Using The ShipIt! Computer Program On An ISL

[FCIN]

Biggest problem right now, is the concept of overflow cars to certain customers. I have one customer that currently only unloads one car in a 24 hr period, but the track can hold 3 cars. If I set the car capacity for that shipper as 3, then ShipIt will try and keep 2 or 3 cars at that customer most of the time, with the result that if there are 3 cars on that track tonight and I generate a switch list, it may pull all 3 cars from the track, rather than spot the next one in line to unload.

Did you mean unload or load? This industry is a shipper, right, and would have extra empties sitting there for loading? But the program is acting like all 3 cars get loaded between operating sessions and then hauls the cars back to staging?

Unload. This customer is a small feed mill or other facility that receives inbound grain in covered hoppers and typically unloads a single 100 ton covered hopper of grain in a 24 hour period. However, from time to time they might receive more cars at one time then they would unload in a day. There are numerous industries like that around. What I want to duplicate, would be if the mill received 2 cars today; car 1 is spotted at the pit with car 2 behind it. The next day (session) car 1 is empty and car 2 is spotted over the pit, either by mill personnel moving it or by the train crew.

I even tried using specific spot numbers for this customer, with spot 1 being the pit and spots 2 and 3 being hold points, but that of course won't work either, as ShipIt treats each spot the same. Might have a car at the pit, one behind it and another just in the clear on the track to be spotted later and ShipIt might pull either of the waiting loads before it moved the car that actually was being unloaded. Not a suitable situation. Hope I explained that okay.

Although I can't test it, you could have the same situation if the customer was a shipper and the extra cars were for loading. It should pick one of the available empties and spot it when the outbound load is pulled, but I can't say if it would do that correctly. It's supposed to, but...

I have been using the program to generate sessions for operating my layout, mainly to test the program and as a quick way to create an operating session. But I don't know at this point if I'll actually use it once the layout gets to a permanent status. Just seems to be too many prototype situations that I can't make work right with the program.

I hate to hear that. What else do you have in mind? I think it would be a good idea for me to use whatever program you use because you certainly know the prototype side of operations.

Without going into a lot of detail in this posting, my alternative will be to use simplified prototype paperwork to keep track of everything and use that to make a switch list. I've already made a simple switch list form quite similar to those I used in the real world, but would need a few other simplified forms. Adds paper work to the operations, but does allow you to be the agent and also assume the role of customer too.

Of course there is also the car card waybill system that I could use and make switch lists from those. Don't want to have to be working the layout with a fist full of little waybills in one hand and the throttle in the other. I'd just use use the waybills to keep track of what was spotted on line and when.

In simplest form, I'd just make up a switch list based on what is currently on the layout and how many cars I want to switch on that day and how long I'd want the session to last.

I think sometimes we just need to set goals, for example, "this weekend, I will accomplish X" and then strive for that. May help keep us focused on the task at hand.

Yep, I need to tell myself FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS!

Okay, another question: Having staging on only one end seems fairly straightforward. But how would the prototype, such as the LAJ, schedule the trains with "staging"at both ends like my layout?

One scenario I see is that a train would start at the first "staging" yard with the incoming cars, then as it sets out the incoming cars, it would pick up only the cars headed to the other staging yard. Once it travels the whole layout to the other end, it would drop off the outgoing cars there and pick up a new set of cars coming to the layout, then reverse its travels dropping off those cars and picking up any cars destined back to the original staging yard. That train would be called a "turn", right? Reckon ShipIt could do that?

I'm thinking that ShipIt would work just fine in the scenario you describe, but in all likelihood, it would create the session so that you'd work everything along the way from Staging A to Staging B and then again coming from Staging B back to Staging A. Probably will take some experimenting with different schedules to see if it will work the way you describe.

And what other ways could the job be handled besides a "turn"?

You could set up several train schedules for each operating session. Might have one train that simply runs from your main town to Staging A and back. Another that runs from the main town to Staging B and back. Then have a crew that only works the main town. Then finally have two trains do the clean up work taking cars from the main town to Staging A and to Staging B.