I’m interested in creating a timetable for my layout. I don’t think I would actually operate by it every single operating session, but it might be fun to have plus may help the dispatcher plan out the session and such.
How would I go about doing this? My layout has quite a few operators, all of whom run things a little differently; the main train I’m worried about is the local; a new operator can take 45 minutes to run it; while I can do it in about 15.
If I plan for worst case scenerio; the operator might have to sit there waiting till till the timetable says they can proceed. They all switch it differently too; some foul both the main and the siding in the switching area the whole time; while others get in and get clear as fast as possible.
That might not apply for the local though, but even the through trains and the yard switcher can be operated differently by different people. Do I pad the schedule for worst case scenerio; or just hope I don’t a really slow operator?
Also, how do I go about setting the schedules up? I don’t have a fast clock; but I can get a regular one, and do I just run the trains and time it for how long it takes different trains to get from place to place? (i.e. I could use my already established CPs.)
How do I arrange the schedule too? I was thinking that Microsoft Excel would work, but how do I arrange the time and location in it?
All right, that’s the end of my questions for now; I really have no idea how to plan this stuff…should’ve just stuck to track warrents or whatever I used previously… the dispatcher just made up the schedule as they went along…
If it helps anypone understand the railroad and how to plan a timetable out; here’s a schematic and train list.
Train List:
Through Freight, Staging yard (alternates directions between sessions) to Concord Yard, then to other staging yard.
When I created a G scale schedule I started by scheduling trains through a certain district by a certain time. These times were often give or take the average time. I would start with passenger trains, and schedule them through first. These would run on a strict schedule and hold somewhat of a priority. Then I would add in the next freight, creating a meeting point for a train to pass it. It can be fun sending out a slow freight ahead of the passenger, hoping it makes it to the siding by X hours, so that the passenger can pass it on the siding.
I created an excel worksheet for each train.
I’d make sure the meeting times matched, and that there were to be no cornfield meets…
Anyways, start off with excel. If a trains late, it make it more interesting, as those other trains will have to do something! I’d recomend having a ddispatcher at your ops sessions as well.
So basicly I just schedule the trains around the crack train on the railroad? That would probably be the Montrealer once I get around to buying a new loco for it… then 401/2, the intermodel freight.
Oh, and Alex; my sessions are designed for having a dispatcher; but there’s never enough people…last two sessions it was just me and you…[:-^]
Herewith some “advice” and experience from a couple of decades worth of planning operating sessions on a club layout with multiple railroads and era themes (think lots of timetables!). An important caveat: my experience and planning concerns western railroads and their practices. You may find regional differences.
First, your use of track warrants should already give you some idea of how long it takes for a crew to get one of your typical trains over the road. Timetables often tried to capture that “common” and hopefully “best” practice. In the days of Timetable and Train Order operation, the timetable was written to hopefully minimize the additional train orders a dispatcher might write. Plenty of exceptions, to be sure, but the point was to capture normal operations. Use the experience gained with track warrants to construct typical time lines.
Second, the railroads I am most familiar with typically did not put local freights on the timetable. Too many variations in the work for a local freight from day to day. Instead, they ran “Extra”, needing train orders for all they did. Local freights become accustomed to calling the dispatcher and hoping for a big enough time window to get something useful done. The same applies to the MOW crews out on the line. It’s a lot of “hurry” (well, not so fast…) up and wait. The local freight likely is called for duty at the same time every day, but what happens after that is dependent upon the work to be done and that day’s other traffic.
Third, the one train most regularly on a timetable is the passenger. It would have both a public timetable and a matching entry in the employee’s timetable.
The intermodal likely has a fairly fixed schedule and priority, as well. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, while timetables still were in use on the Southern Pacific, the trailer trains often were put on First Class schedules, just as the passenger trains. That gave them lots of priority and visibility to all.
I’ve just written an “operating sequence” if you will on my web pages for about 20 trains or so - not as many as I could have written for and I will catch up when I have the time - which is like a Time table with the train orders for particular tasks. Your layout probably lends itself better to a timetable operation than mine but you should get the idea and maybe you can adapt it.
