How do you move your Freight cars on your Layout?

[Hillyard]

I don't care for paperwork either [regardless of what Tony K says]. So I made an excel worksheet that would generate a "demand for car" list for all my industries. I just recalc the spreadsheet, and a whole new switch list is generated for each operating session on my 4x8. Sort of like rolling the dice. The tables that generate the demand at each industry are independent. The general idea is based on the Cripple Creek series in Model Railroader, only instead of drawing 3x5 cards from a bin, my spreadsheet simulates that & puts it in a list.

Hillyard
Willamette City Belt Line [HO]
Salem OR

[mandelswamp]

The earliest car card system that I know of is still sold by Old Line Graphics - see http://www.oldlinegraphics.com/_wsn/page3.html. However, I bought the Micro-Mark Car Routing System Starter Package (#82916 for $29.95) which provides 100 each car cards,waybills, and bad order slips, 25 locomotive cards, 4 three-compartment wooden billboxes, plus basic instructions to get your operations started - see http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.aspMerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=82916. If you prefer to go low budget, you can download PDFs of two styles of car cards and way bills from the NMRA OPSIG site - see http://www.nmra.org.au/pages/waybills.html. Kalmbach's book Realistic Model Railroad Operation by Tony Koester has a whole chapter (Chapter Six) on the subject and the Trains web site may still have links to some of his articles on the subject as well.

[Anonymous]

The "Hand of god" comes down to move them

My HO operations are at a club, so its just fun running.

Chris

[Anonymous]

I use my own waybills that were made up on the computer. As It turned out they are very similar to Micro Marks. I did, for several years, use a computer generated switch list. Though it worked very well it did have limitations that I found too restrictive as time went by. Having up to six guys working the railroad the waybills have proven to be far superior.

Jim Morris

[fiatfan]

The method I use came from Model Railroader many, many years ago. I have an index card for ech car. On that card, I list possible destinations for the car.. I also have a paper clip on each card covering the current location of the car. When it's time to operate, I grab a handful of cards, make up the train, and move the cars to the next destination listed on the card. If there is only one or two cars going out of town they are put in the local yard until a sufficient quantity is built up for the next train.

Good luck with whatever method you choose.

Tom

[Anonymous]

I move my freight cars with a locomotive. If I want to have an "operating session", I scribble down a few orders, such as where a car should go, ect. I leave the big fancy way bills and car cards and paperwork to other people. I prefer to just have fun with it.

[Ibflattop]

Hey guys Thanks for the input. I can see where 1100 cars would be a headach on a club layout with a cardcar system. I think thats where a wheel report would do fine. I also doo the 0-5-0 when my Wreck crew trains hasnt been called yet just to hepl out. ( Keeps the Road Master off our backs and everyone working still!!!!) What he doesnt know wont hurt himm!!!!!
A couple of my buddies around here uses a card car system, so thats probably what I am going to implament when it comes to that time. I was just wondering what else is out there? Kevin

[DMNolan]

I use Protrak. It is a windows based full featured program. It really helped me understand how a real RR moved and handled cars(loads/empty). Check out the web site for much more detail than I could type here.

http://www.protrak.cc/

[pocovalley]

I use a card system which I devised about fifteen years ago, and is now used by many of the model railroaders in this area. I have written an article for "Scale Rails" (NMRA)which they say they are going to print "any day now." Perhaps you could write to them and ask when they plan to print it.
The system works well, and uses very little paperwork, but describing it completely in this forum would not be possible.

Ken Nelson (Poco Valley Railroad)

[Anonymous]

I use a steam loco or an 0-5-0, if I want to do paper work I go to a friends layout and run. I agree with Dan "paper work is pressure". If I want pressure, I've got employees to create that and they do a good job. The "Almost Nothing" is my relaxation, and moves the way it suits me.

