I usually get to see the NS (Conemaugh Line) local go by on my lunch hour. Power consists of a GP38-2 or GP40-2 at each end of the train. Cars are blocked according to the order of industries. They'll have all the gons for the scrapyard together, next will be the tank cars for the water treatment plant, etc. What's unique about this train, is that the crew will use *both* locomotives to switch the industries. Because of the way the spurs are, they'll cut the train in half, drop off and pick up the gons at the scrapyard, reassemble the train, head towards the water plant, cut the train in half again (using the leading engine) to switch the water plant, reassemble, and proceed down the line.
Again thank you DSO17, that was a very excellant discussion, learned a lot.
This discussion from a couple months ago may be of interest:
http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/t/181706.aspx?PageIndex=1
PeteCVTR Just wanted to thank everyone! I've been running my locals in order of industries and at times rearranging when I get to many pickups. Being a none railroader I wasn't sure if I was correct.
Just wanted to thank everyone! I've been running my locals in order of industries and at times rearranging when I get to many pickups. Being a none railroader I wasn't sure if I was correct.
Technically locals aren't made up in industry order. Locals are made up in station order. However most model railroads don't use the concept of stations so it becomes a moot point.
Many labor agreements for local trains require the train to be made up in station order. That means all the cars for all the industries at the first station the train will come to are next to the engine. all the cars for all the industries at the 2nd station are next, and so on. There is no attempt to put the cars in order by the industries at the stations, just the stations themselves.
So if the local serves the stations of Anna, Bess, Cloy, Dora and Eve and each station has 2 or 3 industries the cars for the industries at each station will be mixed up, but all the Anna cars will be together and all the Bess cars will be together and all the Dora cars will be together, etc.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Just wanted to thank everyone! I've been running my locals in order of industries and at times rearranging when I get to many pickups. Being a none railroader I wasn't sure if I was correct. Thanks again!
PeteCVTR
Dave-the-Train All the above are great but then there are the cars that have restrictions on where they are placed / what they are placed next to and the cars that you don't want to be shoving around a lot while making switching moves...
All the above are great but then there are the cars that have restrictions on where they are placed / what they are placed next to and the cars that you don't want to be shoving around a lot while making switching moves...
Actually you don't have time to be rearranging your train with every pickup so,you wait till you come to a outlaying yard to rearrange your train-if there is a need to and if you have time.
Never forget you are tying up a main line while you do your work and that means the DS is screaming like a bannishee wanting you to clear up because he has trains to run.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
BRAKIE Ken,The cars are place in setout order . . . unless you have a long local and then things can become messy so,at the next outlaying yard the local crew will put their train back in working order. . . . . . . On the Chessie we never put the train back in order since we usually had less then 15 cars.
Ken,The cars are place in setout order . . . unless you have a long local and then things can become messy so,at the next outlaying yard the local crew will put their train back in working order.
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On the Chessie we never put the train back in order since we usually had less then 15 cars.
If thats the case Larry, then I guess I'm in good shape since I model one of the Chessie roads (B&O) and my locals rarely exceed 12 cars in length. Thanks for the reply!
-Ken in Maryland (B&O modeler, former CSX modeler)
ferro, it was on the old PRR/PC. it was called SL-1 westbound and SL-2 going east. the crew lived at Terre Haute and worked out of there. I never worked it myself since it was one of the highest paying jobs on the division and my whiskers were much to short.
it was one of the few jobs that had an assigned caboose (cabin car in p-speak). although the crew stayed at the hotel at their away terminal and did not sleep on the cab.
grizlump
Ken,The cars are place in setout order but,as the local crew goes about their work the pickups can be in front of the setouts which isn't all that bad unless you have a long local and then things can become messy so,at the next outlaying yard the local crew will put their train back in working order.
When I worked on the PRR a lot of the old line conductors would place the pickups in the middle of the train out of the way if we had run around moves and some times on urban industrial branches we placed the pickups in front of the cabin and would make any facing point setout on the return trip.
This brings me to another question, about which end of the train is processed first.
The following series of drawings assumes the cars have been properly sorted for their destinations. Red cars are the ones being set-out, green ones are being picked up. I simplified this scenario to say that every destination has a car to be picked-up and a car to be set-out.
1) Train replaces one hopper car with another at first stop.
2) Gondolas swapped at next trackside industry.
3) Tank cars exchanged at a fuel oil dealer.
4) Boxcars swapped at last lineside business on this run; train then continues to destination yard.
I read on another forum that the cars are staged in the opposite order, i.e., the car(s) for the first industry are placed at the end of the train. Since I never actually worked for a railroad myself, I always believed that they would be arranged as in my above drawings. Which way is correct --- or does it vary among different railroads?
grizlump9: What railroad between Terre Haute-E. St. Louis did you work on? What was the local called?I would like to incoropate this local on my E. St. Louis Rail Group layout. Thanks.
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grizlump9: What railroad was Terre Haute-St. louis that you worked? I would like to incorporate this train on my E. St. Louis Rail Group layout. Thanks.
we had a local that ran between Terre Haute and E St Louis. they came west on M-W-&F and went back east on T-Th&Sat. we always made the train up in station order with the first destination cars on the head end.
standard practice was to work trailing point switches only and take any other cars along to final destination and deliver them on the way back. otherwise, it would have been difficult to get over the road without violating hours of service law with all the runaround moves.
The cars are place in blocks by destination.
As a example
Oak Lumber
34th St Industrial lead
Standard Iron works
Miller Propane.
However,as a local goes about its work the cars can become mixed up with pickups in front of the setouts.We would usually rearrange our train back in working order at a small outlaying yard..If our local was short or if we was going for a early quit we wouldn't rearrange our train..
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As far as the yard crew being "to busy" to make up a local that's not going to happen..Its the yard crew's job to make up the local as per union work rules and job classification.
Remember a yard is broken into sections with several "yard jobs" so,a hump crew won't be doing any flat switching,a local yard deals with the make up of locals and cars bound for outlaying yards between division points..Also a yard may serve several divisions and each will have their own local yard.
Pete: Most railroads try to place cars in the order they are to be delivered, so that time is well used on the local. There are times when this is not done, however, such as lack of time, in a busy yard. Sometimes the local crew will do their own thing, such as having to deal with facing turnouts or trailing turnouts.
Just wondering if when making up a local in the yard if the cars are set up in the order they will be dropped or random?