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Waybill Systems
The purp
ose of any railroad (real or model) is to transport freight and/or passengers efficiently from one place to another be it a port, railway station, or a rail yard where the freight can be delivered directly to a local industry.
There are various car forwarding systems available for railroad modelers to use, ranging from simple colored tabs attached to the cars through to to electronic waybill systems. There are advantages and disadvantages for each system and much depends on personal preferences. Some systems will allow for a “random flow” of cars whereas other systems work to maintain a “disciplined flow” of a specified car numbers in or out of particular zones as a way of balancing the traffic.
The system you use is really over to you, so it is best to choose the system that best meets suits your railroad or your own preferences based on what interests you most.
A waybill and car card system is very easy to set up. The basic steps are as follows:
–> Start by making a complete inventory of all your rolling stock
–> Print the car cards
–> Draw up a chart listing the various interchanges and industries
–> Decide the capacity of your layout and the best way of balancing the rolling stock
–> Print your waybills
–> Set up the car cards and waybills
–> Get the system working and start operations
Try and create a system with records you can keep and maintain through the time you have your layout. This is because when you buy new rolling stock, or alter the layout track work, it will potentially affect the dynamics of the system you have in place. Record any deletions, additions, or changes and change your waybills accordingly to ensure the system continues to operate efficiently.
A simple computer spreadsheet is suitable for listing the details. If you don’t have a computer spreadsheet you can draw up some tables on paper and keep them in a ringbinder. Keep accurate records and a system you can continue to use in years to come.
You can record the road name, road number and initial, the car type and description, along with any additional information such as the manufacturer, the cost etc.
If you prefer to use a more automated system, there are switch list systems that generate lists of freight and passenger cars to switch to allow you to achieve realistic train operations.
3 Responses to Waybill Systems
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That’s a fantastic train collection! Must be great to have all those trains.
I don’t have a model railway for home but do have an exhibition layout. To date I have selected a partially random set of trains (mostly passenger) which are run through the station as the whim takes me. This occasionally leads to conflicts, mainly on a bi-directional track through the station. Having read this article, has made me realise that a waybill system (with additional instructions) would make my life as a sole operator a lot easier and could reduce the number of conflicts.
Out of interest, my track plan can be seen at
http://trains.manvell.org.uk/layouts/z-scale/Breitenfurt/images/Trackplan-latest.jpg .
The bi-directional track can be seen between the two main platforms.
In addition to the traditional waybill entries, pre- and post-instructions would be a great help. E.G.
Set (Yard) Tk3 to Up Main
Set Up Main to Tk 1 (that’s next to station building!)
Check Tk1 starter set to danger
Run V120 local.
or
Set (station) Tk2 to Up Main (clearing starter).
Set Up Main to (Yard) Tk1
Run BR61 express.
Note. Signals are automatically set clear by selecting the route and set to danger once train has passed them. All controlled by diode matrices.
CM.
Keeping records is a great idea – and something I should have done a long time ago. Thanks for the prompt. I’m going to get onto it right now!
Cheers, Max.