Train schedules

1960 was in the Timetable and Train Order era.  Times were "real".  If a train was late, more than likely the dispatcher would be putting out train orders to keep the system fluid....

If a listed freight did not run, my guess is that the dispatcher would put out a train order stating that particular train was annulled.

Timetable and trainorder railroading is a lost art with a needed discipline.  A type or railroading never to return.

This isn't actually about the difference between passenger, freight, and mixed trains.  Employee timetables give the schedules of Regular Trains.

A Regular Train is a train that has a timetable schedule.  The schedule has two functions.  It gives the train authority and superiority.

1. It gives the train authority to occupy the main track at a specified station, at a specified time, in a specified direction.
2. It indicates which train is superior at meeting and passing points.  A train is superior by (in this descending order) right, class, and direction.  Right is conveyed by Train Order.  Class and Direction are provided by the timetable.

At the top margin of each schedule column (which gives the times at stations) a Regular Train will be identified as First Class, Second Class, etc., along with its Train Number.  Some railroads also included the names of passenger trains, but that is not required.  The direction of movement is at the very top of the schedule column.

A train without a timetable schedule is an Extra Train.  Some railroads provided information about their more important freight trains but without identifying them by Class.  That information is not the same as a schedule, and would require that the train be operated as an Extra.  Usually, there is some kind of a disclaimer printed near the information, such as "For informational purposes only."  One advantage is that the railroad has some flexibility in departing the non-scheduled (but still estimated) train and the Train Dispatcher does not have to modify or annul its schedule to the train itself and to all other trains on the territory, which could require issuing many train orders.

I hope this makes reading the timetable easier for you, rrman.  Feel free to email me if you want to go into more detail.

Thanks Tom and Dominic!! Answered all my questions to this armchair RRer!!

Generally a railroad only scheduled a freight train on their timetable if it was a "hot shot" train, running freight at something approaching passenger train speeds between two cities. It's possible the number of cars could vary from day to day.

If there wasn't enough freight to run the train daily (or how often it was scheduled) it would eventually be dropped from the schedule.

@wjstix posted:

Generally a railroad only scheduled a freight train on their timetable if it was a "hot shot" train, running freight at something approaching passenger train speeds between two cities. It's possible the number of cars could vary from day to day.

If there wasn't enough freight to run the train daily (or how often it was scheduled) it would eventually be dropped from the schedule.

That was not generally true in the 50's through 70's when I was working on the railroads.  On double track and CTC, where most of those "hot shots" ran, all freight trains were run as extras and moved on signal indications.  Very few train orders were used.

On the Milwaukee Road, where I worked mid 60's, there were no schedules for other than passenger trains on double track lines.   That included the main lines from Chicago to St. Paul and Council Bluffs, including the line through Marion.  One of the hottest freight trains on the Milwaukee was the transcontinental train 261 and 262.  That was the frieght train scheduile book number across the railroad, but they did not have a schedule in the operating timetable.  The 1968 Aberdeen division timetable between St. Paul and Miles Cityshowed no schedules other than passenger trains 15 and 16 as far as Aberdeen.

On secondary lines, schedules for second class (usually through freight) trains might not tell you much about when trains actually ran.  They simply gave a train running rights for 12 hours after the time in the schedule.

A train running at "something approaching passenger train speeds" was rare until we saw container trains.  On the NYC main lines, the normal passenger speed was 80 and it was 60 for freights.  The long distance freight trains with time sensitive traffic would be powered to do 60.  Less time sensitive trains would have power for 40 to 50.  But we  couldn't have a lot of difference in train speeds, because speed differences limit train frequency and use up a lot of line capacity.

Many of the local trains that went on duty at the same time every day had schedules so that they didn't need train orders every day.