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OPERATIONS
I don't know if you've got the freight operations of the SRRL book, but it's indispensable for knowing samples of what was shipped, in what quantities, over what period of time, and also has examples of paperwork.
I collect any original paperwork I can afford when it pops up, and it's all an essential record to understanding how the road operated. If I ever get to the point of operations that I hope to, I plan to have the roll top desk for the dispatcher organized with the paperwork that every conductor would be using to manage every train that runs during the operating session. In my head there is a clip board for every train that the engineer/conductor will receive at the dispatcher desk and take with him along with his walk-around throttle to take charge of that assigned train. I imagine there to be a large print copy of the employee rules where everyone can read it so everyone can figure out how to unscrew things together when situations arise, and for constant reference for everyone who needs it.
I imagine it sort of like this; anyone who wants to come to the operations session gets a quick briefing on how the operation for that day will work, and what the responsibilities for each assigned person are. Depending on who shows up, you're either a station agent/yard boss, or an engineer/ conductor. The agent/yard bosses will be responsible for one of the following sections;
1 Farmington yard and Estes Box Shop
2 Strong yard and the fiddle yard representing the F&M branch, and Avon flag stop.
3 Phillips yard, the International Mill, and Reeds
4 Rangeley, Eustis Junction, Langtown and Greene's Farm
The Agent/Yard boss would be responsible for getting the locomotives serviced and ready for assignment, switching the yards to make up and break down consists, local switching for local traffic to and from the mills and other 'industries' (end users) to the yard and back, controlling priority of incoming and outgoing trains, and coordinating with the incoming and outgoing engineer/conductors for adding/dropping slices from their consists and transferring waybills and paperwork.
The Engineer/Operators would ensure that the trains they have been assigned are in the proper location to start operations, that all cars in the consist are what's supposed to be there with corresponding waybills and paperwork and the correct caboose present if assigned, and review the route, priority, and times of movements. Upon clearing priority, he will move his/her train according to the train orders and timetable, picking up and dropping when and where required, coordinating with the station agents/yardmasters for those slices and exchanging appropriate waybills and paperwork, stopping for water at every stop, and servicing the locomotive at the yard in the orders upon completion of the assignment to include dumping ash, coaling up, sanding up, watering up and routine maintenace, which would in practice mean parking it in the roundhouse after all the other chores. After his/her assignment with that train, he would report to the dispatcher desk for a new assignment, whether taking over another train or taking over an agent/yardmaster job so that everyone gets to do both jobs during a session.
I figure that's probably enough work for 8 people plus the dispatcher, who I figure will probably always be me unless someone else wants to do it too. Assignments might change several times during a session, with people switching between agent/yard boss duties and engineer/conductor duties several times during a session if they want to.
One of the things that worked out historically correct that tickled me was that now that I've been running trains up and down Sluice Hill since I completed the mainline between Reeds and Eustis Junction, is that double-heading up Sluice Hill is usually necessary for any train of realistic length, the way they had to on the original Sluice Hill. It's a 3% grade, but I unintentionally steepened it a big more between the Cascades trestle and Eustis Junction. I've tried a pusher like in the color print of the header and pusher moving a consist of pulp racks up Sluice Hill in the Winter, and the pusher just likes to push cars off the tracks ahead of it while easing the load on the puller.
I haven't even eye-balled how many trains might run in a session, but it's a lot. Rangeley Express runs every day, several scheduled passenger locals, several long lumber and pulp runs, several finished board lumber and novelties runs, several mixed runs, tons of local switching between yards and end users, MOW runs, wreck trains, Railway Post Office car operations, milk runs. etc. etc. Just one LCL boxcar might move to two different yards, then get moved to two or three different end users that all have freight on that one car to unload.
I imagine it would be a pretty fun and brain-draining experience that earns ample liquor at the end of the session.
I collect any original paperwork I can afford when it pops up, and it's all an essential record to understanding how the road operated. If I ever get to the point of operations that I hope to, I plan to have the roll top desk for the dispatcher organized with the paperwork that every conductor would be using to manage every train that runs during the operating session. In my head there is a clip board for every train that the engineer/conductor will receive at the dispatcher desk and take with him along with his walk-around throttle to take charge of that assigned train. I imagine there to be a large print copy of the employee rules where everyone can read it so everyone can figure out how to unscrew things together when situations arise, and for constant reference for everyone who needs it.
I imagine it sort of like this; anyone who wants to come to the operations session gets a quick briefing on how the operation for that day will work, and what the responsibilities for each assigned person are. Depending on who shows up, you're either a station agent/yard boss, or an engineer/ conductor. The agent/yard bosses will be responsible for one of the following sections;
1 Farmington yard and Estes Box Shop
2 Strong yard and the fiddle yard representing the F&M branch, and Avon flag stop.
3 Phillips yard, the International Mill, and Reeds
4 Rangeley, Eustis Junction, Langtown and Greene's Farm
The Agent/Yard boss would be responsible for getting the locomotives serviced and ready for assignment, switching the yards to make up and break down consists, local switching for local traffic to and from the mills and other 'industries' (end users) to the yard and back, controlling priority of incoming and outgoing trains, and coordinating with the incoming and outgoing engineer/conductors for adding/dropping slices from their consists and transferring waybills and paperwork.
The Engineer/Operators would ensure that the trains they have been assigned are in the proper location to start operations, that all cars in the consist are what's supposed to be there with corresponding waybills and paperwork and the correct caboose present if assigned, and review the route, priority, and times of movements. Upon clearing priority, he will move his/her train according to the train orders and timetable, picking up and dropping when and where required, coordinating with the station agents/yardmasters for those slices and exchanging appropriate waybills and paperwork, stopping for water at every stop, and servicing the locomotive at the yard in the orders upon completion of the assignment to include dumping ash, coaling up, sanding up, watering up and routine maintenace, which would in practice mean parking it in the roundhouse after all the other chores. After his/her assignment with that train, he would report to the dispatcher desk for a new assignment, whether taking over another train or taking over an agent/yardmaster job so that everyone gets to do both jobs during a session.
I figure that's probably enough work for 8 people plus the dispatcher, who I figure will probably always be me unless someone else wants to do it too. Assignments might change several times during a session, with people switching between agent/yard boss duties and engineer/conductor duties several times during a session if they want to.
One of the things that worked out historically correct that tickled me was that now that I've been running trains up and down Sluice Hill since I completed the mainline between Reeds and Eustis Junction, is that double-heading up Sluice Hill is usually necessary for any train of realistic length, the way they had to on the original Sluice Hill. It's a 3% grade, but I unintentionally steepened it a big more between the Cascades trestle and Eustis Junction. I've tried a pusher like in the color print of the header and pusher moving a consist of pulp racks up Sluice Hill in the Winter, and the pusher just likes to push cars off the tracks ahead of it while easing the load on the puller.
I haven't even eye-balled how many trains might run in a session, but it's a lot. Rangeley Express runs every day, several scheduled passenger locals, several long lumber and pulp runs, several finished board lumber and novelties runs, several mixed runs, tons of local switching between yards and end users, MOW runs, wreck trains, Railway Post Office car operations, milk runs. etc. etc. Just one LCL boxcar might move to two different yards, then get moved to two or three different end users that all have freight on that one car to unload.
I imagine it would be a pretty fun and brain-draining experience that earns ample liquor at the end of the session.
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To watch a detailed description of freight traffic and operations on the original Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad, click on the button to the right. It's a video recording of a zoom meeting led by Gary Kohler, a prolific author of Maine two-foot railroad subjects, explaining freight operations on the railroad.
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