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Operating a train layout in a realistic fashion can add hours of enjoyment to our highly creative recreational activity. You can give purpose to your model railroad Build industries that depend on shipment from one another, Establishing interchanges with other railroads Creating towns that require passenger service. Freight Car Forwarding Freight Car Forwarding simulates the shipment handling component that gives real railroads their purpose.

Although at first, freight forwarding seems complex to many, it does have a 'game' aspect similar to a slow, easy going, one player chess match. Best of all, freight forwarding can be any done on any layout with any number of participants.

Railroads exist to move freight and passengers from a point of origin to a destination. Maybe, the odd delay!

The first step in setting up a freight forwarding system is to list the towns and industries (both on-line and off-line) with track capacities. Modeling Freight Forwarding - Step 1

They make the magic smoke for your decoders Label your Industries

List the types of loads or consignments that each industry will ship and/or receive. For each load also list the type of car required (e.g. covered hopper) Modeling Freight Forwarding - Step 2 Note: Computers are great for taking files and sorting the information in other ways for other purposes. They can also arrange the data into typical waybill format for printing. Be sure to make effective use of computer tools. At this point there are several ways to continue. One can Use:- a basic manual waybill systema basic manual waybill system, a card order system,a card order system, a car marker system ora car marker system or a switch list program.a switch list program. Each system has its advantages but many chose one of the first two methods at first to get used to freight forwarding operations.

Manual Waybills Manual waybills contain the load information for each origin/destination pair. Additional fields are provided for recording the specific car assigned and the route to be followed. Use a prototypical format as much as possible. To generate traffic for a specific session shuffle the waybills that were previously made out. Draw an appropriate number for the available industries. This simulates the requests generated by the freight agents. Assign the waybills to available cars as appropriate. Now assign sets of completed waybills to appropriate trains according to the railroad's operating plan. This is the task of the yardmaster When the load has reached its destination, the waybill is destroyed.

Card Order System This system allows re-use of the waybills. Separate cards are made up for each available car using your car inventory list. Each card contains the car type as well as registration marks and car number. HM GN Brown Hopper

The simplest format does not bother about consignment (load) carried. Station abbreviations are listed on one edge and track numbers on another. Paper clips are set to station/track for car delivery. Cards are stacked together to make up each train. A variant contains a list of stops with a paperclip moved sequentially through each destination. Sydney Gosford Narara Orimbah Wyong Newcastle Brown Hopper GN Trk 1 Trk 2 Trk 3 Trk 4 Trk 5 Trk 6

second format A second format uses waybills pulled from the pile of waybills and assigned to the appropriate car and Physically coupled to the car card either with a paperclip or via a pocket on the card. They are then set into stacks for each appropriate train. When the load has been delivered to the consignee, the waybill is separated from the car card and returned to its pile, the car card is stored at the station location. At the next cycle (or two) the car is returned either to the closest storage area or to the appropriate interchange if an off-road car.

third format A third format that has become very popular is to have the car card contain a pocket (no paperclips!) which contains a card marked with destinations (4 edges X 2 sides) to give up to eight stops for the car before returning to its home yard. This system disregards the load or consist but provides lots of action.

Sample of car card & waybill

Car Marker Systems Car marker or 'card on car' order systems were developed to overcome the problem of keeping the waybill paperwork with the car as it moved. The system uses tabs of varying formats (tack, H shape, magnetic, sticky) with visual indication of car destination. No indication of consignment (load) carried is given. Once very popular, the use of the car marker system has diminished because : the system is highly un-prototypical Some methods required car modification the system spoiled the look of the model

Switch List Systems Prototype railways run on paperwork. In addition to waybills and bills of lading there are: Wheel or consist reports - list of how cars are arranged in train Work orders - list of what cars are to be dropped or added from train. Normally this is arranged by station. Track list - list of how cars are arranged within yard

In model railroading switch lists are ordered lists of cars within a single train with delivery instructions Switch List Systems The important information is the reporting mark and car number,car type, load, tonnage, origin, destination, date of arrival, and mileage The destination column signals setouts required. Model railroad systems can be simplified by omitting tonnage, origin, date and mileage and including pickup locations as well.

Waybills and Switch List Software Waybills and switch lists can be computer generated. These programs generate traffic according to the industries, cars, and trains desired by the user. Larger railroads can make good use of computer freight forwarding programs but they may be overkill for the smaller (1-4) operator layouts.

Operations using Car Cards & Waybills

What are Car Cards ??? Tack Boards Representation of the Tack Boards

The Car Card HM GN Brown Hopper When Empty, Return to …………………………… Pocket for Way Bill Coloured cards can identify types of rolling stock

The Waybill Is our representation of the Paperwork that is attached to the carOr carried by the conductor.

The Waybill 4 “sided” waybill Cards, in train order, attached to loco card

Preparing the Waybills The spreadsheet shown is on the CD, open the spread sheet and type over the info shown above with your info.

WaybillCar Card First you will need to print some blank car cards and waybills You will need twice as many way bills as car cards Blank waybills & car cards can be found on this CD

List all your industries in order as they are around the layout. Then list all the incoming goods and outgoing goods, at this time you can list the types of car used for each commodity. Fill in the waybill allowing the car to move across the layout. You don't want the car to move between 2 industries in the same yard.

As you move the train around the layout you can set out the cars at the industry shown on the way bill. Put a "normal" number of cars in each of your industries along with its car card. Then add a suitable way bill to each car card. Setup a train in your staging yard with enough cars to replace HALF the cars at industries.

As you set out each car remove a car that is already at that location. This will stop the industry or yard being swamped with cars

As you set out each car move its waybill to the next window - the waybill is numbered with 4 windows, 1:2:3:4:. and put it at the back of the card pocket.

When the next train comes by to drop off some cars it can pick up the cars ready to go and then take them back to a yard or drop them at the required industry as it moves around the layout.

Now Have Fun.....