Clinchfield RR Dispatching

[@telsport]

My granddaddy, Henry Dunton Cheek, was chief dispatcher of the Clinchfield until his retirement in 1955...at the Erwin , Tn offices. I am so grateful for this video.

[@gusshadleythelunaticfromar7125]

Loved them old control machines, the sound of the code when they set up the wayside radio the signals. Did not have to wait on the signals to time off take them down, set them up. This is something that is gone forever.forever and a day, they will never again be this way.

[@derail14]

conrail had a lot of those old wabco machines the clicking is the relays inside the machine, the bells sound when a train gets on the approach circuit.

[@b3j8]

Sure wish we'd had the video equipment of today 45 yrs back! Saw alot of towers and CTC machines in action! Met some great people that ran them too!

[@stevematda976]

At 3:09...that's my uncle who was pusher engineer called for the Moss Turn out of Dante...J.P. Hulsey.

[@Shipfixer]

My uncle Lawrence Cash worked in the shops for Clinchfield RR in Erwin for about 25 years. We lived at 701 Ohio Avenue. Everyone's gone now including Clinchfield RR when it became CSX. When I was growing up, I always wondered why everyone who worked for the railroad seemed grumpy or stand-offish every time I met one. Including my uncle. They always seemed to carry themselves as members of some kind of elite group. My uncle was one mean sonofabitch when it came to me. Thanks for this glimpse back in time.

[@supertouring]

Love the video, miss working with those types machines

[@davidarnett6232]

Great video. Makes me miss East Tennessee.

[@Hero1395]

What are the pulse clicks and bell ringing in the background?

[@finaldraft151]

Awwwwww the good old days. No computer and mouse. Back when things were real and no hint of digital garbage. Although it sounds as if the dispatcher had a cold with all the sniffling going on. That or a bit of a coke habit to get through the shift lol.

[@PatCraft001]

finaldraft151 just sinuses. Thanks for watching.

[@finaldraft151]

Thanks for posting - Very interesting to see how things used to be done. We did more with less back then and the real human interaction was something that has eroded. And please take no offense to sniffle joke - Although there was lot of that too. Then we had the Conrail incident right around same time and finally a wave of change came over the industry. Good video - Thanks again. Cheers!

[@telsport]

@@PatCraft001 .My friends think I am obsessive/compulsive about my punctuality. It's in my DNA inherited from my Clinchfield Chief Dispatcher grandaddy. Our family lived at 402 Elm (at Pine) in Erwin...as mentioned ealier H.D. (Henry dunton Cheek..ret 1955

[@Hero1395]

What are the pulse clicks and bell ringing in the background?

[@justincory263]

Jeff Nelson pulse clicks are the electrical relays in the machine. The bell is an annunciator, it signals when a train reaches a certain point. Not sure what they were for the Clinchfield, usually near sidings, yards, or junctions.