Over on The-Guage some one was asking about Car Cards & Waybills. That got me thinking who of use does operatiosn be it the TO&TT, Waybill, or another method. Even though i dont have a layout at this time I do plan on doing the Waybill method with a little bit of TO&TT method thrown in.
My layout is not far enough advanced to even think about operation yet, but I have used various methods in the past and it certainly adds much interest and realism to running trains.
I use a computer program called Interchange . I use it to generate switchlists. The program will also generate waybills and car cards but there is no need to use them if you have a switchlist. It is just extra paper to get in the way of having fun. David
I use switchlists generated by Ship It! made by Albion Software. http://www.albionsoftware.com/ I am not affiliated with Albion Software. Standard disclaimers. There is a Yahoo Group that discusses Ship It.
MagicMan, You can download the Interchange program from: http://www.mcswiz.com/MCSMRCDS/MainPage.asp The program is free if you want to use it in Simple Management Mode. It is very limited in its functions in this mode. It will print out waybills but that is about it. If you want full functionallity it costs $100. David
I've been using waybills ( color coded index cards) for over 20 years on my basement HO layout but use color coded tacks on my outdoor garden railroad.
On my last HO layout, I used a simple switchlist for the cars I was going to have in the train. Some of my shippers were served daily, some as little as once a week. I could make a local train last 8 scale hours (using a 6:1 fast clock). On my present layout, I don't have all the industries or traffic patterns laid out yet for the Spring River branch, so I just run trains on the Frisco main line.
I've noticed that "opperation" seams to be an evelutionary thing. the more you do, the more involed it becomes. I'm not to a point of being opperational yet, and haven't given much thought to what system to use. I know I want to have purpose to how cars are moved without strict rules.
Since there are so many people that use switchlists, it should be included as a seperate choice, instead of "other". This will give a more detailed poll result. Perhaps even two, "Computer generated switchlists ie: ShipIt! and Interchange" and "non computer generated switchlists". I myself use "ShipIt!". This is an interesting poll, thanks!
I have wanted to use some form of system for quite sometime but have never been able to totally understand the waybill system lol. I'd love for someone to come over and help me design a system for my layout.
All I can say is that I have had a little Test Track and ran everything quite smoothly. I got tired of it and tore it up and laid down 24 switches with track inbetween. I do like that because I can challange myself as how to bring the car I want to the point I want. Dose'nt mean I still don't want to have the dream layout though
I use car cards and waybills that I made with Corel Draw 10. I printed 4 car cards to one 8.5X11 card stock. The waybills are printed on card stock also, 20 to one sheet. The waybills are double sided. at my post http://www.trainboard.com/ultimatebb.php/ubb/get_topic/f/18/t/000260.html you can see the card boxes for the hidden staging yard in the first picture. The hand written card on the top of the stack is a card that has the lead locomotive and it's DCC address. I plan on printing these on card stock also with a waybill type card that tells of the locomotive needs to leave with the direction switch on the throttle in the forward position or the reverse position. I've had some troubles with people thinking the locomotive is in the forward position and they crank up the throttle only to back the train into a heap.
I agree that switchlists should be a separate choice for the poll. As for operating complexity, I know some operators who have gotten very elaborate with their operations. Some just thrive on this. After each operating session, they check for all the cars to be in the correct place and then give the previous night's session a grade. There is competition for the best grade. I haven't gone that far, but I do know of operators who have "backed off" of the exacting operating session. No more fast clock, no more dispatcher, no headsets, run every train as an extra, etc. It all depends on what you want, and aren't we lucky that we don't all want the same thing. I like to run trains sequentially and don't use a timetable. That way I can always stop and do whatever my daughter wants to do on the layout at the time. Also, I am not concerned if cars are mis-delivered. I just schedule them for re-delivery at a future session. Maybe it's even prototypical!?
Operations is the reason that I have torn down the INDIANA RAILWAY and am in the process of rebuilding it right now. I have discovered that there is more to having a model railroad than just having trains go round and round. I am planning on having a full dispatcher's board, controlling all the signals and trackwork. Train crews will have timetables and switchlists. I plan on using a computer to generate this paperwork, controlling signals and power to the rails. I plan on putting in a program that will let me run trains around the layout to show off the layout to family and guests. DCC is going to make the whole idea of operations come together in N-Scale for me.
For operation information (TO&TT) take a look at the "Operation Road Show" part of the Rails on Wheels website, http://railsonwheels.com This is an operation based, portable, layout. It was received very well at the Toronto NMRA convention. Doug
I'm still very interested in some type of system for my layout I'm just not sure how to go about it. I know there are a great deal of different software packeage but its hard to decide what to do. I still dont know how do you manage a layout that has a continuous loop with waybills etc.
