Murphy Siding Ooh! Ooh! Pick me! I think I know this one! He shaves his head so he doesn't pull his hair out?
No, he pulled it out so completely he doesn't have to shave it 'pre-emptively'. And what little grows in gets pulled out before it can 'show'...
Wizlish tree68 The line has plenty of crossovers, but at oh-dark-thirty, there's a lot of traffic on the line, too, so I now understand why at least one of the DSs on that section keeps his head shaved... What makes you think he shaves it to make it look that way... ?
tree68 The line has plenty of crossovers, but at oh-dark-thirty, there's a lot of traffic on the line, too, so I now understand why at least one of the DSs on that section keeps his head shaved...
What makes you think he shaves it to make it look that way... ?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Hiccups that give DSs ulcers - a portion of the CSX Chicago Line turned into a parking lot, at least for a little while, when a train suffered either an unintended emergency application or got tagged by the defect detector (I missed which it was), which not only delayed the train while it was inspected, but also caused the crew to run out of time, so the train got parked a little further down the line. On the main.
Then a train that had apparently been hung up behind the first had it's lead loco quit, which threatened to lengthen the parking lot. They got that one started again.
The line has plenty of crossovers, but at oh-dark-thirty, there's a lot of traffic on the line, too, so I now understand why at least one of the DSs on that section keeps his head shaved...
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...
I drive I-40 between Williams, AZ and Albuquerque several times a year and have my scanner turned on to listen to the BNSF operations which parallell the highway. Most of you know this is double track CTC with 50 MPH x-overs about every 10 miles and it has Amtraks 3 and 4 to mix with the BNSF's 100 +- trains each day. I am amazed at how well the crews and the DS's make this work.
There is a DS assigned to each: Belen-Gallup; Gallup-Winslow; Winsolw-Seligman and Seligman-Needles. The very polite communication which occurs indicates that these people have become accquainted and respect each other.
Yes, there are anomolies where the s... encounters the fan; and when the crews have to be picked up because of HOS, but sometimes trains are stopped, crews exchanged and everything keeps going.
If any of you have the opportunity to listen as you follow the Transcon on I-40 I recommend this for your entertainment.
Current ATDA contract on my carrier does not permit Relief jobs covering more than one desk (territory). The Tag Day (unfilled rest day) is covered from the extra list.
Despite road knowledge 'S..T Happens' and mistakes get caused by a bad decision that was made 4 hours earlier and was unable to be rectified by unfolding events.
Successful Dispatching is all about VISION. The ability to know enough about the operations that will be happening over the next 6 to 8 hours, and the ability to plan for those movements to not be in conflict with each other. Knowing the length, tonnage, power and HOS times for each train on his territory and where each train can fit on sidings on single track territories as well as the consequences of stopping at train at those sidings (grades for getting started as well as grade crossings in the siding).
Trains have specific work they are expected to accomplish - pickups, set offs, crew changes, yarding in a terminal, moving to a different subdivision, passenger operations, station stops - etc. etc. etc. In most of these actions the train doing the work must be on a specific track at a specific location to accomplish its task. Trains may be prevented from doing their normal 'work' because the yard or terminal is not ready for their move - maybe for 10 minutes - maybe for an hour - maybe for 4 hours - maybe for more than 12 hours - the circumstance are constantly changing.
The simple act of lining signals is the least of the Dispatchers concerns. Handling 'mandatory directives' with train crews and MofW personnel which require transmission of the directive to the field personnel in a specified form as well as the field personnel repeating the directive they have copied in the exact form it was transmitted - this applies to any 'train message' that needs to be transmitted to trains (Slow orders, weather orders, Annulment of orders the trains already hold and anything else that a train must be formally notified of).
Any idiot can line signals - a Train Dispatcher knows when NOT to line signals.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Andrew Falconer The dispatcher's view on the computer monitors would be enhanced by topographical maps made from satellite gathered measurments and images.
The dispatcher's view on the computer monitors would be enhanced by topographical maps made from satellite gathered measurments and images.
Why didn't you say so in your original post? Maybe dispatchers don't have to get out of their bunkers anymore.
dakotafred Even if they did, it would be hard for them to master the vast geography of the territory they control. In a Trains piece, Doyle McCormack (sp.), the PA restorer, told of his dispatcher father having to go out on the line once a year. And that was to stay qualified on his 100-mile district! Today, a locomotive-engineer friend complains of Texas-based dispatchers often doing things like putting his coal train in the hole at the bottom of the worst hill on the division. We can be reasonably sure the dispatcher isn't stupid ... but he IS a thousand miles removed from my friend's train in North Dakota!
Even if they did, it would be hard for them to master the vast geography of the territory they control.
In a Trains piece, Doyle McCormack (sp.), the PA restorer, told of his dispatcher father having to go out on the line once a year. And that was to stay qualified on his 100-mile district!
Today, a locomotive-engineer friend complains of Texas-based dispatchers often doing things like putting his coal train in the hole at the bottom of the worst hill on the division. We can be reasonably sure the dispatcher isn't stupid ... but he IS a thousand miles removed from my friend's train in North Dakota!
Johnny
Watch my videos on-line at https://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewNeilFalconer
The dispatchers are often controlling the trains in an abstract and symbolic manner on video screens.
They have to relate the symbols to real objects, places, and people in their minds.
Do the dispatchers get out of the control room and tour the rail system?
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