Karl's post from earlier on X 5226 N at Hoxie noted some interesting operational information: (see http://www.frisco.org/vb/showpost.php?p=11624&postcount=1) "The Frisco would not hold a train for its scheduled departure time, if enough tonnage was ready to roll. Such a train would leave as an "Advance Section". In this case perhaps this was Advance 134. Given that this was ABS territory, white lamps and white flags would be required." Presumably these trains would be identified on Train Orders as such, e.g. "Advance 134". If there were any following sections, how would they be listed? I would guess it would just be "Train 134" if it left on or after the advertised. The white lamps/flags in ABS territory are interesting. I recall seeing some latter-day photos of scheduled trains on the River Division with white class lights. Guess I need to take a closer look at the Rules of the Transportation Department. 8^) Best Regards,
Speaking strictly for ABS and non signaled territory, any train that ran on its schedule would not display marker lights, unless two or more sections were run. Then the first and subsequent sections, except the last, would display green lights/flags. The last section would run without classification lights. The only way a train could depart its initial terminal ahead of schedule would be as an extra or assume the schedule of an earlier train. For example if QLA was early and Tulsa wanted to depart the train, QLA would run as an extra to OKC. It would still be QLA, but for operating authority it would be an extra. Advance trains would be the same. The advance train would run as an extra and the regular train. assuming there was tonnage for one, would run on schedule. At Oklahoma City train No 30 often departed carrying green signals. A 2nd No 30 was run 2/4 hours later moving the empty auto racks, sluff, and what piggyback traffic was left. That way No 30 was keep on schedule, while all traffic was moved using both trains. Just the opposite of advance trains. Jerome
Thanks for asking Jerome. Summer travel and business kept me busier than anticipated. A new styrene cab is nearly done and then it's a matter of adding a few final details and the Paint Shop. If I can get my final detail parts in line, I would love to ring in the new year with it ready-to-go.
I am new to this site but I can speak from my experience in the operating department in the 1960s. Train QLA would run all the way to Quanah, and later to Avard, as QLA as far as the customer was concerned. This is the time we implemented the computer oriented tracing system that could be accessed by the customer, the most important person in the world---it is easy to forget, so what the dispatcher did was for operating convenience. When it started out in Birmingham it was QLA, no question about it, but the dispatcher might have run an advanced section say from Memphis to Springfield using QLA's train number. I believe it might have been train No 133, but I am forggy on the exact number, and run QLA extra. We did not care as long as the dispatcher got this hot shot over the road, high green all the way, and what fun it was to ride.
Highgreen, welcome aboard and many many thanks for sharing. The more true-life operations info we can document from Frisco Folks who were actually out there, the better we can preserve the SL-SF! Thanks again,
The Frisco also labeled certain Advance Sections as "Stubs". If I remember correctly, if a train left its point of origin "early" it was labeled as an Advance Train. If a train left an intermediate point point early, it was called a Stub. For example, if train No 131 had enough cars to leave before its scheduled time from Kansas City, it would be known as Advance 131. On the other hand if Springfield had enough cars ready to roll before No 131 reached that point, a 131 Stub could leave before No 131 arrived from KC.
I worked in the Operating Department from about 1964 to 1967 and don't recall the term "Stub". One thing we did during this time is to do a lot of line-of-road set-outs of blocks. In other words block swapping at remote siding locations in order to keep as much away from yards as possible. Since we had to have cabooses in those days, we would "double caboose" so the block could be set-out with a caboose attached, and then be picked up on the tail end of the pick-up train. The Southern was also into this method.
