Picture a person wreathed in smoke, enjoying a long drag on a Camel, lounging against the back of a chair at a desk, deep in thought. You dare not intrude because the scene gives the impression of a wizard. Indeed, one definition of the word reads, “a very clever or skillful person.” Could this be a train dispatcher in the timetable and train order era?
Rulebooks I consulted define conductor, engineer, and operator, but omit dispatcher. Peter Josserand’s Rights of Trains doesn’t define the term. Neither do the handful of dispatcher’s manuals in my collection. Bernie Kempinski shared a gem with me, a United States Military Railroad rulebook dated April 1, 1862, and approved by Edwin W. Stanton, Secretary of War, which only mentions “dispatcher.” Nevertheless, the profession was so well…
