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Latta Laments Special Issue: The Dispatcher Game
Ok all you armchair dispatchers, here's your chance to match wits with the pros. Evaluate the given scenario and correctly determine the action to be taken to meet the objective and receive the week's top honor: honorable mention in the Latta Laments and a free oven mitt (if I can find one). OK, so here we go...
The Situation:
* You have a 3600 foot train dead in the siding at Crane headed north towards Latta.
* You have a southbound train coming down the CSX towards Spring Hill, about 30 cars and 2200 feet long.
* You have a 100 car loaded coal train at Blackhawk wanting to make a southward movement to interchange with the ISRR at Beehunter and bring empties back to the mine at Farmersburg (Blackhawk).
* You have a dead train on the main track at Beehunter at the south absolute of the interlocking coming from Maysville with 67 empty hoppers for the INRD at Linton.
* You have an ISRR power set trapped on the Spencer Sub (east leg at Beehunter) by the dead Maysville Turn wanting to go to the west leg.
* You have a VIP special hi-railing south from Fayette towards Latta.
* You have a light power set wanting to go south from Latta to the Hawthorn Sub (west leg at Beehunter).
* You have 51 coal loads coming off the branch at Latta towards Linton to deliver to the INRD at Linton and return.
* And finally, you have the Afternoon XL (118) wanting to go north from Latta to Fayette with 110 coal loads for Wabash River.
To better understand this, see Laments 10 and the map.
* Keller siding is blocked with cars.
* The siding at Latta is blocked with cars.
* The siding at Hoosier is blocked with cars.
BTW this was the scenario Thursday AM when I came to work.
The Objective:
* Get 118 north at all costs.
* The loads at Farmersburg are sort of hot.
* The ISRR is excited that they can't get their power out.
* The light power to Hawthorn is hot hot.
* INRD wants loads first before empties.
* South train on CSX has explosives for Crane and shouldn't sit too long.
* It's not a good idea to delay the superintendent showing around VIPs, either.
* The CSX on the south end is congested and can't handle anything for the next 4-6 hours (or so says the 1st trick dispatcher).
* The rest can move whenever.
The Solution:
A) Go to the bathroom and hide until the shift is over
B) Ignore the problem all together and call a friend long distance on the company phone
C) Take out your frustrations on a signal maintainer
D) Whine to the corridor manager that there isn't time for all of this
E) (Your Solution):
Always remember: the manager is always right, you are to blame, and if you don't like it go to another railroad.
Good luck!
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Editorial content (C) 1998 Mike Dettmers
