Does anyone use software to generate manifests for operating your railroad? And I don’t mean the free JMRI software. It has become frustrating to work with when it comes to generating train manifests.
I guess I have to confess some ignorance here, Bear: What are manifests??? Are you talking about train orders for each car?
Tom
A manifest is a list of the cars in a train. Sometimes called a wheel report.
A switch list are the instructions on where to put cars in a train, track or cut. These are also called work orders.
A train order is an instruction to the train on how the train is authorized to proceed on the main track. They have nothing to do with cars.
Most operations software generates switch lists or work orders, virtually none of them truly generate manifests, train lists or track lists, virtually none of them generate train orders.
There are only a couple layouts in my area that use lists, most are handwritten with CC&WB under them, one or two layouts use JMRI, the vast majority use straight CC&WB.
Tom,Sounds like he’s talking about waybills since we don’t use train consists or wheel reports.
It would be easier and more prototypical to use a switch list instead of holding a stack of waybills.
If anyone is familier with the JMRI software, you describe your layout locations, then you list your car roster, then you list your locomotive roster (I am being brief here) then you describe your route(s), and then you generate a train based on the car roster, and the route the train will take.
Once the train is generated (built) you can preview/print a “manifest” and switch lists for each location. The manifest identifies the locomotive, the caboose (my layout is inthe 1950’s), and the cars that the train is composed of. Then the manifest will identify each location on that route and describe the work that is scheduled for each location, e.g. pick up boxcar, set out tank car, etc. etc. etc. The program also allows you to print out switch lists for each location. In effect, it appears that the JMRI manifest is a combination manifest, and switch list for each location.
However, I have a smaller layout, only about 50 SF, with 7 locations for picking up and setting out cars, and a modest yard, that will accommodate a maximum of two operators, and two trains and a switcher at the same time. The way I have set up the routes in JMRI is that each train orginates and terminates at the yard. The manifest is a single sheet of paper, and I see no point in printing a switch list for each location on a train’s route, using a full sheet of paper with 4 lines printed on it times 4 or 5.
The problem I am having is that there are cars that have been set out at the various industries per the software, but when a new train is built, it does not serve some of those industries. There is a loaded box car at a freight house which was set out as an empty about 4 cycles ago, and the loaded boxcar is still sitting there waiting to be picked up per the software. When a car is moved to a new location, then the software will note that the boxcar #2 is now at location B and not in the yard. So when a new train is built, then it notes tha
Continuation:
In effect I am looking for software which will generate a JMRI-type manifest but does not have all the other bells and whistles that JMRI provides and which I do not use, and have no interest in using. I am a Luddite/minimalist at heart.
Is this clear or am I hopelessly bogging down?
Thanks, fellas. Waybills is what I was thinking of and the term I thought Bear was referring to. Still have a lot to learn about prototypical operation. [:$]
Tom
Tom, I have worked with way bills and switch lists on a couple of rather more complicated/larger layouts where there are several operators and several trains operating all at once. I do not believe that my layout warrants that kind of effort.
Tom,In my 9 1/2 years of braking the only waybills I seen was on the conductor’s desk… We used a switchlist to switch industries and the most important thing to me was 15248,15778 was to be spotted industry A and we need to pull(pick up) 40145.
I hate JMRI and Java as a programming language. I also would use a program such as you describe. It seems like the ones I have found have too much overhead for my tastes. I have seen ones for spreadsheets looked at them and circulear (?) filed them. So I do it by hand.
CGW, I am trying to avoid doing it by hand. It is way to tedious sitting there and figuring out where each car is and then generating the list for the operating session. The beauty of the software is that it would presuably “remember” where each car and locomotive is on the layout and build a train accordingly.
I am currently writing my won program that will not only do that, but will also enforce the PTC rules, include weather, random incidents, etc. Everything that a 1:1 railroad does and can run into. The program is based upon all of the information that I have gathered from various sources. It will use parts of JMRI to receive and transmit information about occupancy, signal indictions and turnout states to and from my program. I use multiple programming languages to accomplish this.
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caldreamer, if it is reasonably intuitive and reliable, and provides some overrides, then you will make a fortune.
How far along are you? May I ask what language you are coding it with? And if you need alpha or beta testors I am willing to do that for you.
Bear:
Ir will be reasonable intuitive, BUT, it for my use only. I am not looking to sell it. I have set it up to follow the BNSF which is the railroad tha I model. The information included comes from the GCOR, the BNSF System Special Instructions and the Northern Califiornia Division Special Instructions, plus all of the other stuff that I am including.
caldreamer…boo-hoo
On a smaller layout, CC&WB or CC&WB combined with handwritten lists might be quicker and easier than a computer generated system. CC&WB combined with handwritten lists is also about as close to prototypical as you can get.
If you have an existing CTC or TWC and follow it, it will be indistinguishable from having a PTC system. The only way you know you have a PTC system in place is if you screw up (or it malfunctions). Other than that PTC is completely transparent to the operation. Most of the “PTC rules” are just the existing CTC or TWC rules restated. They just say you have to do what you are already doing and not following those rules will activate the PTC system. PTC is not a separate main track authority system, its an overlay on top of the existing system. Nobody operates on “PTC”. PTC is automatic train stop on steriods. Its all about “stop” and really nothing about “go”.
Dave, if I am going to go that route, then I would just as soon use the simple spreadsheet I ginned up a long time ago and go through the layout and check the location where each car is spotted, and then go fill in the spreadsheet, print it, and then operate. The prototypicality of the method does not concern me in a big way. I mean, I just like to run the trains in some reasonably realistic way, and not have to spend who knows how much time “filling out forms”.
+1