OK, fair enough. The problem, or situation, as I see it, is that each railroad, and likely each division, etc, set up what was needed for their unique operational requirements.
Going to be a lot of variations on the same themes.
So make up what works for your layout, or the club layout, surely some prototype had the same needs.
Sheldon
I think the small switch list forms on heavy cardstock like the Reading and RI examples were more for the switch foreman to record what he switched out. He filled it out and would turn it in to the agent or yardmaster. Then the agent or yardmaster or clerk could update their track lists and line up the waybills. Time done would be used for spotting/pulling industries to compute demurrage or per diem for interchange cars.
Could it be used to give instructions to the foreman? Of course it could. A foreman might fill one out from a larger switch list form for his convenience.
A switch job or local/way freight might start the day with their train listed. The FROM column would be âon train.â The TO column might be station or industry. Abbreviations would be used because thereâs not much room to write. Cars picked up would be listed as work progressed. Or maybe not, they might just be listed on the more detailed wheel report/train list. For a local, a conductor might write out a new card for each station as they went.
A lot of forms are similar and could and would be used in a pinch if the proper form wasnât at hand. Donât get hung up by forms. Do what works best for you and your crew. As long as the info is given so everyone understands what needs to be done, thatâs all you really need.
Jeff
thanks
this seems to emphasis that approaches used in model RRing are of course simplified from what a prototype RR does
trying to connect the dots in this thread, it sounds like a âwork orderâ is a more detrailed description of what needs to be be done and that a âswitch listâ is filled out by the conductor after the work is completed and turned in after returning to the yard.
The early PRR locomotives were DC only. They used a particular type of third rail and contact shoe. New Haven locomotives were primarily AC at high voltage, which was not installed to Manhattan until years later (at which point PRR AC locomotives could run through to New Haven, but didnât until Penn Central saw GG1s and Metroliners run through⌠but I digress).
In the early days, the New Haven did run electrics via Woodlawn and the New York Central to get into Grand Central, and that did use third rail at voltage that could have been compatible⌠but the third-rail system on NYC used a different method of contact incompatible with PRRâs.
This did get fixed, sort of, with a couple of the âlightweight trains of the futureâ that had third-rail shoes that supposedly worked with either overrunning or underrunning contact. As I recall, every single one had a debilitating fire and the attempt was abandoned. The Sikorsky/UA TurboTrain started service going into GCT and later went into Penn, in both cases using third rail, and that service certainly had no need to stop at New Haven, but I donât know if the shoes were changed when the route south and west of New Rochelle was.
Thinking about your avatar and recalling my 13 yr old days âŚthe conductor on a local branch line would signal with his switch list in hand. We had a wye into the yard and making up a train would require two people passing hand signals to the hogger.
Aw da memories. Hope all is well there.
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