One man layouts operation styles

[BRAKIE]

This is the way I operate Slate Creek ISL.

Here's a day on the SSRy. The crew fires up #60 a RS-1 and heads for the N&W interchange and picks up the inbound cars and returns to Slate Creek Industrial Park and does the required work the crew takes the outbound cars to the N&W Interchange and returns to SCIP and parks 61 near the office and secures the engine for the night...

After lunch the crew heads over to Lakeside Industrial Park in the company's pickup truck and fires up the S-4( #50) and heads for the CR interchange and returns with the inbound cars and after doing the required work they take the outbound cars to CR.

Upon their returned to LSIP they park #50 by the security office,they shut down and secured #50 for  the night and heads back to SCIP where they clock out and go home..

After finishing SCIP I will start the build on LSIP.

I use a hand written switch list.

A example:

North Shore Polytech

Setout:

44350

342215

Pickup

14231

 

[Lone Wolf and Santa Fe]

    I use a car card and waybill system. Trains run in a sequence which was created based on the supply and demand of the waybills. I run one train at a time. The other trains are stopped on sidings or in the staging yard. All of the trains have meets somewhere along the line.
    I don’t feel like car cards and way bills are time consuming. I think it’s part of the game. Draw the cards (waybills) and do what they say. I think it is believable because the trains are all based on the demand created by the waybills.
    I use a seven day waybill system in which every day is different. The waybills are color coded so I know which waybills are for which days. Only the waybills for the first day can be used on the first day. When the waybills run out then the other cars run as empties and are returned to their home road or to the yard to be used another day. Having different days means I don’t re-live the same day over and over. Some industries are seasonal and have more waybills for the certain days and might not have any on other days. And other industries I try to make a little variance from day to day.
    Occasionally I run a special train just because I feel like it. The special trains are from the “historic society” and feature old fashion steam locomotives and antique cars.
    Other trains I run when I feel like it are maintenance of way trains which might include snowplows or ballast hoppers. These special trains add variety to my operations. When it snows in real life I run snowplows. If there is an earthquake I send out the track inspection car.
    Sometimes if there is a major derailment I send out the big hook to do it's job. 

[SeeYou190]

I was going to write an article on exactly this subject, but interest was low.

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Here is (basic simplified) track plan for the STRATTON & GILLETTE railroad. I am not good enough at drawing track plans to make it accurate, but it gets the ideas across pretty well:

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This is the map of the area that layout represents. It is not any specific area anywhere, just a North/South mainline on part of a class 1 railroad that goes into Willoughby. From there there is a local line to Port Mary, which then also goes to Great Divide. There is a West line out of Willoughby to West Manchester:

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All of these towns are represented on the layout.

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The top half of the layout is Willoughby. Trains come into and leave Willoughby from staging via tunnels on either end of the layout. The outer loop connects to nothing and is just display for running passenger trains. The inner loop goes to most of the staging tracks and the yard and engine terminal in Willoughby.

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From Willoghby a "local" can go to Port Mary. In Port Mary a train can be assembled to either go back to Willoughby, or make the local run to Great Divide.

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The local run to great divide will return from staging as a different train. When a train enters staging to West Manchester it will reemberge as the train that went to Great Divide from Port Mary.

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There are no industries in Willoughby to switch. Willoughby is only there to make up trains and sort freight cars. It also changes out locomotives. There will be 8-12 industries on the layout in Port Mary for car destinations.

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The car float in Port Mary, and all of West Manchester and Great Divide are "Universal Industries" that can take any type of freight car. This allows me complete freedom when assembling freight trains on the layout.

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So... operation as a Lone Wolf:

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1: Choose a passenger train to run on the outer loop. This is just fun, and I never plan any actual passenger train operations.

2: Bring in a freight train to Willoughby from staging. Move the locomotive to the roundhouse and set out the caboose.

3: Assemble a freight train for the trip to Port Mary. Run this train to the other side of the layout.

4: Switch the local industries in Port Mary.

5: Turn the locmotive and assemble a train for the trip to Great Divide.

