Model Freight Train Operation

[The Stationmaster]

Now that someone has mentioned dice, can I offer up my method, which focuses only on wagons and not what's in them (or not in them as the case may be)? It does depend on wagons having different numbers so if that's not the case it won't work.

 

It uses playing cards to select the destination for each wagon and a dice to randomise the selection so that wagons don’t always go to the same destinations every time.

 

I wrote it up and presented it at a BRMA Convention a few years ago and if anyone’s interested I’ll post the typescript of the presentation (possibly in more than one part as it’s about 2000 words long).

The beauty of Ray's system is that it doesn't focus on wagons.  This might sound rather daft but it follows the real world on focusing on consignments which in turn means the wagons follow the consignments - thus at any station inwards consignments decide which wagon types are used and will therefore arrive but they will not necessarily be the same sort or number of wagons which are required for outwards consignments (hence what Ray has called 'wire cards' - they represent orders for empty wagons required to load outwards).  Equally while empty wagons are - in effect - moving away in response to rolling stock orders (also equal wire cards) taht is not so critical as he need only really follow predetermined disposal for any type of empties.

 

The other benefit of the system is that flows can be uneven - for example seasonal - and it also means that the number of wagons required or arriving might not equal the capacity of any particular yard to deal with them (in real life this was referred to as 'a problem to be solved' [shorthand version 'a bl**dy nuisance'], in the model it is a something which adds to the operating challenge).

[St Enodoc]

The beauty of Ray's system is that it doesn't focus on wagons.  This might sound rather daft but it follows the real world on focusing on consignments which in turn means the wagons follow the consignments - thus at any station inwards consignments decide which wagon types are used and will therefore arrive but they will not necessarily be the same sort or number of wagons which are required for outwards consignments (hence what Ray has called 'wire cards' - they represent orders for empty wagons required to load outwards).  Equally while empty wagons are - in effect - moving away in response to rolling stock orders (also equal wire cards) taht is not so critical as he need only really follow predetermined disposal for any type of empties.

 

The other benefit of the system is that flows can be uneven - for example seasonal - and it also means that the number of wagons required or arriving might not equal the capacity of any particular yard to deal with them (in real life this was referred to as 'a problem to be solved' [shorthand version 'a bl**dy nuisance'], in the model it is a something which adds to the operating challenge).

I get all that Mike and each to their own. Personally I'm not all that concerned about what is or is not inside my wagons - particularly vans - and apart from the goods agent or stationmaster (small S!) I suspect that most railwaymen wouldn't be either. The average guard, shunter or even yardmaster would probably be more interested in where the wagons were labelled to. My system certainly provides variety in train lengths which sometimes means that the number of wagons exceeds length or load limits. It also creates uneven flows - the randomisation provided by the dice and the deal of the cards sees to that - but I concede that it doesn't reflect seasonal flows. For me that is not a problem as it is always summer on the Mid-Cornwall Lines

[Ray H]

Thanks for the input.

 

Please feel free to add any comments.

 

In the meantime I've been given some 8mm diameter coloured removable circular self adhesive labels in six different colours. I reckon that by dividing each circle into quarters (partly for economy and partly to reduce the size) I can fix one on the wagon solebar. This will become the destination indicator which, by means of a look-up table, will determine the wagon's destination for the day. A second label affixed possibly over the wagon's number - I have yet to re-number those with duplicate numbers - will indicate the (coloured) service on which the wagon is to be used/moved. Finally, a third colour will be added somewhere yet to be decided and this will indicate whereabouts the wagon will be shunted to on arrival at a scenic section location - e.g. Goods Shed, Mileage Siding, Private Siding, etc.

 

The only "extra" required is the destination look up table which will hang on the wall (and possibly a local translation document at each station that translates the third colour.

 

The destination look-up table will be reset at the start of each day. Alternatively, as each run of the timetable takes about 3 hours to complete and I don't plan to reset the clock at the end of each timetable, I shall have four versions of the timetable each three hours later than the previous one and each one coloured. That colour will match the day of operation label colours available.

[Ray H]

On reflection the last paragraph probably needs slight revision/expansion as follows:

 

The destination look-up table will be reset at the start of each day. The look-up table will have the locations permanently displayed with a moveable strip (or disc) comprising colour blocks that align with the portrayed destinations. The strip/disc is moved randomly to align a different colour to a different location at the start of each timetable day. A single dice throw or other unique and variable "generator" could be used to ensure a randomness of the positioning of the strip/disc.

