tember, 2008, I generated timetables us- ing the CPR employee timetable in effect for my target time period (October 1970 to March 1971) as a guide. As I drew up stringline diagrams with a target fast clock speed of 5:1 to give me the timing and meet locations, I wondered why the prototype only scheduled trains in one direction? How did the trains get back and what were these mysterious things I had heard referred to as “extra trains”? Anyway I created even numbered east- bound counter parts to the odd-num- bered westbounds in the CPR’s employee timetable,
diligently listed departure
times for each station and meet loca- tions, and away we went.
The first sessions met their objec-
tives. The layout “worked”–no small feat given how complicated layouts are–and a good time was had by all. However, there were a few unanticipat- ed occurrences. Well, unanticipated by me but apparently not by any of my guests. For instance: •What do you know, trains don’t al-
ways run on time! What’s with that? Then what do you do? •How do crews know if scheduled trains have passed junction points? •And how do crews know anything at all without someone circulating amongst them directing their move- ments and telling them when it is okay to advance–basically acting as an all- seeing, all-powerful, dynamically ad- justing, stage director? •It would be nice to add some more
forwarding objectives so I am quite happy where this has ended up. (See an article in the OP-SIG, Dispatcher’s Office, April 2014 edition for details.)
Midway
Grand Forks Cascade
Lafferty/Fife Farron
Coykendahl Shields
Trail
(Rossland Sub) Castlegar South Slocan JN
Nelson X B Hot E XK XSN BN704 N90 81
Troupe JN Creston/Yahk Cranbrook 5 AM 6 AM 7 AM 8 AM 9 AM 10 AM 11 AM 12 PM
X Creston 1 PM RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN 2 PM 3 PM 4 PM 5 PM 984 BN 703 X N Hot W 6 PM 7 PM 8 PM 41 X Ore X Boundary The second problem was managing
the movement of the trains and this was not as easily solved. For the first operating session in Sep-
action (read: additional trains) over and above what my bucolic prototype actually ran in 1970, but this added ac- tion would likely stress the existing rigid timetable system even more. Some research was in order. I started by looking at the way operationally-fo- cused layouts in my area addressed
Stringline diagram showing trains and times
89 XSS 102 91
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