by ericr
I'm trying to understand how dispatching was done (let's say right before the Penn Central merger), specifically what people were involved, what they did, and who they reported to.
First off, I'm aware of Train Dispatchers, Train Directors, Block Operators, and Levermen. Were there any other jobs?
From what I understand Train Dispatchers were centrally located and told Train Directors out in the towers what to generally do. The Train Directors would get the Leverman to do whatever needed to be done with the interlocking machine. Is there cases of smaller towers not having Levermen and the Train Director just doing it themselves.
Block Operators would hand paperwork to the crews. Did they preform any other duties?
I know CTC came later, what were the person who worked the CTC machine in the towers called? I'm assuming they still reported to the Train Dispatcher.
Lastly, does anyone know of any book I can pick up to learn more about how dispatching (and signaling) was done? My knowledge is a bit fragmented and I'd like to fill in the blanks.
First off, I'm aware of Train Dispatchers, Train Directors, Block Operators, and Levermen. Were there any other jobs?
From what I understand Train Dispatchers were centrally located and told Train Directors out in the towers what to generally do. The Train Directors would get the Leverman to do whatever needed to be done with the interlocking machine. Is there cases of smaller towers not having Levermen and the Train Director just doing it themselves.
Block Operators would hand paperwork to the crews. Did they preform any other duties?
I know CTC came later, what were the person who worked the CTC machine in the towers called? I'm assuming they still reported to the Train Dispatcher.
Lastly, does anyone know of any book I can pick up to learn more about how dispatching (and signaling) was done? My knowledge is a bit fragmented and I'd like to fill in the blanks.