Conrail Windsor St Yard (York PA) Engineering Report

[Chris333]

I can deal with working on the layout in place. I just think it would be strange to always be looking down to the layout, but yeah I never really do any operations. Before when I had a layout only a few inches lower I found myself always wanting to squat down.

[wm3798]

^This.  Having operated this yard, I can tell you that you need to be able to reach and see the cars (and car numbers) on the far tracks.  This is easier with the lower height.  Ops worked, so I'm satisfied where it is.  Also, as Ed pointed out, he can sit and railfan.

DFF

If you have a good hump operator (okay, there's no hump, but a yard clerk working with the switcher crew) you don't need to see the cars in the back.  You take note of them as they get switched in from the receiving track, and sort them.  Then you just have to grab the manifest for the class track, which you can identify by quickly scanning the list and comparing it to the paint schemes and car types.

I used car cards and a sorting box above the yard.  It was extremely useful in this regard.  I suppose you could use the same process with a switch list/manifest sheet.


If you're looking at cars in the class tracks for reporting marks, you're doing it wrong.

Lee

[OldEastRR]

Then you just have to grab the manifest for the class track, which you can identify by quickly scanning the list and comparing it to the paint schemes and car types. If you're looking at cars in the class tracks for reporting marks, you're doing it wrong.

Lee

Quite true. On most layouts there's no reason to squint for reporting marks on the cars in the yard. Usually you can just tell a BN box from an Erie flat from a GN box from a Pennsy gon from a ATSF box (with the distinctive billboard sides). I never could figure why guys said they'd never try car cards because they had bad eyesight for those little numbers. Why do it the hard way?
However, this method didn't work when running on certain layouts, like jdcolumbo's old NKP line, which was heavy on NKP equipment. The only way you could sort out those strings of  identical  brown NKP boxcars WAS to read the tiny numbers.

[conrail98]

Quite true. On most layouts there's no reason to squint for reporting marks on the cars in the yard. Usually you can just tell a BN box from an Erie flat from a GN box from a Pennsy gon from a ATSF box (with the distinctive billboard sides). I never could figure why guys said they'd never try car cards because they had bad eyesight for those little numbers. Why do it the hard way?

Yep, and if you color code the car cards, it makes it even easier, like gray for hoppers, tan for covered hoppers, red for boxes, etc. You see the color of the card, find like car, look for roadname and then, usually the way I do it, last 2 or 4 numbers of the car itself. Lee's right though, you shouldn't be looking for car numbers in a yard, you do all that as you're pulling the train or block just dropped and each car with card gets put into the proper box and track for it's going out train,

Phil

[seusscaboose]

Lee Phil and others are underestimating Yard Op's IMO

Outside variables like A/D trains, blocking cars, unknown situations, interruptions, similar looking cars, social commentary, etc all play a role in the Yard

It isn't as simple as which car goes where.

It is "when" and "how" a car is moved that slows down any Op's (inuding Yard Op's)

I've seen it at least 20 times in my own basement

And I've done it more than 5 times in Op's at various foreign roads

To say "just look at the car type" and go for it is assuming a lot

Yes yard Op's should be simple

But it takes experience with the layout and the A/D trains to make it so

All that being said

Sounds like Phil and Lee just volunteered for the next Yard Trick

July 16th will be here before you know it better get prepared.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

If you have a good hump operator (okay, there's no hump, but a yard clerk working with the switcher crew) you don't need to see the cars in the back.  You take note of them as they get switched in from the receiving track, and sort them.  Then you just have to grab the manifest for the class track, which you can identify by quickly scanning the list and comparing it to the paint schemes and car types.

You know, that's one reason I kinda wish I had built it higher, so that if you wanted to see the cars on that back track, you actually had to go pull them out and read them. That's how real railroaders do it!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

So, last night, I was getting ready to burn my house down... 



Those are feeders being dropped at every non-insulated track joint.

I already soldered the joiners, so now I need to finish sinking these guys, then tin them, then solder em up.

