This area is still incomplete. When final, it will describe the operating philosophy and operating system used on the railroad. I've included some planning information that I've developed to date on Train Speed Issues, Operating Positions on the layout, Communication and Signals, and Car Forwarding to get the ball rolling here.
Train Speed Issues
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I've recently come to some conclusions regarding train speed restrictions for walkaround control, especially in the larger scales. These may be obvious to some readers, but may be helpful to some others. I designed the Pennsylvania & Western to include several speed-limiting elements, with the primary goal to make the mainline run seem longer. A helper grade, speed restrictions within yard limits, within tunnels, and while crossing curved trestles, stops at the top of a downgrade to set brakes and at the bottom to cool brakes, etc. were all included. Locomotives in my chosen era are primarily steam rather than modern high-horsepower Diesel power. Steam moved slow in the mountains.
Now that the mainline is complete and some test trains have been run, a huge benefit of this forced speed limitation is obvious with regard to the walkaround method of control that I am using. The time it takes to plug in at one station, watch your train for a few seconds, walk 10-12 feet to the next station and plug in again is about 10 seconds at the maximum comfortable pace. Any faster than that and you really feel rushed. The dash to the next station is more like a track meet than railroading. I personally think the 10 seconds actually borders on too fast. Anyway, the train should not progress farther than the
distance between stations in the time it takes the operator to move. If we use 10 actual feet in 10 seconds as the maximum allowed train speed, an N scale train can be travelling a full 110 scale miles per hour and not "rush" the operator. In HO, a train going 60 scale mph goes 10 feet in 10 seconds. In O, a train going only 40 scale mph travels 12.2 feet in 10 seconds. Speed must be reduced to 30 mph to stay within 10 feet (9.2 feet). My designed freight speed limit of 30 mph looks about right, and I may need to reduce the speed of the passenger trains a bit as well.
Given these observations, an N scale operator can ignore train speed
restrictions when designing a walkaround layout (though TGV or Japanese
Bullet Train models may be a problem). I wonder if the short actual
distances traveled (7.3 feet in 10 seconds at 80 scale mph) in N contributes to the warp speeds seen on some N layouts (particularly NTrak). In the bad old days of the 70's the speed was necessary to keep the engines from stalling, but that is happily no longer the case. In HO, only the fastest passenger schedules may make the operator move at an uncomfortably fast pace. In O-scale, the layout designer must pay very close attention to train (and operator) speed. A prototype with fast double-stack freights might be impossible except with a fixed control panel with a view of the entire railroad. I wonder if this is a contributor (besides the space factor) to the relatively large number of slow-paced On3 home layouts as opposed to O scale clubs that model Class 1 mainlines but have fixed control areas.
Maybe this will provide food for thought for some layout designers.
Operating Positions
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The layout is designed to support 6-10 operating positions for a "full-fledged" operating session. The positions are as follows:
Dispatcher - Responsible for the flow of traffic on the railroad by coordinating the running of passenger, through and local freight trains according to the sequence or schedule.
Annville Yard Master - Responsible for ensuring a smooth flow of traffic into and out of the freight and passenger yards at Annville. Access to the yard is under the Yard Master's authority, as are all movements within the yard limits. Also responsible for running trains from East and West staging onto the layout.
Annville Shifter - Responsible for sorting Annville yard tracks, making up and breaking down of local freights, cattle transfer runs to Lebanon pens, switching the ice tracks, Railway Express, and engine service tracks.
Through Engineers (1-2) - Responsible for running through passenger and freight trains. May do a limited amount of local work / station stops during the run.
Snapper (Helper) Engineer - Responsible for adding the snapper locomotive to westbound trains at East Valley, following train to Annville, detaching snapper, turning locomotive on Annville turntable, and running locomotive light back to East Valley.
Local Freight Engineers (2-3) - Responsible for operating the Valley Turn from Annville to East/West Valley and return, the Summit Turn from Annville to Lebanon and Summit and return, the Summit Coaler from Annville to Summit coal mine and return, and the Branch Job.
By eliminating some trains (running a "Sunday schedule") we will be able to eliminate some of the local freight and through freight jobs, the snapper engineer, and the dispatcher can be combined with the Annville Yard Master. We should be able to get by with as few as 5 operators. The local freights could be 2-person crews, so up to a maximum of 12 operators could be accomodated. I'll keep you posted once actual operations begin.
Communication and Signals
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While not prototypical for 1953, we will communicate among operator positions using radios (Radio Shack 5-channel portables with headsets). In operating sessions I've attended, the use of radios greatly enhances the illusion that operators are isolated from each other. Block occupancy signals on the layout will use PRR position light signals. Most signals will operate automatically using relays for occupancy circuits. The approach signals to Annville will be controlled by the Annville Yard Master, and approach signals to Lebanon and Summit can be controlled by Local Freight jobs that are operating there.
Car Forwarding
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Initially, the layout will be operated using computer-generated switch lists and a sequential schedule for trains. Sequential scheduling will put less pressure on our crews than would a fast clock schedule, and the dispatcher can adjust the number of trains on the railroad to match the skills and experience of the operators. I've operated using car cards/waybills and using switch lists, and each method has its strengths. Car cards/waybills are more flexible and "forgiving" in the event of errors in car routing, but switch lists seem easier for new operators to use. I will start out with an inexpensive computer program that has up to 12-position waybills running "in the background" when it generates train makeups and switch lists. If the program does not generate the kind of operation I want, I am ready to change to car cards.