 

Each run of the timetable takes about 3 hours to complete and I don't plan to reset the clock at the end of each timetable session. Thus there will be four versions of the timetable each timed three hours later than the previous one. Each timetable version will be coloured with the colour options matching the day of operation label colours available on wagons. I can also have different coloured versions for each time slot and use a similar variable "generator" to determine which coloured version of which time slot's timetable will be used. Furthermore, each of the numerous timetables can differ slightly from the others and could incorporate a block train or other movement(s) peculiar to that timetable version.

 

Limiting stock usage in this way helps to ensure my overly large fleet all gets used rather than some being stuck on shelves or in boxes. It also simulates the differences in loading/unloading times and can create capacity issues that need to be addressed.

[Ray H]

With apologies to those suffering from my seemingly continuous change of mind or, as I prefer to call, it, the ongoing development of the scheme.

 

Although I think that I have come to accept that a three symbol, colour or Whatever base is the way to go to limit any accompanying tasks or paperwork, I have been a little less than happy with the way I envisaged that the three Whatevers can be accommodated on rolling stock without marring the appearance excessively and yet remaining visible to those with less than perfect vision required to interpret the indicators.

 

Now I wonder if I've been thinking too far outside the box and that box is the computer and its printer (plus a few other oddments).

 

It has dawned on me that I could combine at least two of the three Whatevers by mixing colours and symbols, something far easier (I think) with the use of a computer. And so . . . .

 

I use a symbol to indicate whether a vehicle can be moved between layout locations during a given session - I can't foresee a reason why movement within location during the session shouldn't be permitted (otherwise it wouldn't be possible to move wagons around to access others).

 

The symbol will need to be easily readable/clearly seen. On my system I shall probably link symbols to individual schedules/timetables but I can't see a reason why they couldn't change at the start of each operating session if so desired. My currently envisaged symbols are a star, circle, square, triangle & diamond. A sixth could be a cross or dagger and there may yet be a few others that are different enough from the rest to avoid confusion. With the potential use of around 35 wagons over the four trains that I normally expect to operate per session, that's accommodation for some 200 wagons which is far more than I have, plan to have or can accommodate on and around the layout.

 

The session symbols could be used in session sequence, randomly and even consecutively and, possibly, simultaneously although the latter is open to experiment.

 

The destinations of individual vehicles will be determined by the colour of the symbol. I have five distinct locations on my layout so anything between six and eight colours should suffice - only five colours would be relevant per session. Trains will be created in the three non-scenic areas from stock with a mix of the different coloured versions of the same symbol - stock displaying differing symbols regardless of colour (and those with symbol colours not matched to a specific location for that session) will not be added to trains - with one (or two) possible exception(s), see below. Once set up all an operator need to know is that they should remove any vehicles with their station's coloured symbol from trains calling at their site and can attach any vehicles with the same symbol but of any other colour to the train subject to load limits for the train. In some cases this could be subject to the direction of the train but on my layout vehicles despatched from the two scenic sites will all head to RoN (aka the main fiddle yard - RoN = the Rest of the Network!) for onward routeing as there will be minimal internal branch movements.

 

The possible exceptions are empty coal wagons (or any other wagons that are capable of being demonstrably empty) which despite the symbol could be added to any train to RoN. A second exception could be an unscheduled special designed to clear a backlog of wagons or a scheduled block train the operation of which is unique to the operating session concerned. Block trains would not stop for traffic purposes on the scenic section.

 

Finally, I have come to recognise that specific placement of individual wagons possibly wasn't that common. I could understand that they may go into the goods shed or the mileage siding or a private siding but their specific placement within any of those was probably more the exception that the rule. Therefore the third Whatever/Indicator only need indicate the general area where the vehicle is bound not the precise section of track/siding. Coal wagons would probably be the closest to an exception for they would presumably always be positioned close to the merchant their load was designed for.