An order of terminal blocks is on its way from Amazon's warehouse now, and should be here tomorrow. I got one for each block (including the interlocking), so I can run feeders directly to each block's terminal block, and then run a bus between them and a central terminal block, which will then connect to the command station (via a PSX-4, eventually).

[wm3798]

I'll take your yard trick, and show you how it's done.  While Ed's yard never was part of a full on crewed ops session when it was built as part of my layout, I did run through the schedule numerous time, and blocked thousands of cars while I ran it myself.

It's a simple matter of establishing a routine, following the basic steps, and knowing where you are in that routine when there's an interruption or a problem.

Step one:  Arriving train comes in to A/D yard.  Paperwork should be intact, and ideally inbound cars are blocked (This is up to the layout owner when staging an ops session...  It's not the end of the world if it doesn't happen, but if an unblocked train slows down an ops session, it's NOT the yard operator's problem...)

Step two:  Identify blocks that are simply moving through the yard, and either move them to a departure track (if step one is done properly) or pull the cars to be blocked for through movement and get them blocked. (The major time sink in the yard).

Step three:  Identify the blocks that need to be further sorted into locals and interchanges to other trains, and deal with them.  All the while, sorting the associated car cards or switch lists accordingly, and pinning them to the class tracks they're associated with.

Step Four:  pull any blocks that are pre sorted in the yard that are destined to get added to the through train, and add them on.

Step Five: (concurrent if you have an engine hostler) swap out any power, cabooses and crew, and get the train ready to move out.

Step Six:  Move the train out.  When it gets to staging, if you have a fiddle yard and an operator available, the cards get turned, then the cars get re-blocked to be ready to return to the yard later in the session as another train symbol.

If you're going to have engaging and good operating sessions, you're going to have to establish these routines, and avoid sticking the next guy with the details.  The layout will be way too small for a crew to be entertained while the yard operator dicks around with BS while everyone else stands around waiting. 

Yes, an ops session is a social gathering, but a larger layout can survive minor slip ups better than a small one can.  Plus, a smaller layout should generally be a simpler operation, so there shouldn't be as many... if any... unexpected problems.  No one wants to stand around waiting while, say, someone has to crawl under the layout to clear a derailment in an inaccessible staging yard...



Ask me how I know...

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Lol. Lee, you just described the ops scenario pretty perfectly.

It'll be a little different for me, but not much.

[seusscaboose]

It's a simple matter of establishing a routine, following the basic steps, and knowing where you are in that routine when there's an interruption or a problem.

I believe that's what I said

I.E.  Op's is more than looking at car types and matching to a card in a list

[Santa Fe Guy]

All my Locos and cars have their pictures and road number on their individual car card for easy identification. Most of my  friends are using this form of ID for their own RR's Great way to spot a car anywhere on the RR except if the layout has a reversing loop and the car has a different image on each side.
Rod. [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[MichaelWinicki]

We use reporting marks... Obviously they do not come into play unless you have a great many of similar cars... And modeling an August 1970 version of the PC I have a great many 40' PRR brown box cars. 

So while reporting marks aren't used a lot they are used and the I designed the yard so that everything was within 18" from the edge of the layout.  The freight cars in this (an image from about 5 years ago) are about 50" off the floor.   I'm 75" tall so that gives you some perspective.  Quite honestly we've never had an issue reading reporting marks if need be. 

I use computer generated switch lists... I'm not into the repeat-action that car-cards leads too, and having operated on pikes with pins or colored tabs– the "look" of didn't do anything for me.  So computer generated switch lists were the result.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

More (annoying) progress.

http://conrail1285.com/it-takes-a-lot-of-little-things-to-build-a-layout/

Making up terminal strips...


... and cutting ties.

[GaryHinshaw]

http://conrail1285.com/it-takes-a-lot-of-little-things-to-build-a-layout/

Preach it.  It's going to pay off though!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Preach it.  It's going to pay off though!

I sure hope so!
It is kinda nice being organized though. It's new to me... lol.