Keep in mind that the only reason some timetables exist is to let you know how late you are running. While that sounds cynical, rejoice in the “change of plans” as a result of your inexperienced operators etc as being a challenge to your train management skills. It is your railroad after all!
To address the problem of flexibly, you don’t necessarily need a time table. My idea would more suet modern railroads.
What you could do is a RTC (Rail Track Control) type of control. This would mean that when a train wants to enter a new block, he needs to ask for a new warrant. An example would be, if your New Poland turn wanted to return to Concord. They would have to fill out a warrant to Stude. Once at Stude, they would have to fill out a new warrant to continue. Or you may make them wait for a TOFC as they are occupying that block. You may also have trains follow another train too. Like a Through Freight following a Passenger train. But in the warrant you would have to issue them not to pass a certain mile marker. You can issue Warrants via Walkie Talkie or if there’s some other system out there.
For “take you’re main and cutting it in Blocks”, the main part is from new Poland-Dooley. Then from Concord-you’re staging yard. Basically where ever there is a single track.
Here‘s what a basic RTC sheet would have.
One, the consist of the train. An Example WC 6505 leading and the EMDX 9090 trailing. (In this they would also state if the engines had a problems. You can model this by have chance cards)
Two, the number of loads and empties would be listed (Example 2 loads, and 3 empties).
Three, the length of the train (Example 6300 feet on the ton).
The last thing that would be listed is if they have any work. (We have two ash cars to drop off at Weston or just plain and simple, no work)
EDIT: Forgot to mention. Usually Warrants have a number on them. Like Warrant #1256.
A few problems you would run into would be the passenger trains. You c
For more than you really want to know about OPERATING by timetable and train order, get a copy of Peter Josserand’s Rights of Trains. The prose is as thick as traction motor gear lubricant, but it covers all the bases, the mound, the dugouts and the bull pen.
If the object is to BUILD a timetable, a useful tool is what our Japanese cousins call a Daiya - a representation of track occupancy made out in the form of a graph. Plot the track along the vertical axis, with horizontal lines separated by appropriate distance representing the stations. The horizontal axis is the time axis. A moving train is plotted as a sloped line from its departure time at one station to its arrival time at the next station. If the train is scheduled to stop, the line becomes horizontal until its departure time. If the train is scheduled to run through, the slope continues to the next station where that train DOES stop. With the station lines separated by distance, the slope angle of the line gives the train’s average scheduled speed.
If the railroad is single track, it is easy to see that two trains can run in the same direction between stations at the same time, but no train can run in the opposite direction until the track is clear. Also, if the train is a peddler freight it will need more time at each station stop than a local passenger, which only has to pause long enough to load/unload baggage and express or swap mail bags. There will be times/places where a fast train will HAVE to stop and stay until a superior train coming the other way clears the line. (An inferior train, by either class or direction, would have been held at the next passing siding to clear THIS train.) When trains start to run late, the DS has to issue train orders to change the timetable authority of the various trains so the railroad won’t congeal into gridlock.
The daiya makes it easy to spot a gap in the schedule where
The classic book from Bruce chubb “How to Operate your model Railroad” covers this, too.
I start with a graphic schedule. Then I test it by running my railroad following this schedule and adjust it. I like graphics. [:)]
This way you get some experience for the running time.
Then I make the timetable after the graph. You can see it at my operation site. BTW, you can download the excel file.
Wolfgang
I’ve made a few timetables for the FREMO meetings, here’s the last: Unna 2008. I started also with a graphic schedule. At first I made the 1. class trains, passengers.
I decided to use my old track warrent system for actually operating, but I made up a timetable that I’ll put by the dispatcher’s desk to aid in planning out how to route the trains over the railroad and know when to call the crews to run trains. Here’s the tw oI made up; one for each session. (Because all three through trains alternate directions each session, I have two different sessions I can run.)
401/2 is the intermodel freight, 403/4 is the general freight; which gets classified in Concord Yard, and 421/2 is the Montrealer, an Amtrak passenger train. The yard job and local are not shown.
Technically if you are using track warrants then the timetable doesn’t really mean anything so it can have as many trains as you want and the times can be more reflective of the sequence of trains. The authority to occupy the main track is through the track warrants.