 

Having started with the idea of using different symbols (or a uniform colour) to indicate the destination berth area I'm now wondering whether as I only have a maximum of four distinct areas at any location on the scenic area, all I need is a way to indicate each of those area. I'm presuming that the coloured symbol representing service & location will be on a square "tag" so the third indicator could simply be a coloured dot at one of the four corners of that symbol. Another option that I may have arises because all my vehicles are currently liable to be viewed from one side so I could use the four corners of the floor or vehicle side to represent the area and place the service/destination indicator in that position. Operators would know that at a specific location like top right meant (for example) private siding one and bottom right the mileage siding.

 

There would be an interpretation diagram at each station for translation purposes as indeed there would need to be with any other system where the area couldn't be indicated in full on the vehicle.

 

On reflection I tend to favour the "tag" idea because I can then reserve the opportunity to be able to turn wagons from time to time which provides scope to have a different "tag" on each side, something not so easy to simplify if the indicators were on the (exposed) floor of the vehicle. Vehicle turning also has the potential to reduce the number of wagons required to compose meaningful train lengths and provides even more variation in the berths/locations an individual wagon can be routed to.

 

The above scheme doesn't relay on uniquely numbered vehicles so could be implemented before RTR vehicles are renumbered.

 

The description of the "tag" which promises to be a much shorter post - hooray say some - will appear shortly, possibly after I have actually produced some rather than just thought about how to produce them!

[Pacific231G]

This has reminded me of a couple of questions that I've wondered about for a while. At the typical small or medium sized through station or terminus that most of us model, would an arriving loaded wagon, once empty, be kept by the station for an anticipated outward load or would it be simply be sent empty to the nearest marshalling yard to be forwarded to its next job?

Looking at the trackplans of most smallish stations, they don't look as if they'd have much if any capacity for storing empties that were going to used a few days later.

I know that large central marshalling yards were a relatively late development but, apart from those engaged in regular traffic flows, where would wagons normally be stored between jobs; at very local yards or just in more extensive sidings at the important junctions?  

 

Also, would a local goods train ever have picked up wagons at one station or yard and dropped them at another en route or would everything have been from or to the larger yards where the local began and ended its run?

[The Stationmaster]

This has reminded me of a couple of questions that I've wondered about for a while. At the typical small or medium sized through station or terminus that most of us model, would an arriving loaded wagon, once empty, be kept by the station for an anticipated outward load or would it be simply be sent empty to the nearest marshalling yard to be forwarded to its next job?

Looking at the trackplans of most smallish stations, they don't look as if they'd have much if any capacity for storing empties that were going to used a few days later.

I know that large central marshalling yards were a relatively late development but, apart from those engaged in regular traffic flows, where would wagons normally be stored between jobs; at very local yards or just in more extensive sidings at the important junctions?  

 

Also, would a local goods train ever have picked up wagons at one station or yard and dropped them at another en route or would everything have been from or to the larger yards where the local began and ended its run?

 

It all depended on the traffic pattern - and of course seasonal variations.  The two intermediate stations on my local branch in later years handled only Coal Class traffic and I suspect that was the case for virtually the entire post-nationalisation period so they're typical of many stations; loaded wagons in, wagons hanging around waiting to be unloaded (which could sometimes mean they were on hand for weeks) empty wagons out.

 

Most stations with goods sheds received smalls traffic (consignments of less than 1 ton) until concentration schemes got underway from the 1930s onwards but particularly post-war.  In later years this would pass in vans; earlier some would have been in sheeted opens.  each day the station would forecast its requirement for empties to load outwards the following day and the rolling stock distribution organisation would base its orders on estmated needs for tomorrow and empties forecast to be 'made' today.  Thus say a station received 5 vans inwards today, estimated t would clear all of them but also estimated it would only need 4 outwards to load tomorrow one van would be shown up as surplus to local requirements and sent away empty.  Exactly this sort of pattern applied to all wagon types although some were regarded as more 'special' than others and would be pre-destined away as empties having arrived as loaded.

 

An example of the latter occurred at one depot where I worked where we received over several weeks Pipe wagons loaded with iron pipes from Stanton & Saveley - we never made any outwards loads needing a Pipe so there was a standing order to immediately despatch all empty Pipes and they actually went back, empty, whence they had came.

 

Going the opposite way we might be advised that there was a Ministry of Health adapted car to forwarded to, say, somewhere in Scotland - so against the date we expected the consignment to arrive for loading we duly ordered a Lowfit and as we never made any it was sent in as an empty to meet our order.

