Train orders

logodave Oct 30, 2022

  1. logodave

    logodave TrainBoard Member

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    What happened when a conductor physically dropped train orders when they were handed over at a tower or junction? Did this happen occasionally? Any stories?
     
    BNSF FAN likes this.
  2. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    It did happen, occasionally. They would have stopped the train, backed up if necessary. They could not proceed, until all addressed had their copies in hand.

    I have heard many stories. Sometimes it was the fault of a train crew person. Or the agent/operator/telgrapher. And sometimes even the dispatcher.

    I witnessed it first hand one time, when I was visiting a friend who was a BN Agent. The crew had been instructed that they would need to stop and pick up both orders and waybills. I was standing right there when he called them, well before arriving. (There were block indicators on the operators desk, and they had not dropped.) They did not stop. Had to back down and get their paperwork. They tried to chew on him, and he read them the riot act. My friend was normally an easy going fellow, of good humor. But when he needed to, he could crank it up and let fly- Not about to be bullied or pushed around. The train crew left, quietly... A memory from decades ago. That fellow is one person I truly miss. A great friend. Some good times.
     
  3. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    BTW- If at all interested in train orders themselves, you can view a bunch of them here: https://train-orders.com/TOUR.html
     
  4. logodave

    logodave TrainBoard Member

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    Cool, I just see all these pics of railroaders sending a company message to a moving train. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio so all I saw was big time trains hauling butt. Small time for me was when I saw a Penn Central F7 switching a boxcar on the ex PRR line in Bedford, Ohio to Taylor Chair on the old main within city limits. They had 2 conductors with oil cans and sand helping this F7 back boxcar onto company property at 5 mph. It worked. I was 12 years old and it was 1975. One train employee told me that day that they were playing with fire as the tracks were brittle, ties sunk in mud.

    Future forward and Conrail was about to become a spanking newborn baby burst out as a massive railroad with GP-15 blue bloods. White double track logos on new Conrail blue EMDs.

    I witnessed all the changes that happened in Bedford, Ohio.
    Today, it's the NS Cleveland Line.

    It's bigger than C&P, PRR and Penn Central ever imagined. NS inherited something that Conrail successfully made into a major artery through Cleveland.

    We all know the rest, but that old main line stub and Taylor Chair are long gone.
     
    Last edited: Oct 30, 2022

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