Mistakes along the way. (Part I)


N

NoSkills

New Member
One of my major thrusts is in operations. As such, it is my desire to see every carload with a "place to go to". Whether this is a "pass through" deal or a place on the layout makes no difference. Every carload is accounted for.

This makes my layout roughly 75% "pass through" and 25% terminate on the layout traffic..... excluding coal which is 100% on layout. (Three mines with a capacity of 15 cars each. Emptys in - Fulls out.)

With three different lines all coming into the town. (NKP from the North. B&O from the South. PRR running East/West.) Direction of travel is important, as is changing "lines".

Worse, I have nearly two hundred pieces of rolling stock and 25 engines. (I should end up with 250 and 25, with my "last" layout.) So, by the time I gather 10-12 route cards for the "train" and a lead card for the "train", I have a handfull of cards to carry about as well as a teathered throttle.

At present I have very little in the way of "office space" for the sorting of cards.... one of my "little errors". I will have to allocate "office space" for the sorting of "on layout" cards. (My "Off layout" cards are well taken care of. As is "On layout" space for "Parked Cars".)

Here's the twist.... the "sorting space" will take up some room. How much is yet undetermined. It, in turn, will eat into my isle space which then makes it harder to reach my shelves which hold my "Off layout" cars.

Problems. Problems. (Heh heh!)

Don
 
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(Wow! Tough crowd!)

OK. Another area of concern was in my "shelf" system. It works OK for flat scenes, cut off buildings, etc. But try to put a track or two BEHIND the major scene and the 20 or so inches you contrived for your layout shrinks into insignificance.

The question is: How much can you sacrifice in your isle space to accomodate the added track? (We've gotten the calculations down to halves of inches now.)

Don
 
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For physically carrying the cards and throttle around the layout, have you considered a pocketed carpenters apron? Basically a cloth tool belt.

Have you considered going digital with the car cards with a switching program? Electronic waybills that can be worked via a laptop or better yet, a tablet PC?
 
You might experiment with a computerized switchlist program. JMRI has a ops module and is freeware. Using a switch list reduces the paperwork to one sheet. I also have found it makes it much easier on new operators as they will have to do less thinking initially.

Aisleways depend on operator sizes and number. I have found a 3' aisleway is okay, but I prefer 4' as it makes it easier to pass other operators without them having to stop and move to let you by. Try not to have "work zones" directly across the aisle from each other.

Sorry I didn't notice your post sooner.

You list your location as Central NC - is that the Raleigh area?

Glenn
 
Nope, Burlington area. (Even MORE centralized than Raleigh!)

Thought about CCD.... but converting over to it would be costly. I figure I have to be started on this project next fall, I'll be 68 by then and my time is running out. So.... I save my sheckles for the building.

Is there a radio controlled throttle? THAT would work! (Or, at least, save me the trouble of dragging around the throttle tether.)

Meanwhile, I've got but a year or so to settle these little problems before I start building my last layout. Some I have figured out, some I have not.

Don
 
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Oh. I like the apron idea. Have to look into that.

Seems to me that my wife bought me one for Christmas a few years back. Now what did I do with it?

Don
 
Actually, the car routing cards are done (and be damned if I do em again!).

Each car has a main card, held in a plastic holder and has a hanging tab on the upper side. When there is no load in them, this "holder" has no instructions and the primary function is to get the empty to it's "home" road.

A train coming in will have one or two deliveries to be made on layout. This is accomplished through a "call" system which places an additional card in the holder with the main card. This card will read "Deliver to Molton Metals" (Or some such.) The rest of the train will consist of "pass through" traffic ("Route North/South/etc.") and cars routed to their home "roads".

Cars parked on the layout has their card in front on the layout hanging from hooks placed on the frontwork. Coal is handled in blocks of 5 as are the reefer cars. All others are handled individually.

I have two sets of cars for the coal and ice plant. (Plus a few, to rotate.) That way there can be a full set of cars at the mines and one coming in. (At a capacity of 40-45 for the mines.....)

Off layout cars are "shelved" and their cards are hung with them.

It actually works quite well.

Don
 
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