Dean was the C&Os name for its yard in Midland, Michigan which served the expansive facilities of the Dow Chemical Company. When the CTC was installed on the Ludington Subdivision, three absolute block sections were set up to facilitate the handling of Dows thriving chemical business. These sections were known as Dean Blocks 1, 2, & 3. Block 1 was between signals 9 &11, Block 2 between signals 11 & 15, and Block 3 between signals 15 & 17 (downtown Midland). The dispatchers gave the conductors authority and a time limit to work in any number of blocks, and they could work in both directions, normally unimpeded. If more than one engine or train was to be authorized in an absolute block, they were required to protect against one another, and to move at restricted speed. There was a special section on our train sheet to record this authority. The model board display could be deceiving, since the simplified dispatcher-controlled schematic did not show the true picture of how things looked out in the field. This is why having operators experience at locations, and dispatcher review trips were invaluable to efficient dispatching. Photo #2 is a profile of the Dean-Midland area, and Photo #3 shows the tracks of the yard complex, mostly contained in Dean Block 2. Photo #4 is just a random shot of an engine working in yard.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 14:41:06 +0000
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