Railroad communications
Increasing traffic on single track railroad lines required more efficient operation and flexibility. The ability for a single dispatcher to issue train orders was enabled by the invention of the electric telegraph in the 1840s. With the introduction of the telegraph, a more sophisticated system became possible because the telegraph provided a means to transmit messages faster than the trains moved.
The telegraph could be used to communicate the arrival and departure of trains at stations along railroad lines. If a train was running behind schedule, the points where it would meet other trains could be safely moved to other sidings, allowing the other trains to continue and avoid long delays, providing more efficient operation along the railroad line.
The telegraph could be used to communicate the arrival and departure of trains at stations along railroad lines. If a train was running behind schedule, the points where it would meet other trains could be safely moved to other sidings, allowing the other trains to continue and avoid long delays, providing more efficient operation along the railroad line.
railroad telegraphers
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The railroad telegrapher was the eyes and ears of the train dispatcher, who was usually many miles away, enabling him to know the location of trains and to directly manage train movement. The telegrapher maintained communication between the train dispatcher and trains operating on the rail system. He copied train orders and messages for the train crews, and reported the passing of trains to the dispatcher.
Ticket sales to passenger-train customers was part of the telegrapher's work. Extreme care had to be taken when figuring the cost of a ticket. Any shortages in money came out of the telegrapher's check. 
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Telegraphers worked on a seniority basis, first in, first out. Until they were assigned permanent positions, they were on the "Extra List," working relief in cases of sickness, vacation, or emergencies.
The complimentary close following a transaction on the wire was '"73," a symbol of fraternity. |
The Order of railroad telegraphers
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In the 1860s, U.S. telegraphers began to form labor organizations, including the National Telegraphic Union and the Telegraphers' Protective League, in order to promote professionalism, negotiate for higher wages, and demand better working conditions. However, following an unsuccessful strike by the Brotherhood of Telegraphers, an affiliate of the Knights of Labor, in 1883, the railroad operators began to see themselves as occupationally distinct from the commercial telegraph operators, who worked in telegraph offices and primarily handled commodities reports, news reports, and personal messages.
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ORT Membership Card on display at NHTM
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A meeting of telegraphers representing the major U.S. railroads met in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on June 9, 1886. Organized by Ambrose D. Thurston (1852–1913), publisher of the trade journal Railroad Telegrapher, in Vinton, Iowa, the group formed the Order of Railway Telegraphers of North America, with membership limited to telegraphers who were or who had been employed in railroad service. The Order of Railway Telegraphers was initially intended to be more of a fraternal organization than a trade union; it was ideologically closer to the conservative railroad unions than the more militant commercial telegraphers. Initially, its constitution forbade members to strike except in extreme conditions. By March 1887, the union had attracted 2250 members; the number of members grew to 9000 by March 1889.
In the early 1890s, members began to demand that the union take a more assertive role in negotiating wages and working conditions with the railroads. In 1891, the constitution was changed to explicitly make the ORT a "protective" organization, with the right to call strikes if negotiations with the railroads were unsuccessful; at the same time, the name was changed from "Order of Railway Telegraphers" to "Order of Railroad Telegraphers."
By 1901, the ORT comprised 30 system divisions with 10,000 members.
With the entry of the U.S. into the First World War, the railroad and telegraph industries were placed under government control. On December 26, 1917, the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) took control of the railroads. The USRA was generally supportive of the interests of the union members; during the period of nationalization, railroad operators were limited to an eight-hour workday and the ORT was granted collective bargaining capability on a national level. By 1917, ORT membership had grown to 46,000.
The early 1920s were the peak years for ORT membership; by 1922, the union boasted 78,000 members in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Membership in the ORT began to decline after the stock market crash of 1929, due not only to economic conditions but also to the increasing use of centralized traffic control, which no longer required the presence of a telegrapher in each station. The membership fell to 63,000 in 1929, and continued to fall throughout the Depression years of the 1930s. As a result of the declining membership and the loss of revenue from dues, the ORT was forced to suspend payment of pensions to retired members through the mutual benefit program.
The decline of the railroad industry in the 1950s and 1960s led to layoffs and discharges of ORT members. When the ORT attempted to protect its members' jobs by demanding the right to veto job cutbacks, it was accused of "featherbedding," requiring the employment of unnecessary workers, by railroad executives. The ORT called a strike in 1962 to protest layoffs of 600 telegraphers on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. A mediation board created by President John F. Kennedy found in favor of the railroad in October 1962, calling the layoffs justified and denying the union the right to veto layoffs. However, the railroad was required to give 90 days' notice to terminated employees, and to pay laid-off telegraphers 60 percent of their annual salary for as much as five years.
