Who Pulled the Strings on the Classification of Tidewater Coal?

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Abeie:
Taking Don Corbin's response a step further, it kinda depended on where the  
car
was as to the string-puller.
 
Norfolk Terminal -- coal arriving Norfolk did not go directly to the barney  
yard for
dumping.  About one of every three trains of Tidewater coal went  to Sewalls 
Pt.
Trains arriving Lamberts Point usually set off in three tracks.  From  there, 
the
coal was dispersed to the Soda Yard, the Government Yard, etc. until  the
Piermaster put out a coal order (like Don said).  The coal order  specified 
the 
classes of coal needed to load a ship.  The General Yardmaster (in the  tower
near the beanery) using the coal order then delegated the duty of rounding  up
the classes of coal to the yardmasters at the Soda Yard, Sewalls Point,  
where-
ever,  Bear in mind that the barney yard (actually two yards of 16  tracks 
each
for Pier 6) might not hold enough coal for a ship load, so frequently  the 
yard jobs
had to replenish the tracks.  He who wrote the coal order pulled the  strings.
 
Atlantic Region- (points east of Bluefield up to M.P. N-8) -- the Asst.  
Manager
Transportation - Atlantic Region determined what classes would be placed  in
the "pipeline".  He worked in an office up the corridor from Spike's  desk. 
Over
time, it was filled by Bill Watson and later by Bill Jackson.  With  the 
Tidewater Coal
Report in hand and juggling a dozen or so variables (crews available, space  
at
Norfolk,  classes to be added as fill), he'd come up with a plan,  called a 
"coal run".
After fine - tuning the plan, it would be distributed to the Chief  
Dispatcher - Radford
Division, Chief Dispatcher - Norfolk Division and others.  With plan  in 
hand,  the
divisions and Roanoke Terminal would begin to assemble the classes called  for
in the "coal run" - usually to be dispatched the following day.  With  those 
instructions disbursed, the Asst. Manager would then begin to make a plan  for
the 2nd day following.
 
The "head string-puller" for points west of Norfolk Terminal (M.P. N-8) was  
ably
assisted by the Night Chief Dispatcher at Crewe, the operator at "GO"  office 
in
Roanoke, and the (usually) VGN operator at South Norfolk tower.  I  don't know
who represented the Radford Division, but every morning between 2:00 AM  and
4:00 AM they prepared the overwhelming Tidewater Coal Report -- an  inventory 
of
all classes of coal on the Atlantic Region.   The report was  about half the 
size of
a train dispatcher's sheet and required 1.5 to 2.0 hours to complete.   It 
became a
known -- if you didn't want the wax blown out of your ears, you didn't  
interrupt these
people between 2:00 AM and 4:00 AM.   
 
It doesn't take a genius to understand that you just didn't push the "stop"  
button
and the pipeline would shut down.  Bill Watson once told me he  received an 
inquiry
from an officer on Norfolk Terminal relative to shutting down the flow of  
Tidewater coal
in order to do maintenance work.  "yes," Bill noted, "but give me a  couple 
of days
notice before you attempt to do it."   Sure enough, several days  later, he 
received
a call to shut off all Tidewater coal en route to Lamberts Point like right  
now.  A
gentlemanly reminder that he was to have sufficient notice just didn't get  
it.  So
Bill went to the General Manager of Transportation,  W.T.Ross.   "Boss" Ross 
called
his buddy on Norfolk Terminal.  "Harold, I understand you told Bill  Watson 
to shut off
the Tidewater coal."   "Yeah, that's right, Bill, maintenance  work."  "OK, 
Harold,
effective immediately, you're in charge of  the Tidewater coal  movement."  
The
maintenance work ceased and coal trains rolled.
                                                                              
          Harry Bundy
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