Train order forks

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 12:37:04 EST 
To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org 
From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Subject:  Re: Train orders

Train order hoops...hadn't thought about those in a
long time.......

I worked as a Penn Central/Conrail block operator in
the 1970's-80's and handed up many a train order
/clearance card (Form A). The first day of training I
was instructed to not hold the hoop pointed near my
body in case it hit the engine in which case it could
drive the hoop handle right through me. Made a lot of
sense. We used the kind of hoop which was a forked
stick which held the train order string which held the
paperwork and the crew would take only the string and
orders. 

The best train order string was a waxed twine (we
sometimes had to put up with the fuzzy cheap stuff).
Two nails were driven into the inside wall of the
office about 2-2.5 feet apart and one end of the ball
of twine was tied to a nail. Then we would wrap the
whole ball round and round the nails. When finished we
cut through the lower end of the loop and then we had
uniform pieces of train order string. 

When it came time to hand up orders we took one
string, held it by the ends and then made a small slip
knot and put the other end of the string inside the
knot and then did the same for the other end of the
loop. The paperwork was inserted into the center and
the string pulled tight trapping the orders. 
The next big trick was to stand at the right distance
from the track so that when the engine went by the
fork would not hit it and the engineer could put his
fisted arm through the center of the "Y" and the train
order string would come out of the fork and the loop
of string with the orders was secured on the
engineer's arm. Of course, there was always the
crewman who tried to pick the string off with his
fingers or misjudged the center of the "Y" and wacked
his hand on the metal part of the fork.

Crews were supposed to slow down to pick up orders so
as to not injure the op or get injured themselves and
we had a right to pull the hoop away if the speed was
too fast which forced the train to stop. I remember
handing on to an Amtrak train when as it started past
some water hit me and I flinched causing the crewman
to miss and the train to stop and send a man back. The
head end needed the orders but not so with the rear
end.

Gosh, those were fun times!

Jim Kehn


January 23, 2005

Great recollections, Jim!

At AF Tower on the RF&P, the width of the operator's
desk happened to be the correct lenght of a train
order string.  We pre-tied the two slip knots and put
the loops on a nail at the opening between the knots
so they were ready for immediate use.  The first trick
(12 MN-8 AM)was responsible for making a batch every
few months.  AF was never a significant train order
station by the late 1960s.

I did handle orders on the C&O on many occasions, but
those are stories for another time.  Your caution
about holding the stick was important, not only from
your standpoint but that of the crew trying to snag
the order.  The other caution was standing too close
to the track.  Aside from wind gusts from the train
that might knock one off balance, there was
occasionally stuff hanging from freight cars.  One
example were broken steel bands around bundles of
lumber.  They were like a flying razors.

Good evening,

=====
Dr. Frank R. Scheer, Curator
Railway Mail Service Library, Inc.
f_scheer at yahoo.com
(202) 268-2121 - weekday office
(540) 837-9090 - weekend afternoons 
in the former N&W station on VA rte 723 
117 East Main Street 
Boyce  VA  22620-9639
 
Visit at http://www.railwaymailservicelibrary.org