Mainlines, Sidings and Cabooses

We often simplify or generalize what we do on a model railroad compared to the sometimes very complicated ‘real world’ railroad rules and regulations.

I think what the OP’s main question boils down to is “I model the 1950’s. I have a cut of cars sitting in a yard that need to go to an industry located down the mainline a ways. Is it OK to just take an engine and run the cars down to the industry, or should I include a caboose?”…to which, I think the proper answer would be “yes, in the 1950’s, wayfreights normally used a caboose when doing their work”.

He also asks about “returning” the caboose. If the train uses a caboose, it would only drop off the freight cars, it wouldn’t leave the caboose there at the industrial siding or spur track. If there were no cars to be picked up there, the engine and caboose would go back to the yard by themselves. But normally there would be cars there, so you’d be dropping off say empty cars, picking up loaded ones, and the engine, loaded cars, and caboose would go back to the yard.

Stix, thanks for that reply. The various replies, including yours, gives a pretty good idea of how to conduct this type of operation.

Rich

I will add you don’t need to runaround your train and then switch the caboose to proper end…You can simply reverse move back to the yard.

The reason is simple.Dispatchers frown on a local crew tying up his main line to do yard work.

I was sloppy in conflating “yard tracks” and “yard limits” in my response, for which I apologize. Indeed, main tracks are not part of “yard tracks”, and are governed by standard rule 93, which pertains to use of main tracks within yard limits. But rule 93 is ambiguous, so its interpretation is up to the local Rules Examiner. In my case (brakeman, switchman and yard conductor on the Milwaukee Terminal Division of the Milwaukee Road during the 1970s), the Rules Examiner said that scheduled and extra trains were still governed by all rules pertaining to trains, including superiority, etc., within yard limits, but that movements on main tracks within yard limits were permitted without schedule or train order, subject to the speed limits and partial relief from flagging requirements by virtue of rule 93. Without getting too much into the weeds for modelling purposes, this means 1) First Class trains may maintain track speed on main tracks through yard limits 2) all other trains and yard movements must be made at a reduced speed to permit them to stop short of a train, engine, cars, or obstruction of the main track 3) all inferior trains or movements must clear the time of First Class trains, or provide flag protection against them if they can’t clear the main line by that time 4) yard engines are not required to display markers 5) trains are not relieved of the responsibility to display markers or classification signals by moving within yard limits. (Your mileage may vary.)