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Re: (erielack) Dispatcher Line

You are correct, JY was for Jersey City.  The NYS&W also used JY.  I used a lineside phone once at North Hawthorn (in the 60's) and that was how the dispatcher answered.
   
  The West End Job and the Main Line Job used JY.  The Boonton line side and the M&E after about 1967-68 just had an open line and you just called in your station.  IE Murray Hill, Dover, Denville Etc.  Prior to that all dispatcher jobs had the ringers to call up an open office to give train orders etc.  A different code number selection was used for each office,station, tower. 
   
  Rich Pennisi  

dawest1701_@_aol.com wrote:
  I remember sitting in Fair Lawn station track office listening to the block line. The West End dispatcher's line was piped into the office. If we wanted to talk to the dispatcher we'd pick up the phone, push the button, and say, "JY Fair Lawn".

I have always assumed that "JY" was the Morse code symbol for the West End dispatcher from the Erie days. I also assumed that the dispatchers desk was at the Erie station at Jersey City (hence the "JY"). Are any of my assumptions valid?

As an aside when I went over to the CNJ side to do some high railing I asked about contacting the dispatcher on the block line. I was told, "Just pick up the phone and say, 'Hello, Dispatcher'". For some reason that always struck me as funny.

DAW



>On the EL east end at least, SMT will have to tell us about the west end, I 
>always OS'ed to Hoboken or Scranton with OS then Station Name, for examble OS 
>Murray Hill and waited for the dispatcher to replay OS Murry Hilland then give 
>your OS. 
> DS was the telegraph short hand for dispatcher. When I went west railroading 
>basicly on the old CBQ and C&S the procedure was to always say DS, Station name 
>OS, he then replied OS station name and you did your OS. The last telegraph line 
>was taken out of service between Alliance, NE and Guernsey, WY in September 
>1978. It was the message line into the Alliance Relay Operator's Office. The old 
>Q men all missed the telegraph. They claimed that they could be selling tickets, 
>doing station or express work and listen to the morse in the backround and know 
>what was going on all the time. With the dispachers line went to telephone 
>speakers they claimed that unless they made an effort to listen to the words 
>they could not keep track of what was going on all the time.
> BTW when I went down on the C&S the telegraph symbols where still used. When 
>working the operators job at Trinidad, Colorado you always called yourself DA., 
>DS, DA, ...DS .OS DA. The joint ATSF/C&S operator at Pueblo was always called 
>R,..DS OS R. These where the two crew change points. At Texline, TX the other 
>crew change point the telegraph symbol of Z was not used to OS. Why I have no 
>idea. On line stations all used their full names also. 
> When sending messages on the C&S the station telegraph symbols where used 
>instead of the station name. 
> For example 
> To C&E No 261 at Z 
> P/U off Tk 2 at MS BN 123456.
> Agt MS
> This was all done by phone and fax.
> 
> Bob Stafford
>
>bob gillis wrote:
> Philip Martin wrote:
>
>>That's the way Morse code is. We had an operator at MG tower in Trenton,
>>Kitty Lewis, (Kitty Rich before she married,) supposedly the first female
>>operator, who came on the Pennsy during WWI. When she'd get on the
>>dispatcher's wire, she'd say "DS MG," DS being the Morse abbreviation for
>>dispatcher, I think.
>>

>>>Was this by Morse or telephone? She was telling the dispatcher that MG 
>>>wanted to talk with him or acknowledging his call. And she might have 
>>>said to him Train 5864 OS 10:15 AM.
>>>
>>>bob gillis
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