Show I I On the Right Bight Track I A 5 4 4 D' D 4 z y r e S 'S j 4 Si S- S i 2 frk fr k V I li Parade r t In Iii Chicago the worlds world's greatest railroad center hundreds of ot trains arrive and leave daily over a network of tracks Gliding through the yards on a streamliner from the Pacific coast passengers see suburban trains rains going west others going north passing and each other Unseen but directing this complex flow of traffic is the train dispatcher who calmly sits at his desk making marks on a long sheet of ot paper Telephone telegraph and teletype are at his command There is no fuss russ or bother In this quiet 5 room which should should should-by by byall iIi 1 all ll standards of human j s behavior behavior behavior-be be a madhouse IL of activity At any given moment the dispatcher c can n report the exact position position post 5 tion of every train on his iJ division no small feat in ina ina a railroad center cente- like Chi cago 55 Si r Accidents are almost unknown un unknown un- un 5 2 known in metropolitan terminals like Chicago and New York certainly much less commonplace th than n In outlying districts One of the leading safety factors actors has been the block signal w which h i c h divides r rat into sections and automatically stops trains I at danger points p 4 x W 4 KM 1 i There are several thousand miles of in the Chicago area but the dispatcher knows the exact position of every freight car He determines their fate and watches solicitously over their contents especially especially especially espe espe- if they contain rush shipments or perishable commodities which must be directed to their destination immediately Freight pickup and delivery from such bustling points as ns Chicago's huge Merchandise Mart c constitutes a mammoth task in itself but the dispatcher takes it in his stride Adding to the dispatchers dispatcher's duties in fn a center like Chicago are the numerous trains from other rail systems which use his tracks part of the time or which switch freight from their line to his Many of these changeovers changeovers changeovers change- change overs are daily scheduled occurrences Others happen unexpectedly h 4 Snow blocks the tracks or a hot box is reported Immediately the dispatcher sends working crews and equipment to the scene of trouble so that trains may continue to move A few minutes later he is advised advised advised ad ad- that an nn incoming train carries an invalid Result The dispatcher sends a red cap to meet the train armed with a wheel chair He is truly the nerve center of a railroad system a n man whose stupendous responsibility dwarfs the duties of law makers and captains of in in- Yet he lives unknown to all nIl but the fellow railroaders whoso whose actions he guides b 4 5 h 5 V S |