The principal use of an Altamont Press Timetable is to give engineers a tool to plot out long-distance trips that are more apt to avoid traffic from other train lines. Engineers can make radio contact with the appropriate dispatchers to ensure safe and efficient travel through an area. Each area typically contains several rail options in every direction -- some that will be available, some on which it will be tricky to land a slot.
An Altamont Press Timetable will inform engineers of frequencies and geographical data for yard, switching, rail and mechanical issues in their region. Along with color maps of the rails in every area, it also includes radio frequency details for contact with dispatchers, repeaters or PBX systems. The maps will also inform engineers of special signaling requirements in each area and any special accommodations that must be made.
Altamont Press Timetables range in price from $5 for manuals that have been in circulation for several years to $30 and up, as of February 2011, for complicated regions with constantly needed revisions. A new Altamont Press Timetable for Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska retailed for as much as $30 in February 2011 on the company's website.
You can purchase Altamont Press Timetables, spiral-bound, from Altamont Press and its publisher, McMillan Publications. Links for both websites are available in the Resources section.
