cond trick men, have perhaps more train order work attached
to them, the third is about on a par with them as far as actual labor is
concerned, because, in addition to the regular train order work, a new
train sheet has to be opened every night at twelve o'clock, which
necessitates keeping two sheets until all the trains on the old one have
completed their runs. There is also a consolidated train report to be
made at this time, which is a re-capitulation of the movements of all
trains for the preceding twenty-four hours, giving delays, causes
thereof, accidents, cars hauled, etc. This is submitted to the division
superintendent in the morning, and after he has perused and digested its
contents he sends a condensed copy to the general superintendent. Many a
man loses his job by a report against him on that train sheet.

To show the strain on a man's mind when he is despatching trains, let me
tell a little incident that happened to me just in the beginning of my
career as a despatcher. Every morning about five o'clock, the third
trick man begins to figure on his work train orders for the day and when
he has completed them he sends them out to the different crews. Work
train orders, it may not be amiss to explain, are orders given to the
different construction crews, such as the bridge gang, the grading gang,
the track gang, etc., to work between certain points at certain times.
They must be very full and explicit in detail as to all trains that are
to run during the continuance of the order. For regular trains running
on time, no notification need be given, because the time card rules
would apply; but for all extras, specials, and delayed trains, warnings
must be given, so that the work trains can get out of the way for them,
otherwise the results might be very serious, and business be greatly
delayed. Work orders are the bane of a new despatcher's existence, and
the manner in which he handles them is a sure indication as to whether
he will be successful or not. Many a man gets to a trick only to fall
down on these work orders.

I stumbled along fairly well the first night as a despatcher, and had no
mishaps to speak of, although I delayed a through passenger some ten
minutes, by hanging it up on a siding for a fast freight train, and I
put a through freight on a siding for a train of an inferior class. For
these little errors of judgment I was "cussed out" by all the conductors
and engineers on the division when they cam