WM Western Lines Engineering Report

[wazzou]

We'll give you a few minutes to yourself . . .

1-2 tops.  ;D

[wm3798]

...and I'm going to do it again tonight!

[seusscaboose]

ironically... I too am classifying...  my basement is currently turned upside down and i need to et it back in order...

i guess it is time to update my thread

[wm3798]

I can't tell you how pleasing it is to have more yard tracks than potential destinations...  Sheer nirvana. :-*  Ed's not going to know how to act.

I've created a killer card sorting system, too.  I'll have to take pictures tomorrow, since Andy already threw me out of the room for the night (his bed may not be in the same room, but he still gets to control the layout schedule)

Anyway, those acrylic "J" racks I showed the crew Sunday are perfect.  I've got one that's long enough to hold all 11 stacks of cards.  Since the rack is clear, you can see right through to the card you're looking for.  I took a black Sharpie to add the track numbers, then I can use a dry erase marker to note the destination of each track being sorted.  Concerned about maintaining access to the seventh level of the inferno under the yard, I placed the rack up on top of the light valence, where it fits perfectly, and it puts all the cards right at eye level... at least for me... (Ed might have to stand on a box, or wear my old disco shoes).  There's also room for an identical second rack, in case the east end is being worked at the same time the west is.  The only cost is access to the handy little shelf that appeared as part of the light valance.

As I said, stay tuned for images so you can see what these thousand words are going on about.

Lee

[wm3798]

Pictures to go with the words...


Overview of the card box



Close up showing classification marks.  This should greatly enhance the efficiency of the yard.

Lee

[seusscaboose]

Pictures to go with the words...


Overview of the card box



Close up showing classification marks.  This should greatly enhance the efficiency of the yard.

Lee

looks good

the problem wil be getting the Yardmaster to:
1) use the system
2) block cars (although he does have space in your yard to do that, vs... mine, which is a bit snugger. So he just might.  ;D)

I have heard that blocking cars tends to help in Op's.  or, conversly, not blocking them makes things more fun (depending on your definition of fun).


EP

[conrail98]

I have heard that blocking cars tends to help in Op's.  or, conversly, not blocking them makes things more fun (depending on your definition of fun).

Yes, not only blocking by town, but also blocking by industry. I can't tell you how annoying it is on the layout I operate on to get to a town and have not only cars scattered throughout the town in my train, but also the industries scattered as well. Also, blocking by industry would let one quickly realize if there aren't enough spots for the cars instead of trying to cram it all in,

Phil

[seusscaboose]

Yes, not only blocking by town, but also blocking by industry. I can't tell you how annoying it is on the layout I operate on to get to a town and have not only cars scattered throughout the town in my train, but also the industries scattered as well. Also, blocking by industry would let one quickly realize if there aren't enough spots for the cars instead of trying to cram it all in,

Phil

preach the TRUTH

ask John Hale and Tim Nixon about this!

[wm3798]

One solution would be to bust the yard master down to conductor on a couple of locals, let him be hoist on his own pitard so to speak...  Just because you like to run a yard, doesn't mean you'll always get to!

As for blocking, I've got a couple of advantages.  One, the major traffic generator, the paper mill, will receive cars from Elkins as well as Ridgeley, and the Ridgeley traffic might come from a regular local, or from the dedicated Luke Digger.  The other advantage is that there is a dedicated mill switcher that sorts it all out on the ground there, so while it's nice to have it all blocked, it's not crucial if it's not.

Most of the other local traffic is located along the Thomas Sub, which has a scheduled local in each direction, so whatever traffic can't be efficiently worked in one direction can be left for the crew coming the other way.

The bulk of the work in the yard involves sorting cars for the various through trains.  The trick here isn't just getting the cars into an eastbound train, but rather getting into the RIGHT eastbound train etc.

Still, if the yardmaster got to "walk a mile" in the shoes of the grunts out on the line, he might be a little more sensitive to the work he's doing in the yard...  Just sayin'

[conrail98]

Lee, excellent points. There are about 5 guys that rotate through the 3 yards (one's a passenger terminal) on the pike I operate on. If this one guy is working either of the freight yards, I try to draw locals originating from his yard, otherwise, I'll attempt to get through and passenger trains. Also, they do rotate the guys out onto the road, just like you are suggesting about once every 5 or 6 operating sessions,

Phil

[POVC]

preach the TRUTH

ask John Hale and Tim Nixon about this!

Where would be the challenge in switching Tucker if all the trains were blocked?   :

Heck, even Ed could do that!   

Tim

[johnhale]

Where would be the challenge in switching Tucker if all the trains were blocked?   :

Heck, even Ed could do that!   

Tim

Well it's not like Ed knows how to block a train, so it should be fairly easy for him.

[wm3798]

TESTIFY!

But seriously folks...
I can see where cars can be blocked by destination, but blocking them by industry would be a luxury the yard doesn't always have time to afford.
That's why at heavy switching areas, like Thomas, the paper mill and ultimately Cumberland, there are a couple of "yard" tracks on site to facilitate blocking by the local crew.  With few exceptions, the other locations at least have a run around track to work with.
So, as long as all the cars bound for Thomas, North Junction, or Luke are grouped together, the crew can shuffle around the facing points and trailing point moves.

I worked for about 3 hours last night, I've got about 1/3 of the cars on the layout bagged and tagged now.  It's taking longer because I have a bunch of cars that I've accumulated over the past two years that lack cards, a few that needed to be re-numbered, and a bunch of waybills that had to be edited to change destinations to places that are actually on the layout now.

I'm figuring that by the time Eric and Phil show up on the 18th, it should all be blocked and ready to run.

Lee

[seusscaboose]

Blocking by location is a big help (IMO)... blocking by industry is a luxury.

of course, my pike has Yard issues with space...  so Ed get's a quasi free pass... for now.

On the flip side, ithink it takes a special person to step up and have the desire to operate a Yard.  I don't have any experience in Op's (very limited) and have observed that usually when given a choice, people back away from it.  It takes a certain desire for punishment IMO.

We have had Ed out on the main before...  he does fine out there if i recall correctly.  We just like to lock him in the Yard and pound him for more trains and block his main's.


I think thee is a shirt slogan there with Ed's face....  Maybe a royal Blue shirt we can all wear... with a pic of Ed and in Conrail font with a caption "This is Ed.  We pound him for trains, and block up his Mains".

 ;D

[DKS]