I had heard the MP was one of the first to stop carrying waybills, but I remember the RI conductors still handling waybills for every car up to the end in 1980. Up until 1984, when the MILW was providing interim service in eastern Iowa, I remember an agent and conductor exchanging waybills for non hazardous cars.
It was an RI agent that told me about the MP going "waybillless." I asked him how the car would move once off the MP. Trying to remember back over 30 some years, I think he said that he supposed that at the interchange point the MP would issue a car movement waybill or similar document to go with the car.
Jeff
Era plays a part. In the 1970's waybills stopped being carried by the conductors when the railroads went to computer documents, the exception being Hazmat loads. During the 1980's the computer documentation on the train lists was accepted as "shipping documents" by the FRA and conductors stopped carrying waybills entirely on railroads that had computerized.
Just to point out how prevalent waybills were, back in the late 1970's on the MP the "standard" multipart, tractor feed, fan fold paper (you younger folks can get somebody over 50 to explain to you what that is ) had a waybill form as a watermark.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Charlie et al
Many thanks for the clarification and background. It will create a touch more work in setting up the waybills, however researching the potential routing of the cars to real world locations / industries is proving to be both challenging and rewarding.
I stumbled upon a note that out in western Canada the grain elevators would have a despatch box with switchlock for when the grain cars were set out or picked up. Another avenue that needs some exploration as well.
Bob
Charlie covered it completely.
Fun facts:
Local freight agents on some railroads used rural type mail box that was locked with a switch lock.
Some freight agents would report a train crew if the customer complain about his cars not being spotted correctly-example not spotted correctly at a dock door.This is easy to do especially at night.
Remember back in the day local freight agents knew their customers by name and would do everything possible to give them the best service.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Back in the day, all the small town depots I've seen usually had a waybill box near the door. The agent would leave waybills for cars to be picked up when the agent was off duty. Conductors would leave waybills for cars they set out when the agent was off duty. (This would also include bad order cars set out to be repaired before continuing on.)
I have some old blank waybill forms. One form would have 5 or 6 copies with carbon between them. One copy went with the car, one stayed in the agent's file, one or two went to certain departments of the originating railroad and one was mailed to the destination agent.
charlie9This document stayed with car all the way to destination.
To add a little to Charlie's post, I remember being at a few junctions where there were cars waiting for interchange and noted that the waybills were sometimes put in a telephone box or a special hopper on the side of a section house where the recieving railroad's conductor could pick up the waybills corresponding to the cars he was pulling off the interchange track. These boxes would be locked with a switch lock with a hasp arrangement so either railroad could use their own key to open the box.
Sometimes, if there was a signal tower or depot nearby, the waybills would be secured in there.
Ed
The originating line haul carrier was responsible for generating a car movement and revenue waybill, predicated on the bill of lading or shipping order funished by the shipper. This document stayed with car all the way to destination.
Charlie
As I work on adapting Ted Pamperin's Realistic Waybills concept to my switching module I stumbled on a basic question. Did each railway company raise a new waybill as a car was interchanged or did the original waybill by the first railway follow the car all the way to its destination? Stupid/simple I'm sure, but a headscratcher none the less.
Thanks for any assistance or clarity that can be offered.