RAILROAD OPERATIONS AND CONTROL

Railroad operations and control Because a railroad's factoryits plant and train operationsmay be spread out over thousands of miles and hundreds of communities, and because its trains use fixed tracks, unlike automobiles or airplanes, it has operating and service problems in some respects more complex than those of a major manufacturing installation. It is not surprising, therefore, that railroads have been among the pioneers in the use of improved methods of communication and control, from the telegraph to the electronic computer and automation techniques. Communications Railroads were among the first to adopt the electric telegraph and the telephone, both for dispatching trains and for handling other business messages. Today, the railroads are among the larger operators of electronic communications systems.