 

In most cases trips would work wagons to & from their originating/terminating yard(s).  However exceptions might well be made when what was known as the pipeline (for Coal Class traffic) was getting over done and in order to cear a yard wagons would be forwarded to somewhere which could hold them - but it was unusual to do this for domestic coal but needs must at times of severe congestion.

[Ray H]

The above mentioned “tag” production takes advantage of a facility that largely wasn’t around when vacuum fitted (and unfitted) wagons were in plentiful supply and freight movements were more diverse than the generic block or liner train that we tend to see these days.

 

Enter the computer and the colour desktop printer plus the transparency sheets used for the production of overhead projection slides – buy stocks now whilst these things can still be found in use!

 

Aside from cutting aids and implements the final piece of the jigsaw is envisaged to be Tacky Wax although this has yet to be tested. The latter is used primarily to facilitate the removal of the “tag” predominantly in the future should the owner wish to do so. That said I’m sure there must be other fixatives that offer a similar facility and they may need to be investigated if the Tacky Wax leaves the “tags” strewn around the layout and results in a train load of unlabelled wagons.

 

And so to the “tag” itself. This could be produced using nothing more than Word by inserting a table is inserted onto a page, setting the cell size, reducing/eliminating the cell margins and adding the relevant symbol to the centre of the cell. The symbol is either preceded or followed by the position indicator which I envisage being a small round circle (larger than a dot) separated from the symbol by a space.

 

The circles will be set as sub or superscripts as required. An example:

 

•● •■ ▲• ♦•

 

White circles would probably be ideal for the position indicator but basic printers don’t have the ability to print white ink. I’ve shied away from using ordinary paper as a transparent general background around marks on the “tag” lessens its impact on those not using the information that the “tag” supplies.

 

I’ve declined to indicate a definitive “tag” size at present as I could see this being a personal thing aligned to the visual capabilities of the layout’s user(s). However, a 4mm square cell seems to be sufficient to be seen on the screen at least.

 

It is debatable whether the position symbol needs to differ in colour from the main symbol (destination) colour.

 

“Tags” would be cut from the transparent sheet using the table cell borders as cutting guides.

 

There would need to be some degree of forward planning in designing & populating the “tags” no doubt with several ways of approach. I’ve already indicated that I think I’ll want to cater for around 35 wagon movements per day & I currently have around 80 wagons. I shall either have to limit myself to 2/3 usage symbols or decide to turn each wagon on arrival in the off-scene storage areas and “tag” each side either similarly or differently.

 

I’m undecided about the number of location colours and whether to restrict it to five to match the number of potential locations on the layout or whether to throw in another variable and have one or two more to build in a further delay element in the movements. Vehicles with unmatched colour “tags” would not be moved on a day even if the session symbol indicated that they could be.

 

Continuing, I now sub divide the previously calculated number of “tags” required for each symbol figure by the number of colours to arrive at the “tag” selection to be created.

 

One of the final tasks is to determine which position pointer each “tag” should have.

 

Here again there is scope for flexibility. For example a catch all condition could be that any vehicle displaying a “tag” devoid of a position indicator or with a “tag” for a position that doesn’t exist – I won’t have private sidings at one of the two scenic stations – will be placed in the mileage siding. Likewise coal wagons should only ever convey a “tag” for the area where the coal merchant they serve can be found.

 

One of (I think) the two final decisions that need to be made relates to usable colours that will render the “tags” visible relative to the background – i.e. part of the wagon – on which they’re mounted.

 

This leads quite nicely to the positioning of the “tags”. I’ve ruled out vehicle ends because it is liable to require closer examination of the vehicle which may in turn be fairly close to the adjacent loco or vehicle.

 

Wagons don’t have the roofs that vans do which is a pity because using the corner of a roof would be so much clearer and the background (roof) colour is more regular. However, it may be possible to “tag” loads or position the “tag” on the inside top corner of the wagon body, again somewhere fairly easily seen.

 

My final idea – the solebar is two shallow and too low – is a generic place on the vehicle side of which there could be several and somewhere standard on the floor of flat wagons.

 

I haven’t completely eliminated my first preference of the roof/inside of wagon/top of load but I’m thinking that it will end up being the bottom corner of the wagon side, possibly over the area where the wagon number was latterly positioned. In truth, the “tag” could go anywhere on the side for what are we doing if we’re not putting a clear destination indicator on the vehicle using something that is no less prototypical than tension lock couplings. A bonus of “over-plating” the wagon number is that I may be able to avoid renumbering the RTR items!