Bob

[sparkingbolt]

I cop out. I simply look at where cars are on the layout, and say,"Hmm, that string of tanks in the tank farm ought to be full by now, and those 2 box cars at the terminal are ready too, I'm sure." So I set them up with local switcher, bring in a freight from staging and trade cars in and out. Spot the new cars in at their destinations

Next move may be the cars at the mine, and the sawmill, or the seafood packing...and another freighter from staging. I do this alone or when I let visitors operate. Visitors seem to think I have it all logically planned out to a "T" and enjoy the seemingly logical direction. It helps that all cars do have a logical destination (no stock cars in the tank farm)
I go to my layout to escape pressure, and PAPERWORK is pressure.

I was always going to set up a prototypical program, and may someday but I enjoy the casual approach better, at least for now. Dan

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Ibflattop

Do you guys use a car card system or something else like a wheel report? Kevin

We use a very simple system of colors for cars and industries or locations on layout.
We make flags from short popcicle sticks and they are cut in half, glue onto a toothpick to make the flag. Blade is painted with two colors. These colors also match industry or location. The first color is location on layout the second color is the exact site car to be dropped at. The color pieces for on the cars are also made from small square pieces of popcicle sticks. Paint the whole piece with base color and apply a dot of the second color to center of piece. These are attached to cars by using the putty picture paste. They can be moved from one car to another and no holes in car for thumb tacks. You can use thumbtacks with the post cut off but the small pieces of stick are much cheaper. When the cars arrive at destination the tags can be replaced so that the next operator must move that car to its new destination. Sounds complicate but its not. Several groups around here use this system. One layouot has over 1100 cars on it and it would be a headache to keep track of otherwise.

[johncolley]

When just "running trains" instead of "operating" I still take the cards of each train's cars and rubber band them next to the main yard they will be returning to. That way I have a train(s) made up for the next ops session.

[BNSFNUT]

I use a card order system of my own design that works pretty well for me. It is based on the needs of my on line customers. I also use the same system with for bridge traffic. It is all basicly random but cars move in a logical way. Move about 75 to 100 cars per operating cycle with about 25 to 30 cars switched in or out of industries. It takes about 30 to 45 min. to stage the railroad. The average cylce take me about 2.5 to 3 hrs to run so staging is not a very much work.

[jrbernier]

I use a card card waybill system. I bought some of the Micro-Mark stuff, but wound up designing my own and printing them on my home computer. I have about 300 cars on the system, but only about 75-100 are on the layout at any one time.
In a perfect world, the car cards/car orders drive the movement of trains. Then there are the times I just run trains.....just have to remember where I got them from so they match the car cards! I have some 'modification' planned to extend the existing staging tracks and change a town - I will just have to move all of the trains and structures that are affected. No 'bldg cards' for the structures!

Jim Bernier

[michealfarley]

I actually still use the Car Card-Waybill system. It's still the most flexible system I have found. I use a program from Shenandoah Software. It's really simple to add all your industries, plus a database of 6,000 prototype industries you can route your cars to "off line". The website is below. Peter's been in the heart of the hurricane areas. Tell him I sent you!

http://members.aol.com/shenware/

[twhite]

I use a locomotive. Occasionally an 0-5-0 when I think a car is in the wrong part of a consist.
Tom

[Ibflattop]

Hey Ray, Only Berks here for me. All of my PA's are in the dead track!!!!!! [8D]
Kevin

[IRONROOSTER]

I pu***hem with a stick[:D][:D]
Isn't that what those poling pockets are for???[swg]

Ever the irreverent one.
Paul

[Anonymous]

I wasn't familiar with "wheel reports." For others unfamiliar with the term, this is what I found at the website of the Railroad Commission of Texas:

"WHEEL REPORT - A document, possessed by the conductor, which shows the location of all rail cars and engines in a specific train, plus other vital information such as the contents of each car, the weight of each car, if it is carrying hazardous materials and what types, plus any other information which is important for the safe operation of that train."

More detailed than I probably would be interested in getting but I understand some modelers love paperwork.

Wayne

[orsonroy]

Right now, I'm working with car cards and waybills, by Micro Mark. Eventually, I'd like to work with switchlists, but I've got a layout to finish building first!

And Kevin, come over to the Dark Side. Give in to highballing Berkshires and shiny blue & white PA's. We NKP modelers are watching you!

[Ibflattop]

Do you guys use a car card system or something else like a wheel report? Kevin