Dispatch offices

[Striker]

I'm curious about how dispatch works. For example, let's say you've got Amtrak running on a UP line. Does UP have a central "command center" for the whole country? Do they have smaller offices located all over the country? How do they transmit radio signals to trains along certain routes? Do they have a radio tower every so often that is wired to a central command center for the whole nation (or a regional one), or do they have offices in major cities all over the country?

Does Amtrak have its own dispatch, or (I assume) they rely on UP or whoever owns the road for their dispatch needs? Of course for track Amtrak owns I'm also assuming they have their own dedicated dispatchers.

 

[George Harris]

This question would require a book to properly answer, and there is no one size fits all answer.

Control of train movements is in the hands of the owning railroad, thus Amtrak only controls train movements on parts of the Northeast Corridor and a few other places.

Yes, there are multiple radio towers. However, radio is not truly necessary on most lines. Written train orders and obedience to signal indication and employee timetables and rulebooks are necessary.

I beleive that UP does do central dispatching out of Omaha. For quite a while, CSX did everything out of Jacksonville, but I have heard that they have divided up into other locations. NS tends to be more decentralized. However, regardless of how they do it, there is not one dispatcher that follows one train from end to end. Each one has a territory and at the division between territories control is handed off.

Google the subject and see if you can find something equivalent to Railroad Operations for Dummies and work out from there.

 

[AlanB]

Amtrak has several dispatch offices to control the tracks that they own. There is one in Chicago that controls the tracks that approach Union Station, as well as the Amtrak owned line in Michigan. On the NEC, they have one in Boston that controls Boston to New Haven, where Amtrak runs on Metro North owned tracks.

Then there is a center in Penn Station that controls the approaches to Penn Station and Penn itself, as well as a ways into New Jersey. From there south to DC is controlled out of Philly, and then I believe that Washington's Union Station is controlled from a tower right by the station.

 

[had8ley]

I'm curious about how dispatch works. For example, let's say you've got Amtrak running on a UP line. Does UP have a central "command center" for the whole country? Do they have smaller offices located all over the country? How do they transmit radio signals to trains along certain routes? Do they have a radio tower every so often that is wired to a central command center for the whole nation (or a regional one), or do they have offices in major cities all over the country?
Does Amtrak have its own dispatch, or (I assume) they rely on UP or whoever owns the road for their dispatch needs? Of course for track Amtrak owns I'm also assuming they have their own dedicated dispatchers.

The UP does indeed have its own "Command Center." It's located off of Dodge Street in downtown Omaha. It's called the "Bunker" by RR'ers as it is all underground in downtown Omaha. After the late 90's melt down of service due to the SP merger they have established a joint dispatchers office in Spring, TX to handle the Houston bottleneck. I believe the BNSF and Houston Belt have people in that office. I know of no other dispatching point except for a rare tower such as East Bridge in New Orleans that controls movement to the Huey P. Long bridge. Believe it or not all moves in the NOL station and yard are not controlled by the local Clara Street tower, that you pass coming and going into the station, but by the dispatcher miles away.

Radio communications are handled by huge microwave towers spaced approximately 25-30 miles apart depending on terrain. The dispatcher controls CTC switches via these towers.

 

[jis]

Amtrak has several dispatch offices to control the tracks that they own. There is one in Chicago that controls the tracks that approach Union Station, as well as the Amtrak owned line in Michigan. On the NEC, they have one in Boston that controls Boston to New Haven, where Amtrak runs on Metro North owned tracks.
Then there is a center in Penn Station that controls the approaches to Penn Station and Penn itself, as well as a ways into New Jersey. From there south to DC is controlled out of Philly, and then I believe that Washington's Union Station is controlled from a tower right by the station.

CETC Philadelphia also controls the Keystone Corridor to Harrisburg. CETC New York also controls the Hell Gate Line from Gate to Shell (CP216) where it joins MNRR. It also controls the Empire connection to Spuyten Duyvil where it joins MNRR. BTW CETC New York controls the NEC from CP Bergen all the way to CP Morris (Morrisville PA). Philadelphia territory begins at CP Grundy (Bristol PA).

You can find some details of the territory allocation to each CETC desk in this document.

 

[chuljin]

This poster, in the Martinez, CA (MTZ) station is how I first learned where UP dispatchers are.