In 1965, the ORT changed its name to the Transportation Communications Employees Union; that union was merged into the Brotherhood of Railway & Airline Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employees (BRAC) in 1969. At the time of the merger, the ORT had about 30,000 members. In 1985, BRAC chose to revive the TCU identity, and in July 2005, the "new" TCU affiliated with the International Association of Machinists.
The full merger occurred in January 2012.
By 1901, the ORT comprised 30 system divisions with 10,000 members.
With the entry of the U.S. into the First World War, the railroad and telegraph industries were placed under government control. On December 26, 1917, the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) took control of the railroads. The USRA was generally supportive of the interests of the union members; during the period of nationalization, railroad operators were limited to an eight-hour workday and the ORT was granted collective bargaining capability on a national level. By 1917, ORT membership had grown to 46,000.
The early 1920s were the peak years for ORT membership; by 1922, the union boasted 78,000 members in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Membership in the ORT began to decline after the stock market crash of 1929, due not only to economic conditions but also to the increasing use of centralized traffic control, which no longer required the presence of a telegrapher in each station. The membership fell to 63,000 in 1929, and continued to fall throughout the Depression years of the 1930s. As a result of the declining membership and the loss of revenue from dues, the ORT was forced to suspend payment of pensions to retired members through the mutual benefit program.
The decline of the railroad industry in the 1950s and 1960s led to layoffs and discharges of ORT members. When the ORT attempted to protect its members' jobs by demanding the right to veto job cutbacks, it was accused of "featherbedding," requiring the employment of unnecessary workers, by railroad executives. The ORT called a strike in 1962 to protest layoffs of 600 telegraphers on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. A mediation board created by President John F. Kennedy found in favor of the railroad in October 1962, calling the layoffs justified and denying the union the right to veto layoffs. However, the railroad was required to give 90 days' notice to terminated employees, and to pay laid-off telegraphers 60 percent of their annual salary for as much as five years.
In 1965, the ORT changed its name to the Transportation Communications Employees Union; that union was merged into the Brotherhood of Railway & Airline Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employees (BRAC) in 1969. At the time of the merger, the ORT had about 30,000 members. In 1985, BRAC chose to revive the TCU identity, and in July 2005, the "new" TCU affiliated with the International Association of Machinists.
The full merger occurred in January 2012.
Train orders
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A train order would be issued by the railroad dispatcher giving the train crew instructions and permission to occupy a block or section track. These would typically be telegraphed to the station on the approach to the block where they would be handed to the train crews. Train orders allowed train dispatchers to set up meets at sidings, force a train to wait at a siding for a priority train to pass from behind, and to keep at least one block spacing between trains going the same direction.
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Train Orders overrode the timetable, allowing the cancellation, rescheduling and addition of trains, and almost anything else. Sufficient time had to be given, however, so that all train crews could receive the changed orders at the next station they arrived at.
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The earliest recorded usage of the telegraph to convey train orders in the United States came in 1851 on the Erie Railroad by Charles Minot, Superintendent of the Erie.
Click on the button below to learn the story: |
The train order provides the means to deal with changes in operating conditions as they arise. Orders modify the established timetable. Among the functions a train order can perform are:
- Creating a train not provided for by the timetable (a so-called "extra")
- Annulling a train provided by the timetable
- Creating sections of a schedule (in essence "cloning" a train's schedule and class when, for example, too much traffic exists to be handled by a single train)
- Setting meeting points between extras since they have no timetable schedule
- Altering timetable meeting points (for example when one train is late and adhering to the timetable meeting point would cause delays for other trains)
- Altering the schedule of a train to allow other trains to run with respect to the altered schedule rather than that given in the timetable
- Giving a train rights over another train that ordinarily has timetable superiority
- Conveying warnings about temporary conditions such as temporary speed limits, track conditions or hazards which might affect the safety of trains or train crews
delivering the train orders
The telegrapher would deliver the train order to the passing train first using a “train order hoop” which was eventually replaced by the "Y" Stick. From his trackside "bay-window" on the depot, the telegrapher watched for a train and the instant he saw it he told the dispatcher, who then decided if he wanted to issue a train order. If the dispatcher did, the telegrapher copied it, rolled up the order, clipped it onto the train order hoop, and raced to the very edge of the train platform, close enough the trainmen could grab their orders. He handed the first copy up to the engineer and the second to the conductor on the rear of the train.
Click on the button below to see how it was done!
Click on the button below to see how it was done!
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Train Order Hoop
From what we have read, the train order hoop was intolerable. It looked like a big comma with an extra long tail. Moving aboard the train at great speed, the trainman ran his arm through the hoop, pulled it out of the hand of the telegrapher, took the order, and threw the hoop down alongside the track. Injuries occurred when the telegrapher was slow to let go of the hoop. Occasionally the telegrapher was jerked down on his back. Likewise, the trainman sometimes suffered arm injuries. 
