Locating the Dispatcher

 Generally I like locating the Dispatcher in a separate room or some isolated position.  On AIR1 my dispatcher was located downstairs (the layout was upstairs) in the crew lounge. I liked this but it was a source of distraction, from time to time, to the dispatcher. Off-duty crew members often talked to the dispatcher. 

On AIR2 I originally planned to put the dispatcher in an isolated position, under the stairs. No off duty crew, no random passers by. Then I operated at Jerry Dziedzic’s layout. His operator, not dispatcher, was located inside a helix in an “Office”, with a window/pass through to distribute orders. 

My Helix is located in a position near both ends of the layout, and the coal marshaling yard as well, and it has a side facing the crew lounge for crew calling. I do not, as a general rule, want to have an “operator”. I do not like the, what I consider, unnecessary delays caused by the dictation between dispatcher and operator. I much prefer that the dispatcher write out the orders and distributes them directly. 

On Jerry’s layout, and other layouts (John Breau’s for example), when a train gets a train order signal, they must walk over to the operators desk and pick up their orders. On my AIR1 layout crews had to walk over to the operator’s desk and drop off OS reports as well.

If my dispatcher was located inside the Helix he will have plenty of room, my helix is 6’x 9’,  and he will be centrally located. 

Of course there are never perfect solutions. In order to get inside the Helix the dispatcher will be required to perform some gymnastics. I will need to build some type of system to let the person dispatching get down below the lowest level of track, and slide into the dispatching office. Some sort of grab bar system and,  I thought,  an auto-mechanics creeper. 

I have had BOTH my knees replaced, so if I can build a ingress/egress system that I can negotiate, then most everyone else can too.

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