Hi,
im building a modern layout that features a Commuter Coach Yard, and I was curious, how would you do the Ops?
Car cards and waybills? Do modern layouts use that?
The Yard has two storage tracks and an inspection building that can fit one car. The yard also has a storage track (or diesel refuel track?)
the layout also has a couple freight customers, but primary is a racetrack for Metra.
Thanks!
CC&WB is primarily freight.
Commuter operations is mostly building set consist of cars and then cycling those cars back and forth. About the most switching you will have with commuter trains is peak hours trains will have 4 or 6 cars and off peak they will have 2 or 3 cars. So they will double up two sets of cars for the peak hours (6-9a and 3-6p) and the rest of the day (9a-3p and 6p-11p) they will run single sets. Beyond that, no switching at all.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Just as many modelers do away with car cards for their unit trains which never change their consist but just come out of staging, make their run and disappear again, that is how some guys handle their passenger trains as well. One card for the whole train rather than a stack of cards. Of course the point about commuter trains being shorter mid-day than in the morning and evening rush is quite accurate. The BNSF from Chicago to Aurora also has expresses during rush hour that do not make all the same stops that other commuter trains do -- but THEY have a triple track mainline to manage that.
From an operating and schedule standpoint it is worth noting that the freight railroads do what they can to avoid running a freight during commuter rush hours. That is why you sometimes see freight stacked up on the UP out around DeKalb/Rochelle. It also explains why some of the best times to railfan the UP and other railroads around Chicago is when the evening rush is over because then the floodgates are opened and the freights can be tightly chasing each other. That would actually be an interesting time of day to focus on for a layout for train variety - the end of the evening rush.
Dave Nelson
That's what I'm struggling with... layout is a two track racetrack, with Kato Unitrack. One side is a suburban town, with a station, grade crossing, and a industry. the other side could be an intermodal track, auto rack unloading, or the passenger car service yard. No staging, and layout is an island design.
You might want to add a car washer and an inspection pit if it's not in the building. Don't forget the blue flags to protect your little people
Regarding the inspection building. The cars probably would only spend maybe one day every year or two in that building, unless they were broken.