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The “Y” Stick
The old train order hoop was replaced with the "Y" shaped train order stick. The telegrapher placed the order in a string and then threaded it around the stick. The telegrapher held the stick and the trainman took only the string with the order attached in a slip knot. 
Photo Credit: Unknown
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Train to Train telegraphy
Granville Tailer Woods (April 23, 1856 – January 30, 1910) was an inventor who held more than 60 patents in the U.S. He was the first American of African ancestry to be a mechanical and electrical engineer after the Civil War. Self-taught, he concentrated most of his work on trains and streetcars. He was referred to by some as the "Black Edison". One of his notable inventions was the Multiplex Telegraph, a device that sent messages between train stations and moving trains. His work assured a safer and better public transportation system for the cities of the United States. The railroad telegraph transmitted messages through static electricity between moving trains.
Born on April 23, 1856 in Columbus, Ohio, Woods was formally educated until the age of ten when he took a job in a machine shop. In 1885 Woods began working on what he called "telegraphony," a device that allowed users to switch between two forms of communication, voice or Morse code, to transmit messages.
Based on "telegraphony," Woods invented the induction telegraph in 1887 (US Patent No. 373,383). Prior to its creation, moving trains were unable to communicate with each other or with rail stations, resulting in dangerous situations. The induction telegraph used static electricity from the existing telegraph lines running parallel to the train tracks, making messaging possible between moving trains and rail stations. It allowed communications between train stations from moving trains by creating a magnetic field around a coiled wire under the train.
Woods' later inventions dealt with more efficient use of electricity. He created an overhead conducting system for rail and trolley cars to run on electric current instead of steam power. In addition, he devised a third rail that is still often used on many rail lines; the third rail carries electricity via electromagnetic switches and pulls trains along. He also improved the automatic air brake used by railroad cars. His patents were eventually bought and used by General Electric and the Westinghouse Air Brake Company.
Born on April 23, 1856 in Columbus, Ohio, Woods was formally educated until the age of ten when he took a job in a machine shop. In 1885 Woods began working on what he called "telegraphony," a device that allowed users to switch between two forms of communication, voice or Morse code, to transmit messages.
Based on "telegraphony," Woods invented the induction telegraph in 1887 (US Patent No. 373,383). Prior to its creation, moving trains were unable to communicate with each other or with rail stations, resulting in dangerous situations. The induction telegraph used static electricity from the existing telegraph lines running parallel to the train tracks, making messaging possible between moving trains and rail stations. It allowed communications between train stations from moving trains by creating a magnetic field around a coiled wire under the train.
Woods' later inventions dealt with more efficient use of electricity. He created an overhead conducting system for rail and trolley cars to run on electric current instead of steam power. In addition, he devised a third rail that is still often used on many rail lines; the third rail carries electricity via electromagnetic switches and pulls trains along. He also improved the automatic air brake used by railroad cars. His patents were eventually bought and used by General Electric and the Westinghouse Air Brake Company.
the Railroad telephone
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Over time the telegraph gave way to the telephone as the preferred method of communication.
The telegraph worked well for train dispatching and was used by some lines in the USA until the 1960’s. Other railroads, however, adopted the use of the telephone very early. On December 20, 1879, the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad became the first line operate its trains by telephone. Use of the telephone was limited, however, due to the lack of the ability to selectively signal one of the many wayside locations that a train wire would serve. A Morse telegraph circuit is always "on" and an experienced operator could pick out his unique call from the constant sound of dots and dashes that filled the room. To hear a call on a telephone, however, the operator had to have the phone to his ear, something that would be quite a problem if that operator wanted to get anything else done. The extreme length of a train wire combined with the large number of stations made coded ringing impractical. The development of a reliable selective signaling system is what made telephone train dispatching practical. (It should be noted that the train dispatcher, was expected to monitor the train wire at all times so the provision of "inbound" signaling was not mandatory.) Development of such equipment started prior to 1910 and by the ‘teens, several reliable systems were available. This had a dramatic effect on the adoption of telephone train dispatching such that by 1925 the mileage dispatched by telephone exceeded that that was dispatched by telegraph. |
This telephone is on display at NHTM
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Two-Way Radios
By the 1970s – with the advent of radio communications – timetable and train order operation began to fall out of favor as direct traffic control and centralized traffic control (CTC) became more common on major carriers. CTC enabled dispatchers to set up meets remotely and allowed trains to proceed entirely on signal indication. Where signals were not present, DTC and the related track warrant control allowed dispatchers to directly inform trains what they were to do instead of needing to work through intermediaries or have the train crews figure things out for themselves.
