, we decided to use one train for both Richmond-Chicago and Richmond-Louisville traffic east of Elkton. This let us split and merge sections, challenging even the most experienced operators.
Article from Model Railroader; August 1996:
Copyright MODEL RAILROADER Magazine 1996, used by permission.
Text by
Bruce Alcock and Mike Raskob
Photos for article by John Burroughs
Introduction: The North Shore Club's passenger trains perform on this stage, the fictional Chesapeake System. it's the set in the 50's, just after the Chesapeake & Hudson, Cumberland Western, and Chesapeake & Lake Erie merged, so CS trains still wear the colors of the predecessor lines.
The long-distance passenger routes are Richmond-Chicago, Richmond-Kansas City, and New York-Kansas City. The CS Doesn't try to compete with the Pennsylvania and New York Central for New York-Chicago traffic.
Twentieth Century Limited, Super Chief, Broadway Limited - the list goes on, and even those who have never ridden a passenger train catch an echo of adventure. So why does passenger operation on model raid roads sometimes seem like a dull afterthought? It doesn't have to. Drama, nostalgia, and lots of operating interest can be found in the passenger train (and its relatives, the mail and milk trains), but it takes planning.
On the Chesapeake System, the HO railroad operated by our North Shore Model Railroad Club in Wakefield, Mass., creative use of "the varnish" lays the foundation for realism, excitement, and fun in operating sessions plus a dash of prototypical frustration! (Our track plan is not needed to follow this article, but one was included in an article in the May 1986 MR.)
To generate interesting passenger train operations we use a writer's methods: creating interesting "characters" and situations. Frank Ellison was an early proponent of treating the layout as a stage and planning a schedule as an unfolding drama capturing the "feel" of your chosen type of railroading. Ellison's approach is still good fifty years later. The script for our railroad drama was developed in several steps:
Writing our script actually started with planning both the passenger and the freight trains, but this article concentrates on the passenger trains.
Since most crews like to do more than run a train against the clock, we tried to incorporate some switching operations in almost all of our passenger train schedules. These were some of the possibilities:
To see how we developed our trains, let's take a look at the Pacesetter (train no. 25), serving Richmond and Louisville with lots of stops in between.
After studying the map of our system (fig. 1)
, we decided to use one train for both Richmond-Chicago and Richmond-Louisville traffic east of Elkton. This let us split and merge sections, challenging even the most experienced operators.
To make the Pacesetter even more interesting we decided to have it drop and add sleepers. One section serves our resort area at White Crystal Springs, and the other carries a through car for a connection at Charleston, W. Va.
Having decided the kind of role train no. 25 would play, we next had to work out its entrances and exits - when it would run. We first estimated travel times between major points and then developed a rough schedule. Only part of the CS is actually represented by the layout, as shown in (fig. 2)
, so the train would originate and terminate in staging yards "beyond the layout."
If you are modeling a specific prototype, you may be able to use real timetables to determine distances and running times. In our case, we used timetables from nearby prototype railroads as well as maps of our area and highway mileage charts to get a good working distance estimate. See (fig. 3).
We chose an average speed of 50 ; mph for the Pacesetter, and a little long g division soon gave us running times between cities. Our preliminary time chart is shown in fig. 4. Figure 5 shows 7 all the other passenger trains we'll need to plan for similiarly.
Next we developed a rough schedule, taking into consideration the competition's service (if any) and passenger convenience.
If we pulled out of Richmond at 5:00 p.m., the Chicago section would arrive at 7:40 a.m. (an acceptable time), but the Louisville section would arrive at 3:40 a.m.! Also, a 5:00 p.m. departure from Richmond made for a 9:00 p.m. arrival at White Crystal Springs, not late enough to require the sleeper drop we wanted.
Changing to a 7:00 p.m. departure gave us an 11:00 p.m. arrival at the Springs, late enough to let passengers sleep on the siding until morning.
By working backwards from that 11:00 p.m. sleeper drop at the resort to an 8:00 p.m. departure time at Fredericksburg (on the layout), we arrived at a 6:50 p.m. departure from Richmond (off the layout). We followed the same process for the other actors in our drama. Figure 6 lists the completed passenger train cast.
Then we were ready for the next stage in developing our script - the plot. Here we tried to add the right amount of complexity to increase operator interest (the prototype would try to eliminate it) without causing too much frustration.
Having the crack eastbound Chesapeake Limited intrude on the Pacesetter's switching at Elkton would introduce a dramatic moment, even though the railroad is double-tracked there.
Next we envisioned meets between the westbound Limited and Pacesetter and an eastbound reefer block, all this on a single-track section. Leapfrogging these three trains through the mountains would give the dispatcher and crews a real feeling of accomplishment!
Another trick would be to send our passenger local (no. 52) from Charleston to Elkton out ahead of two through trains, nos. 16 and 26. If all went well, the local would make its stops and enter the siding at Campanella Ridge just in time to let the faster trains pass. If it didn't, we'd have some irate passengers!
Even the placement of structures could add to the fun. By giving some of our passenger stations platforms on only one track, we could force trains to cross over and run "wrong iron," keeping the dispatcher alert.
A graph like that shown in fig. 7 was a big help in formulating our plot because it gave an overall view of what was happening on the layout. We used it to develop a good fit among the trains (both freight and passenger), track plan, and our control system (which limits the number of trains that can be running at one time).
The graph gives a visual picture of track use, making it easy to see opportunities for meets or passes. In reading the graph, a vertical line indicates a stopped train, and each line slopes downward in the direction the train is moving. The steeper the slope, the slower the train.
We made our graph in pencil, and an eraser came in very handy! After a lot of trial-and-error, the graph was completed. (Later we put the graph on a computer, but that's another story.)
To translate the graph into operating instructions for our crews, we created a single-page timetable "extract" for each train. Figure 8 shows one for the Pacesetter. This extract includes the name and number of the train, a brief description of it to help a new crew understand its "role," and the timetable for the run over the layout, including routing instructions.
Also there's a consist sheet for each passenger train that includes switching instructions. See fig. 9. This sheet is placed inside a clear plastic pouch secured by a clip so an operator can hang it up and have both hands free for the controls.
During an operating session, each person works with a part of the script. Road crews use the timetable pages and train orders from the dispatcher, yard crews have a special set of instructions, and the dispatcher uses both the graphic overview and the Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) board to keep track of what's happening.
The system usually lets us keep lots of traffic moving without having to tie up the radio with lengthy instructions. Scheduled meets, passes, and car transfers can occur without conversation, and verbal "train orders" can handle the unplanned or unexpected. (We never expect to have an operating session where everything follows the script!)
The Chesapeake's cast of passenger trains, moving on realistic schedules, contributes to the sense of running a purposeful railroad, and challenges the creativity, teamwork, and efficiency of the operating crews in moving the railroad's big moneymaker - freight. We hope some of these ideas can help you increase your own enjoyment in the adventure of railroading.