Warren and list
Speaking of FTD....not Floral Telegraph Delivery, but Final Terminal Delay
I guess it isn't Floral TELEGRAPH Delivery anymore, but the initials are the
same whatever it is..
When coming into the Lincoln Terminal from the west trains were yarded in the
receiving yard west of the hump. Sometimes we would have to go over the hump
if other tracks were blocked and then down through the "Lay By" track to the
tie up track at the roundhouse. It was, maybe 3/4 of a mile.
Most engineers would move at a speed somewhat less than a slow walk in order
to get the "terminal hour"....For the uninitiated that means that under the
union contracts in effect at that time that if you were "delayed" more than
thirty minutes from arrival time to tie up time you got paid for an
additional hour.
I remember one summer day...think it was a Saturday, we came into Lincoln on
one of the hotshots. The engineer was in a hurry to get to a wedding later
that afternoon so he moved right along pullling into the receiving yard...
After I had cut the motors off, up over the hump and down the "lay by" we
went at what would have been considered breakneck speed.
We were only about 15 minutes from arrival to tie up. As we stopped on the
tie up track at the roundhouse the engineer said to me. "Sorry I didn't get
the hour for ya kid", but I was in a hurry.
If I remember correctly, at least at Lincoln, the ITD (Initial Terminal
Delay) provision was one hour and thirty minutes. You didn't often get that
on the hotshots or mainline trains, but seems like we got it about every trip
on the Wymore Local. We'd be called for 3:30 am or so and sometimes it would
be 7-8 O'clock before we got out. I would rather have had the extra hour or
so of "dark sleep" than the ITD, but the yardmaster and the Terminal
Trainmaster were probably under pressure to get the train out, and under the
theory that "you can't get em out on time if you don't call em on time".
they called the train for an unrealistic time.....preferring to answer for
the initial terminal delay time than for failure to call the train early
enough.
I didn't learn that until I became a terminal trainmaster for the Rock
Island in Chicago a few years later....It was "deja vu all over again" with
our Illinois Division Local, only I was on the other end of the pecking
order.....I'll relate a story in that regard on here soon. Even though it
happened on another railroad, I think that "those in the know" will
appreciate it.
Pete
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