How it is done now
Positive Train Control
Positive Train Control (PTC) is an advanced system designed to automatically stop a train before certain accidents occur. In particular, PTC is designed to prevent:
PTC does not prevent vehicle-train accidents at railroad crossings, or those due to track and equipment failures.
When fully deployed, the nationwide PTC system will accurately determine a train's location, direction and speed via the following process:
PTC Background and Testing
The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) requires railroads to install PTC systems on tracks that carry passengers or poison- or toxic-by-inhalation (TIH) materials. Based on a January 2012 final Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) rule, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) estimates that PTC technology will be deployed on about 63,000 miles of U.S. freight rail lines. As originally written, the RSIA mandated that PTC be put into service by the end of 2015. Recognizing the challenges of this new technology, in December 2015 Congress extended the PTC implementation deadline to Dec. 31, 2018.
Why PTC is so Complex
Positive Train Control (PTC) is a complex, nationwide system of newly developed technologies that continuously relays critical information such as speed limits, train movement authorization, switch positions, work zone locations and other operational data. It must factor in locomotive and rail car mix; train length, weight and speed; terrain and signal aspects to determine safe stopping distances. This conservatism in the "braking curve" slows the rail network's velocity and, thus, reduces capacity and ability to handle more freight. Additionally, any PTC hardware or software component failure also defaults to stopping the train, thus reducing rail network capacity.
Implementing PTC properly requires integrating thousands of components across the telecommunications spectrum, such as GPS, Wi-Fi, radios, cellular technology, antennae, base stations and first-of-its-kind software that decides when to slow or stop a train – across Union Pacific’s network.
PTC must be "interoperable" – passenger, commuter and freight trains must be able to seamlessly communicate and operate across all railroad systems. Any breakdown in interoperability presents unacceptable risks to the safety and efficiency of America's rail network. Additionally, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) must review each railroad's PTC safety plan and certify the PTC system after development and testing of components is completed. This certification is mandatory before PTC-controlled trains can go into service.
About 40 railroads are developing and installing PTC systems around the country.
Positive Train Control (PTC) is an advanced system designed to automatically stop a train before certain accidents occur. In particular, PTC is designed to prevent:
- Train-to-train collisions
- Derailments caused by excessive train speed
- Train movements through misaligned track switches
- Unauthorized train entry into work zones.
PTC does not prevent vehicle-train accidents at railroad crossings, or those due to track and equipment failures.
When fully deployed, the nationwide PTC system will accurately determine a train's location, direction and speed via the following process:
- An onboard computer system receives and analyzes track data from wayside locations and base-station radios along the planned route.
- This provides the locomotive engineer with advance warning of movement authority limits, speed limits and track conditions ahead, giving the engineer time to react and bring the train to a safe speed or controlled stop.
- If corrective action is not detected within the warning period, PTC automatically applies the train brakes and brings it to a controlled stop without the engineer's assistance.
PTC Background and Testing
The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) requires railroads to install PTC systems on tracks that carry passengers or poison- or toxic-by-inhalation (TIH) materials. Based on a January 2012 final Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) rule, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) estimates that PTC technology will be deployed on about 63,000 miles of U.S. freight rail lines. As originally written, the RSIA mandated that PTC be put into service by the end of 2015. Recognizing the challenges of this new technology, in December 2015 Congress extended the PTC implementation deadline to Dec. 31, 2018.
Why PTC is so Complex
Positive Train Control (PTC) is a complex, nationwide system of newly developed technologies that continuously relays critical information such as speed limits, train movement authorization, switch positions, work zone locations and other operational data. It must factor in locomotive and rail car mix; train length, weight and speed; terrain and signal aspects to determine safe stopping distances. This conservatism in the "braking curve" slows the rail network's velocity and, thus, reduces capacity and ability to handle more freight. Additionally, any PTC hardware or software component failure also defaults to stopping the train, thus reducing rail network capacity.
Implementing PTC properly requires integrating thousands of components across the telecommunications spectrum, such as GPS, Wi-Fi, radios, cellular technology, antennae, base stations and first-of-its-kind software that decides when to slow or stop a train – across Union Pacific’s network.
PTC must be "interoperable" – passenger, commuter and freight trains must be able to seamlessly communicate and operate across all railroad systems. Any breakdown in interoperability presents unacceptable risks to the safety and efficiency of America's rail network. Additionally, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) must review each railroad's PTC safety plan and certify the PTC system after development and testing of components is completed. This certification is mandatory before PTC-controlled trains can go into service.
About 40 railroads are developing and installing PTC systems around the country.
Information taken from the Union Pacific Website
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