 

Returning briefly (?) to my original idea for devising a consignment system, I think that could be an embellishment to this latest scheme. A list of departing consignments could be produced randomly for each of the two scenic stations. The operator could attempt to match a wagon to a consignment prior to the start of a session and arrange for any wanted “empties” to be added to the train to their station by the RoN train preparer – cue “Wire” cards again. The empty wagon duly arrives and the time taken to load is determined by the session symbol on the said wagon. For this reason it may be an idea to display the session symbol for both the current and following day so the day symbol of the sent empty wagon has a chance to match that of the next session.

 

Departing consignment lists would only be discarded once all the consignments have been despatched.

[Ray H]

By way of a change from a fistful of writing, here are pictures of some very basic testing this morning.

 

 

The yellow "tag" is fairly readable with a white (paper) background whereas that on the roof of the container is all but invisible due to the excess of the glue visible through the transparent sheet.

 

 

The equivalent transparent blue "tag" flew off somewhere in the garage when I cut it from the sample sheet, probably lost for ever. However, it may have been a bad colour choice match - blue on blue - but it does serve to demonstrate that more care would be required for "tag" fixing of the transparent versions than it would with the white backed paper. I also suspect that the curved nature of the tank body would have revealed the significantly lower level of pliability in the film based "tag". I noticed that initially on the container roof.

 

 

And the first (picture taken) shall be last.

 

Again the Tacky Glue slightly mars the content of the transparent "tag" on both wagons. The coke wagon was labelled first - using the transparent "tag" which is certainly far less visible than the white backed one. Its position was chosen to ensure a clear background to maximise the colour contract. There would be no such similar requirement with the paper "tag".

 

Again the glue on the transparent "tag" on the mineral wagon all but hides the symbol colour whilst the paper backed white one is so much clearer.

 

On reflection I think I'll be opting for the paper backed version which carries the added advantage that they are more easily located (so a fixed location is not so necessary). The paper "tags" are also more pliable.

 

The symbol shapes seem quite clear as do the position locators. The yellow colour might be a non-starter (even with the white background) but the white background appears to facilitate the use of almost any other symbol colour.

 

The "tags" are 4mm x 5mm, any smaller would make the application of the Tacky Wax more difficult.

[Pacific231G]

It all depended on the traffic pattern - and of course seasonal variations.  The two intermediate stations on my local branch in later years handled only Coal Class traffic and I suspect that was the case for virtually the entire post-nationalisation period so they're typical of many stations; loaded wagons in, wagons hanging around waiting to be unloaded (which could sometimes mean they were on hand for weeks) empty wagons out.

 

Most stations with goods sheds received smalls traffic (consignments of less than 1 ton) until concentration schemes got underway from the 1930s onwards but particularly post-war.  In later years this would pass in vans; earlier some would have been in sheeted opens.  each day the station would forecast its requirement for empties to load outwards the following day and the rolling stock distribution organisation would base its orders on estmated needs for tomorrow and empties forecast to be 'made' today.  Thus say a station received 5 vans inwards today, estimated t would clear all of them but also estimated it would only need 4 outwards to load tomorrow one van would be shown up as surplus to local requirements and sent away empty.  Exactly this sort of pattern applied to all wagon types although some were regarded as more 'special' than others and would be pre-destined away as empties having arrived as loaded.

 

An example of the latter occurred at one depot where I worked where we received over several weeks Pipe wagons loaded with iron pipes from Stanton & Saveley - we never made any outwards loads needing a Pipe so there was a standing order to immediately despatch all empty Pipes and they actually went back, empty, whence they had came.

 

Going the opposite way we might be advised that there was a Ministry of Health adapted car to forwarded to, say, somewhere in Scotland - so against the date we expected the consignment to arrive for loading we duly ordered a Lowfit and as we never made any it was sent in as an empty to meet our order.

 

In most cases trips would work wagons to & from their originating/terminating yard(s).  However exceptions might well be made when what was known as the pipeline (for Coal Class traffic) was getting over done and in order to cear a yard wagons would be forwarded to somewhere which could hold them - but it was unusual to do this for domestic coal but needs must at times of severe congestion.

