posted
Hi, I am a Rail Traffic Controller from Canada and I would like to get some info about he Rail Dispatching Center in Dallas, TX or somewhere around there. Would you please let me know cuz I plan to go for a visit in the area soon before Xmas!
Thank you and Merry X-Mas to all of you!!!
RTC OUT!
PaulB Member # 4258
posted
Well, BNSF's main dispatching HQ is in Fort Worth. I don't know if they give tours there.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
posted
The History Channel recently aired a Modern Marvels documentary produced this year on US railroads. If you are a Comcast subscriber, such is presently available at their On-Demand service.
I'm sure that both the BNSF and UP Public Affairs departments had a great degree of control over the production, but included therein is footage taken inside the BNSF Train Dispatch center in Fort Worth.
Such hardly resembles a dispatch office from "back in my day"; in fact it more resembles "Mission Control".
Somehow, I don't think the facility's location is prominently noted beyond "somewhere in Fort Worth', but I could be mistaken on that point. After all, lest we note, Amtrak's National Operations Center in Wilmington, DE is visibly noted with illuminated signage to any passenger passing by on the NEC.
But who knows, representing your credentials to BNSF Public Affairs with sufficient lead time for them to verify ("vette') may prove worthwhile, but I would hardly expect a warm reception awaiting if you were to find the facility's location and show up unannounced.
rresor Member # 128
posted
Okay, BNSF's Network Operations Center is on BNSF's corporate campus in the Fossil Creek area north of Ft. Worth. They've also got a nice conference center with several dome cars "stuffed and mounted" for use as conference space. I've been in the NOC, but that was a decade ago and I have no idea what the security situation is now. If you know anybody at BNSF (even maybe a dispatcher who works at the NOC) I'd start there.
There is also a joint UP/BNSF dispatching center in the former MoPac Southern Region office building at Spring, TX, about 20 miles north of Houston. This is much more "low tech" than the NOC, but it's interesting to visit to see how the UP and BNSF dispatchers work with each other to keep the Houston terminal fluid.
Good luck getting into either.
Geoff M Member # 153
posted
[See also my other reply to your duplicate post]
Although I have railway connections, despite being a foreigner, I was able to get into the NOC in 2003 with a pre-arranged visit. Certainly write to their PR department with your credentials and reasons for wanting to visit.
As to Mr. Norman's implied question, the location is well advertised - and, IIRC, even signposted outside of the immediate area. It was certainly easy enough for me to drive and navigate to.
It is certainly an impressive site to visit. Watching and hearing dispatchers guide a snowy Chicago Metra train back home while you're in sunny Texas is a sight to see. The only drawback is the setting of routes (clearing signals for trains) can take up to a minute at most locations - not good for busy areas like Chicago.
Virtually everything is computerised there. Even the forms are stored on computers. Things have come a long way since Mr. Norman's stint on the rails!
posted