Cyclopedia of Telephony and Telegraphy, Vol. 2 / A General Reference Work on Telephony, etc. etc.

by American School of Correspondence

Advantages. In making this radical change, railroad officials were most cautious, and yet we know of no case where the introduction of the telephone has been followed by its abandonment, the tendency having been in all cases toward further installations and more equipment of the modern type. The reasons for this are clear, for where the telephone is used it does not require a highly specialized man as station operator and consequently a much broader field is open to the railroads from which to draw operators. This, we think, is the most far-reaching advantage.

The telephone method also is faster. On an ordinary train-dispatching circuit it now requires from 0.1 of a second to 5 seconds to call any station. In case a plurality of calls is desired, the dispatcher calls one station after another, getting the answer from one while the next is being called, and so on. By speaking into a telephone many more words may be transmitted in a given time than by Morse telegraphy. It is possible to send fifty words a minute by Morse, but such speed is exceptional. Less than half that is the rule. The gain in high speed, therefore, which is obtained is obvious and it has been found that this is a most important feature on busy divisions. It is true that in the issuance of "orders," the speed, in telephonic train dispatching, is limited to that required to write the words in longhand. But all directions of a collateral character, the receipt of important information, and the instantaneous descriptions of emergency situations can be given and received at a speed limited only by that of human speech.

The dispatcher is also brought into a closer personal relation with the station men and trainmen, and this feature of direct personal communication has been found to be of importance in bringing about a higher degree of co-operation and better discipline in the service.

Telephone dispatching has features peculiar to itself which are important in improving the class of service. One of these is the "answer-back" automatically given to the dispatcher by the waystation bell. This informs the dispatcher whether or not the bell at the station rang, and excuses by the operators that it did not, are eliminated.

Anyone can answer a telephone call in an emergency. The station operator is frequently agent also, and his duties often take him out of hearing of the telegraph sounder. The selector bell used with the telephone can be heard for a distance of several hundred feet. In addition, it is quite likely that anyone in the neighborhood would recognize that the station was wanted and either notify the operator or answer the call.

In cases of emergency the train crews can get into direct communication with the dispatcher immediately, by means of portable telephone sets which are carried on the trains. It is a well-known fact that every minute a main line is blocked by a wreck can be reckoned as great loss to the railroad.

It is also possible to install siding telephone sets located either in booths or on poles along the right-of-way. These are in general service today at sidings, crossings, drawbridges, water tanks, and such places, where it may be essential for a train crew to reach the nearest waystation to give or receive information.

The advantage of these siding sets is coming more and more to be realized. With the telegraph method of dispatching, a train is ordered to pass another train at a certain siding, let us say. It reaches this point, and to use a railroad expression, "goes into the hole." Now, if anything happens to the second train whereby it is delayed, the first train remains tied up at that siding without the possibility of either reaching the dispatcher or being reached by him. With the telephone station at the siding, which requires no operator, this is avoided. If a train finds itself waiting too long, the conductor goes to the siding telephone and talks to the dispatcher, possibly getting orders which will advance him many miles that would otherwise have been lost.

It is no longer necessary for a waystation operator to call the dispatcher. When one of these operators wishes to talk to the dispatcher, he merely takes his telephone receiver off the hook, presses a button, and speaks to the dispatcher.