tknow what the initials stood for and to what structure they were referring. This area is a fabulous train watching area(Triple Crossing) as you have the junction of the C&O's Piedmont and Rivanna on the viaduct, The Seaboard Coastline in the middle and The Southern @ grade.Thanks for the info.

[thirdrail1]

Actually, the term comes from the days of telegraphy, when each station agent/operator reported the passage of trains by their stations to the dispatchers, who kept track of movements on a large sheet and set up meets. It has been considered to mean both "On Sheet" or "On Station". Your reference to an "O/S Shack" would indicate "On Station", as when a train reached the shack, the operator would report the train as "On Station" to the dispatcher. Remember, economy of letters transmitted was a great virtue in Morse Code telegraphy.

[Justicar]

Exactly. Unfortunately I wasn't around in the Morse days but I did get in on the tail end of the "OS".
At the Bedford, IN depot (Monon) we'd OS trains to the dispatcher in Jacksonville, FL but I always got the impression from them that is was more of a customary thing than a practical thing. The line was DTC block territory so the OS was unnecessary and impertinent to the operation. Typically the operator there would open the dispatcher's line with, "OS Bedford". The dispatcher would reply, "Bedford".
The operator would report, "591 by 2139". That's it. For the uninitiated the dispatcher's line was like a giant intercom. It connected stations along the lines that the dispatcher had control along with whatever radio tower the dispatcher had selected...pretty cool thing, actually. We have the same system on the old Milwaukee's River line to Chicago. Apparently, Soo line did not use this system.

Unrelated, the abbreviation "OOS" means "Out of service" and is usually used on track bulletins to inform the train crews which tracks are not to be used....reasons can be Maintenance of Way equipment stored or just the track is so bad that the risk of derailment is too high.

Further, on the old C&EI (now CSX) they refer to the interlocking limits of crossovers, siding switches, rail crossings at grade, etc as "OS sections". Perhaps this is general usage, I don't know.

jc
CP

[PaulWWoodring]

I've always seen "out of service" abbreviated "OOS", and can also apply to personnel that have been suspended.

[PaulWWoodring]

Yard offices and towers on CSX still have constant intercom lines to their dispatcher on at all times, it's a big party line, you have to wait for a break in the talking to get a word in sometimes for what you need. Sometimes crews will call a yard office and ask them to contact the dispatcher when they can't get through to them on the radio.

[Anonymous]

Paul, you mentioned "constant intercom" lines in use on CSX. What other modes or set-ups are used by other roads? I only monitor the CSX and am not aware of other procedures.

[Justicar]

Which parts of the CSX conglomerate
use the dispatcher's line?

[john7470]

RE: Out of service. I suppose it can be either way. I worked for a mid-sized road that identified its non-functioning locomotives as "O/S" on daily reports. I don't recall their usage for track conditions or personnel.

[PaulWWoodring]

I really don't know what other railroads use for this type of communication, my experience in T&E service is only with CSX. As for who uses the dispatcher's line, I do not know for sure, all I have ever heard using it are yard offices and towers for the open intercom line. Dispatchers also have phone lines with numbers listed in timetables that can be called by employees as well. With the growth of cell phone use it's not at all uncommon for a train crew to use their cell phones to try to reach a dispatcher that is not answering the radio, or to ask them something they don't want to put out on the air.

[Anonymous]

o/s is the telegraph code meaning, probably,
"on sheet". The telegraph operator would wire the
dispatcher with the times of a trains arrival and departure. The opr would wire OS and the telegraphic code for the station. For example
on the SP Z was Martinez. K was Davis and Q Oakland. OPR: OS Martinez DISPR: OS Martinez
OPR: OS No 14 eng 4449 none (or no signals) 928 pm and 934pm. delay:passengers and baggage.

[Anonymous]

Forgot to add----on sheet refered to train dispatchers sheet---a 3 to 5 feet long 24 hour record of trains on a certain district. Crews, on/off duty times, cars picked up or set out, engines, comments or problems.