 

Thanks very much Mike for such a comprehensive reply. It's exactly the sort of inside knowledge I was hoping for.

 

I assume that, apart from PO wagons, bog standard opens, vans and flats were fairly ubiquitous but were the more specialised wagons such as Lowfits stored in a few of the larger yards or basically scattered around the network?

[The Stationmaster]

Thanks very much Mike for such a comprehensive reply. It's exactly the sort of inside knowledge I was hoping for.

 

I assume that, apart from PO wagons, bog standard opens, vans and flats were fairly ubiquitous but were the more specialised wagons such as Lowfits stored in a few of the larger yards or basically scattered around the network?

 

In later years (and presumably in earlier times as well?) some of the more specialised wagons would be held near to places where there was the greatest demand for them.  Thus when one was ordered for a less usual spot it might have to come quite a long way, getting hold of that Lowfit for example required several days notice.  Not such a problem with the more common types which tended (coal carriers apart) to be left wherever room could be found for them or - it was not unknown - for them to be bounced around between yards that didn't have room for them.

 

Another piece of entertainment centred on wagon cleaning. This arcane subject is perhaps best understood when you hear of a wagonload of coal being tippled at a power station depositing a whopping great lump of scrap iron in the conveyor feed system and breaking it.  So obviously mineral wagons which had conveyed scrap needed to be fully cleaned before being used for coal or sugarbeet and equally wagons that had conveyed coal needed cleaning before being used for sugar beet.  In South wales there was a private contractor who used a siding in Newtown yard who cleaned the wagons without charge to BR on the understanding that he kept what came out of them, and he didn't pay siding rent.  it worked beautifully until the BRB auditors arrived and unlike the local auditors they weren't prepared to turn a blind eye and demanded the bloke pay siding rent and pay for everything he got out of the wagons - so he packed in the service and went off to do something else.  Nett result we couldn't get wagons cleaned but then a rumour went round that someone at Margam was cleaning wagons so I sent the ones we had on hand (4 or 5) off labelled Margam D Block for cleaning - they duly came back, uncleaned, with a  few more - so we sent them to the Tunnel, and they sent them to East Usk, who sent them to us, so we sent them to Margam.  Within a couple of weeks we had a decent length train of about two dozen wagons circulating around South Wales collecting another one here & there as it went until someone took the sensible decision to get the past cleaner of wagons back but pay him to do the job.  He was laughing as BR didn't want what came out of the wagons so he still got it and we now paid him to clean them - bl**dy auditors, even worse than BRB Wagon Inspectors but fortunately TOPS polished off the jobs of the latter.

[Pacific231G]

 

 

Another piece of entertainment centred on wagon cleaning. This arcane subject is perhaps best understood when you hear of a wagonload of coal being tippled at a power station depositing a whopping great lump of scrap iron in the conveyor feed system and breaking it.  So obviously mineral wagons which had conveyed scrap needed to be fully cleaned before being used for coal or sugarbeet and equally wagons that had conveyed coal needed cleaning before being used for sugar beet.  In South wales there was a private contractor who used a siding in Newtown yard who cleaned the wagons without charge to BR on the understanding that he kept what came out of them, and he didn't pay siding rent.  it worked beautifully until the BRB auditors arrived and unlike the local auditors they weren't prepared to turn a blind eye and demanded the bloke pay siding rent and pay for everything he got out of the wagons - so he packed in the service and went off to do something else.  Nett result we couldn't get wagons cleaned but then a rumour went round that someone at Margam was cleaning wagons so I sent the ones we had on hand (4 or 5) off labelled Margam D Block for cleaning - they duly came back, uncleaned, with a  few more - so we sent them to the Tunnel, and they sent them to East Usk, who sent them to us, so we sent them to Margam.  Within a couple of weeks we had a decent length train of about two dozen wagons circulating around South Wales collecting another one here & there as it went until someone took the sensible decision to get the past cleaner of wagons back but pay him to do the job.  He was laughing as BR didn't want what came out of the wagons so he still got it and we now paid him to clean them - bl**dy auditors, even worse than BRB Wagon Inspectors but fortunately TOPS polished off the jobs of the latter.

A wagon cleaning business sounds like a suitable subject for a microlayout. Thanks Mike