6: Run this train into staging, and take the train out of staging that was already there that represents the return trip from Great Divide.

7: Turn the locomiotve. Switch out the cars on the car float and assemble a train for the trip to Willoughby.

8: Run this train back to Willoughby.

9: Assemble a train for the run to West Manchester.

10: Run the train into staging and bring out the train from staging that actually originated in Port Mary in step 6. This train represents the return trip from West Manchester.

11: Make up a new freight train to run into the main staging tracks.

12: Move that train into the main loop staging tracks.

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That represents the fun steps to running this layout. It is all designed 100% for play value, and nothing else. This is my 6th home layout, and I am pretty sure I have figured out what I want.

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To make sure everything would look the way I wanted, I built the whole layout in 1:1 scale out of carboard and fully scenicked the whole thing.

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This way I knew everything would fit in the space and scenic elements could all be included as planned.

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I took very careful notes of where all track components were located so I could rebuild the actual layout in the arrangement that I proved would work.

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I also laid out the loops into staging and the staging yard thoat using the actual Kato Unitrack pieced that will be used for all the hidden trackage just to be sure the plan was workable.

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Then I laid out the track plan using cardboard and "operated" it using BRIO trains to be sure that the track layout would not be aggravating.

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So to answer the main part of your question on how I will operate the layout by myself. I will just have a sequential list of tasks to perform that include my favorite parts of operation. I will make up and break down trains. Turn and change out locomotives, and run trains to destinations off layout.

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I can add or delete steps as time or interest allows.

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No cards, train orders, manifests, etc. Just the fun of running the trains for some sort of simulated purpose while I listen to my favorite music.

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-Kevin

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[Graffen]

On my last layout I used car cards. The layout was a switching layout, 11' x 1.5'. It had a barge for interchange.

With additional cards for car repairs and other events, it can get quite realistic and a good way to spend time on your layout.

 

[Tinplate Toddler]

This is your layout, so do whatever pleases you!

I have given up on being a "serious" model railroader and have gone back to üplaying with my train set (I hesitate to call it a layout) but , boy, am I having fun doing that!

[IRONROOSTER]

Well mostly I just run the train in whatever way appeals to me at the moment.  Sometimes I just watch it run around the circle.  Other times I switch cars in and out from the sidings.  But that's for my test layout.  If I ever get the "big one" built, I'll look into doing it differently.

Paul

[Harrison]

When I operate my 4x8 layout by my self, I usually just spot cars in the logical places(example, Box car to the paper mill, ect.) as the switchlist gets boring after a while. but when I have people over to operate, we follow a prepared paper switchlist.  

[restorator]

Not sure the best catgeory for this. So I posted in general.

My question is to the "one man", or "lone wolves" out there, and smaller sized layouts, which appears to be many of the people here. I am curious about the styles you use to operate and any differences from large layouts and/or group sessions.

Do you use car cards, waybills, timetables, JMRI or other computer generated system? Do you more often operate a single train from start to end of the run, or start up multiple trains and have meets? Do you run every generated train in sequence or just run whatever you feel like at the time?

I would think there is no "right" or "wrong", only opinions. I am just looking for various styles to consider. After trying car cards for a very short time I found it time consuming to setup, clunky and unrealistic, amd somewhat restrictive to variety. Since then I have been using JMRI operations and have tweaked it all kinds of ways to get traffic and specific cars to flow just like I want and how would expect the real world to work. And most importantly the unpredictablity and suprise of what car and cargo is arriving from staging. I am very happy with it and it works for me, but am I missing out on anything by not doing it another way?

That said, I used JMRI from mostly the beginning stages of the layout when I had only a handful of cars in existence and I suspect that has made it very easy to keep up with the growth to now, about 75 cars in service and dozens of industries. And for large and existing layouts it might be extremely time consuming or difficult to change to, so I am not advocating one system is better than another.

But as I am a one man layout, and "relatively" new to serious operations, I would like to hear others choices and pros and cons of them. Especially JMRI Ops users.