05-28-2010, 05:51 AM
FCIN Wrote:One prototypical way to introduce some randomness and situations in your operations and something I view as being required when using switch lists; is to maintain a record of cars placed for loading and/or unloading for each customer.
That is also a good idea.
Btw - just for completeness sake - that is the way it often is being done with car cards and waybills too. Typically by having three boxes (labeled "set out", "hold" and "pick up") at each town or switching area.
When a train get to a town, the conductor take the cards in the box "pick up" and locate those cars - those are cars to be picked up. Enter them on your switch list, if you want, and put your car cards in your pocket.
When inbound cars have been spotted according to instructions and checked off on your switch list, take the car cards for those cars from your pocket and leave them in the box "set out". Car cards for cars that still are being unloaded remain untouched in the box "hold".
Before the next session, the layout owner will typically transfer cards for cars that has completed unloading from "hold" to "pick up" (and turn the waybill so the car has a new destination) - it has been released.
Other car cards gets transferred from "set out" to "hold" (they are still being unloaded - still have one or more days to unload before they are unloaded). And cards for cars that has been loaded in one turn (24 hours) can get transferred directly from "set out" to "pick up" (again with the waybill turned, so it has a new destination).
There are many ways of achieving the same net effect on a model railroad. And most of them work :-)
But I must say I am enjoying this discussion about the paperwork and how to simulate various aspects of real railroading. This stuff is fun.
Smile,
Stein