Among the paperwork in use on the West- ern Midland are the Clearance Form A, which allows a crew to depart the yard with its train and a timetable, which provides listed trains with permission to operate as shown. The Form 31 train order allows ex- tra trains to operate and can also be used to supercede timetables.


crews are issued in writing through the operators with Form 31 train orders. The Western Midland’s crew have enjoyed many interesting operating sessions on the layout and at the same time have improved their operating skills. Every few months Mike intro- duced a new aspect of operations, such as a fast clock, the telephone system, and increasing familiarity with respect to train orders. However, we entered a new dimension when Bill Salmond, a mutual friend and professional rail- roader whose resume includes a num- ber of years dispatching during the timetable and train order era, was in town. Mike arranged an operating ses- sion specifically to give Bill a chance to dispatch the Western Midland. At the same time, this would provide the oper- ating crew an opportunity to experi- ence professional railroad dispatching. Orders were issued, then read back, and a very busy time was experienced by all. Several interesting things happened during that operating session. One of the most memorable occurred when an extra north departed Black Mountain. Imme- diately on receiving an O/S report from the Black Mountain operator, Dispatcher Salmond noticed something the rest of us had completely overlooked, and he ex- claimed over the train wire: “What’s that guy doing departing on Number One’s


RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN 59


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