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OS Out West

To: kmartin@c..., BRHSlist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: OS Out West
From: WPDiven@a...
Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 12:09:22 EST
In a message dated 12/27/01 10:20:03pm, kmartin@c... writes:

<<...over the Conductor's signature, word for word, as received, to the 
person sending it, who shall, if the order is corrrectly understood, reply 
O.K. which shall be indorsed over the proper signature upon the order, and 
countersigned by the receiving operator... >>

Greetings list:

Nice thread trying to sort out the telegraph jargon from the last century. 
Many of us in the news business still use -30- to end our copy although a lot 
of the newcomers and most civilians are clueless as to its origin. Anyway, I 
can't resist adding a new twist to the OS discussion:

Out here in ATSF country I was told many years ago that OS stood for 
"Operator Sign" referencing the rule Ken Martin cited requiring conductors 
and operators to sign for their orders. I certainly have no written 
documentation for this usage but will watch for it now that the question is 
planted.

These days on the Glorieta Sub, a BNSF dispatcher in Fort Worth who wants to 
shorten up a track warrant asks a train to "give me an OS" by a specific 
location which can be a milepost, a station sign or the east or west switch 
of a siding. The DS confirms the train "reports passing" the location, then 
gives the following train authority to that location or somewhere short of 
it. The lead train continues under its original authority and does not get a 
new warrant.

Regards,

Bill Diven

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