Poll: Operations

D

Doug Trouten

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Dec 3, 2003
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In responce to the Car Card and Waybill thread that Jim T posted I figures it would be interseting to see how many people did ops and what the prefered method is.

If you use a Method other then the Card cards or the Train Order & Time Table methods please post the method you use.
 
Thanks Jon

Thanks Jon,

I figured after reading Jims thread asking about Car Cards and Waybills it would be interesting to see how many people here actually operate and what thier prefered method was. Figured doing it as a poll would give a general idea. If someone uses a different method of operating other then the TO&TT or the car card method they can easily tell us what the method is. I know once i get going i plan on using the car card methods mainly with possibly a little TO&TT thrown in now and then to keep things lively.
 
I have been using the car card/waybill system since I first read Doug Smith's article on this subject back in the 60s.I knew before that article came out in print there had to be a better way in running trains besides running meaningless and endless loops.
I have always been and still am a strong believer in operations as a better way of running our trains.
Thanks to guys like Doug Smith,Tony Koester,Bruce Chubb,Bill Darnaby and others prototypical operations seems to be a fast growing facet of the hobby.Of course the ready to run cars and locomotives and in some cases pre-built layouts modelers has more time to focus on operations as one of the ways to run their trains..Advanced layout designers has always mention one of the goals in layout designing should be operation centered..I fully concur with that thought and have for years.

Folks we spend hours building a highly detailed layout,spend tons of money on our detailed equipment,spend more time adding the road specific details should we not then operate our layouts in a prototypical fashion? I fully believe we should as I feel that only compliments our equipment and detailed layout.

Is operation for everybody? No,not the least.I believe it should be one of the goals in layout planning as I stated but still modelers should do whatever they get the most enjoyment out of the hobby be it just running endless loops or full blown operations.There is room for both in this hobby..:D

I really enjoy taking about prototypical operations and love operating my trains like the prototype...I also belong to a local operation sig as well as a advanced layout sig.So now you know why some folks that knows me calls me Tony Koester Jr. Like Tony I preach the gospel of advanced layout planing and operations to any and all that is willing to listen and have for years.:D :thumb:
 
My layout is currently not ready for operations. However, I am planning on using the car card method. Even though the trains are running in a loop at present as I build or add to my rolling stock fleet I prepare cards for the car in anticipation of the day when operations will begin. This also helps me to decide which industries I want and where they will go.
 
I designed/am building my layout specifically to operate it. I designed it to be built in two phases so that as soon as Phase I was at a certain point that it could function as an industrial switching layout with a short mainline run. That way I could commence operations while scenicing Phase I and getting underway on Phase II.

Phase I is on a 36"x80" door which will be the base of an L. Phase II will be the longside of the L and will be 2'x12' and contain the mailine, additional industries, and staging.

Now that I have nearly all of the track laid for Phase I am setting up car cards and waybills. As each car goes onto the layout it gets a car card and a waybill made. I'm having fun figuring out where to send each car and decide where each car comes from and what it is hauling.

Once I get staging comlete where I have foreign trains coming onto the layout, I may have to add some sort of timetable, at least a simple sequential one, to control the overall flow of a session.
 
Like Tom, I am not at the stage that I can begin doing operations too well.
My layout as it currently stands is a single loop with a few unfinished spurs, designed just to get the trains running. Eventually two of the spurs will be extended to be the main line as the layout wraps around the room. I also have the problem of incompatible couplers on my rolling stock. So until I get more of the layout in place and finish converting couplers, I will just be running different trains. Once operations become feasible then I will be using the car card/waybill method (or at least that is the current plan of attack)
 
I'm going with the car cards/waybill system. In fact I printed out some car card and waybill blank forms and am making up my first car card. It's starting to come a little clearer.

Cheers, Jim
 
Well, considering my current train board consists of a couple of concentric ovals, I'm just running trains :)

If I were interested in operations, where would be a useful place to determine the what, how and why?

-- John
 
Waybills and Sequence Table

The construction of my layout is still in an embryonic phase. However, I planned the layout with operations in my mind. And I'll use the waycard/waybill method.

The main theme of my layout is a narrow gauge line in the Rockies (the Trim Creek & Western RR) connecting to a standard gauge line (loosely based on D&RGW practice) in Ronville. Now there's a lot of reasons to run trains. (Have a look at the track plan.)
Fantasium ore is transported from two mines to a refinery plant at the terminal of the line at Trim Creek. The refined products are then shipped down the line to the interchange with the standard gauge. Besides there is some traffic with cattle & sheep, and there is a growing traffic of tourists to the mountain resort of Gabor Valley. And of course there is the 'normal' traffic with LCL, coal, machinery etc. (partly from the standard gauge line) for many receivers in Trim Creek county.

Since I'm sort of a lone wolf, I decided to use the waybill method. Additionally I am running a 'sequence table'. This is a sort of a timetable without fixed times. You only have to follow the sequence of the operations, but you may take as much time as you want for the individual operations.

On my former N layout I also used the thumbtack method, which is a modified version of the waybills. Perhaps I'll try this again, but I'm not quite decided yet.

Ron
 
Tileguy- I realized that after we alreay had votes so I couldnt modify the poll. The polls i created over on other forums include the dont currently operate but am interested options. The one I starter over on Trainboard has about 86% of the voters either into or interested in starting ops. which is kind of suprising. I figured that it would be more of a 50/50 or even a 60/40, ops to just run trains, ratio.

Hopefully we get some good info on ops from the individuals here.
 
Hmmmmmm, I had forgot about this one. But of course this was started last year and at my age it's hard to remember back that far :D :D :D , even though that was only two weeks ago. Being this poll shows 2/3's just run trains and the other poll shows 2/3's would be interested in a op forum makes me think that alot of the runners would operate if they knew how.
 
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