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Car Forwarding on the Grimes Line Journals/Blogs
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Frequent poster 589 posts jfmcnab Frequent poster 589 posts
jfmcnab

rward_01.jpg 

Like everything else on my layout, car forwarding is based on prototype practices. While the popular car-card and waybill systems would have given me the same final outcome, the system isn't appropriate for a modern era (post-2000) layout. Instead, the Grimes Line uses computer-generated yard reports.

The Iowa Interstate uses RMI/GE's TMS system for car tracking. This is the same system that my friend and fellow IAIS modeler Joe Atkinson based his RailQuik system on for his Sub 4 West End layout. I'm lucky in that unlike Joe, I don't have to track multiple trains, interchanges, and offline destinations. Instead I only need to generate one form to handle one train.

Since the IAIS treats the entire Grimes Line no different than a yard, a single yard report form is all that's needed for crews to work the line. The yard report lists the standing of every car, in order, on every track. From that form train crews can determine which car to setout, pickup, or leave alone.

Let's take a look at each part of the report.

rward_02.jpg 

Each track is listed in alphabetical order by town or area. Any cars on that track are then printed in the order they stand on the track, from timetable east to west. From left to right you're given the car's reporting marks, load status, blocking, switch instructions (such as spot at specific door), tonnage, car type, restrictions, and lading. Looking at this example we see that car LSRC 10212, currently spotted on the Fleur Yard Connection track with a load of OSB, should be spotted at Millard Lumber in Urbandale.

rward_03.jpg 

Moving down the form we see the flat car spotted at Chicago Bridge & Iron in Clive. The track name still reflects the previous owner of the steel plant, Pitt Des Moines. Note that both the load status and commodity fields show empty, and the blocking is for the Norfolk Southern interchange in Des Moines. Crews know to pull the car and deliver it to the NS.

So what happens to this car after it gets delivered to the NS? We don't care. That's up to the NS. All the Iowa Interstate is concerned about is delivering this car to the last point it can on the IAIS. After that the connecting railroad is responsible for getting the car to its next destination.

rward_04.jpg 

Back to the form, and at Millard Lumber. Again we have an empty car with blocking to an interchange, this time the Canadian National (via the Indiana Harbor Belt) in Chicago. But since the crew of the "Tramp" doesn't serve Chicago, they know to setout the car for pickup by the eastbound road freight at the Fleur Yard in downtown Des Moines. Once the car is picked up by train CBBI, the blocking will still show final delivery to the CB.

The yard reports aren't that much of a change from car-card and waybill systems. It's the same information, just presented in a different format. The combination of a simple layout, low car numbers, and a straight-forward operating scheme means that even first-time visitors to my layout easily pick up on the method.

James
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Art in Iowa Regular poster 274 posts
Art in Iowa

Very interesting...

Sure makes it easy to work the entire line.

Curious, are you modeling the car mix that Chicago Bridge does? I noticed that the Tramp left 5 flats there at the beginning of the week and worked them in by this last Thursday. I pass by the trackage everyday during my workday.

BTW, nice write up in MRP 2014!

Art in Iowa

Modeling something... .

More info on my modeling and whatnot at  http://adventuresinmodeling.blogspot.com/
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jfmcnab Frequent poster 589 posts
jfmcnab

Shipment Levels

Thanks Art,

It should come as no surprise that CB&I's car orders vary from month to month, season to season, year to year, etc. Like you, I've seen the plant bursting at the seams with flat cars, then followed by periods of absolutely no activity. I'm pretty sure they've gone a full year without receiving a car load.

Luckily my modeled era features a healthy, but not overflowing amount of loads. Going along with the topics presented in my MRP article, had I chosen an era with more shipments I would have not only needed more flat cars, but also more space to spot all those cars.

Era affects everything!

James
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Dt.Cw_NScale Active Member 43 posts
Dt.Cw_NScale

Awesome...

Great Job! I really like they way that you create the yard reports. I am wondering how you create a report like that, I really would like to use it on my layout.

Thanks.

-Dylan , The Real Youngblood of N Scale

Modeling the Wisconsin Central since 2012.                                                   

Modern Day Wisconsin Central Shawano Subdivision
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jfmcnab Frequent poster 589 posts
jfmcnab

Creating Forms

I use Robert Bowdidge's  SwitchList application for the Mac. I've gotten to know Robert over the years, and was able to write a custom version of his program that generated the forms based on IAIS practices. It's a great app if you're running a small, switching style layout.

Larger layouts would benefit from Joe Atkinson's RailQuik for Microsoft Access. As I mentioned it's based on the TMS system that the prototype IAIS uses for car tracking and creates the same style of forms. Joe's made the application available as freeware, and has written about it in his own blog entries on MRH.

James
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Joe Atkinson IAISfan Super User 3,774 posts
Joe Atkinson IAISfan

RQ

Quote:

Larger layouts would benefit from Joe Atkinson's  RailQuik for Microsoft Access. As I mentioned it's based on the TMS system that the prototype IAIS uses for car tracking and creates the same style of forms. Joe's made the application available as freeware, and has written about it in his own blog entries on MRH.

Thanks for the free advertising James!   Your Switchlist work looks great.

Joe Atkinson
Modeling Iowa Interstate's 4th Sub, May 2005
https://m.facebook.com/groups/iowainterstate4thsub

https://www.iaisrailfans.org/gallery/4thSub

My MRH blog index

https://instagram.com/iaisfan
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pschmidt700 Prolific poster 2,584 posts
pschmidt700

Choice of era results in another operational advantage

Here is where your MRP article on choice of era comes to the fore again, James -- a more Spartan form of modern railroading also features simpler paperwork. For modelers of the modern era, the switching operations are just as interesting and varied, but with the advantage of having no car cards/waybills to carry around.

BTW, I appreciate that IAIS came into possession of some of the long-defunct Seattle & North Coast Railroad's boxcars. I grew up on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. MILW's Olympic Branch ran through the middle of my hometown; later, this was SNCT's line. Nice to see a well-loved logo on your modern-era layout.

Paul Schmidt

 

 
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jfmcnab Frequent poster 589 posts
jfmcnab

SNCT Overload

Thanks Paul. I originally planned on using CC&WBs since I was familiar with them from previous layouts and knew they could be easily implemented. But once I learned more about what forms the prototype IAIS uses it became a no-brainer.

Quote:

Nice to see a well-loved logo on your modern-era layout.

I'm amazed how many of those boxcars ended up in the hands of other regional and shortline operators, and even more amazed how many ended up on the Grimes Line during my modeled era.

James
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Frederic Begin New member 1 post
Frederic Begin

SwitchList Application

Hi James,

I've been following up you're blog with great interest. You really did a wonderful job !

Since I'm modelling a similar layout, do you mind sharing the customized version of James's SwitchList. That would save me a ton of work since you've done exactly what I need.

Keep me posted at frederic.begin AT gmail.com

Thanks in advance

 

Frederic
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