starting occurs. Starting from a standstill requires a great deal of fuel
and often delays other trains excessively. Conversely, a dispatcher cannot
deliberately hold trains back to the extent that the train capacity of his
division would be seriously reduced.
Figure 1.3.
Position-Light Signal With Three Aspects.
b. Current of traffic. The movement of trains on a main line in the
direction specified in the rules of the railroad is called the current of
traffic. As an example, look at figure 1.4 that shows the Elwood division,
the same one illustrated in figure 1.1 except that it is now pictured as
double track. Trains traveling west from Conroy to Maxey use the right-hand
or westward track and those in the opposing direction, the left-hand or
eastward track.
However, because of any one of numerous operational
difficulties, the dispatcher night frequently be required to run trains
against the current of traffic to pass stalled or disabled trains.
Other
reasons for running a westbound train over an eastward track might be a rock
slide, a washout of ballast, or temporary removal of rails by a section
gang.
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