Hello

That depends on a lot of things, if the local is on a job where you go from A to B and then back to A, I would suggest to do all trailing points outwards (from A to B), then at B make a runaround with your loco, and on the return trip all previous facing points becomes trailing points, if you see what I mean.

This is prototypical working for many locals.

If the run is only from A to B, then there is another story. Mayby they will follow your path. I really most crews would hate such jobs. 

I would by the way prefer blocking per customer.

So make it simple, as a rule. But - it is your railroad, so do it your way!

 My local freights have all cars for my only yard put into one block somewhere in the train before leaving the staging. These freights then drop off the block and pickup any departures. These cars are then sorted in the yard for local industries.

My turn blocks its cars for the industries with trailing spur cars at the rear and facing at the front. This makes it far easier to switch. To reach the last spur requires pushing down the main so these cars are kept at the front of the train.

Mike Ruby

For our next FREMO meeting in Braunlage I've planned for the locals to do only trailing point switching. So the cars are blocked in station order.

At Westport Terminal RR the cars are blocked at Westport yard. Third Street District has its own switcher. At the two other districts the crew does the switching.

Wolfgang

Put a real railroad spin on this question. I hope this dosen't sound to "overwhelming". After all, it's just a model railroad, isn't it?

Here is another way to look at blocking (switching out) your train. Make yourself the conductor of that train. Ask yourself the following question: What's easier for me (and the engineer) to do? Of course, you want all of your cars blocked together. You don't want to arrive at an industry or interchange with those cars for that destination scattered throughout your train. How soon do you want to be done? You basically want a "easy in, easy out" scenerio each time you stop to do work. It's like a game or a puzzle. There is no right or wrong answer. You can give 10 conductors the same switchlist, and you will get 10 different answers on how to do it. The goal here, as on the real railroads, is what is the most efficient way to get it done. 

After you leave the yard and arrive at your first destination or industry, the "engineer" does not want to keep going back and forth from the main to the siding while you switch out your cars. And the "dispatcher" dosen't want you holding up the track any longer either. Your train should be blocked BEFORE starting your trip. All the work should be done in the yard first. Why? Because in the yard, you have more time to work. You are not holding up any trains on the main and you have access to multiple tracks to sort your train. That's makes a huge difference because you can block cars for different destinations on different tracks. When your done, all you need to do is grab the different tracks, in order of the way your work is to be done, and leave. Most likely, you don't have that option after you leave the yard.

From a real railroads ponit of view, keep these tips in mind:

What industries (or interchanges) need to be serviced today and in which order are they going to be done as you progress down the line.....err....around the layout. This is how your cars should be blocked in your train BEFORE you depart. 1st come, 1st serve.

What runarounds, sidings or wye's need to be utilized to get the work done and how many cars will those sidigs hold. This is important if you have facing point switches. How are you going to service that industry and "get around" the cars for that industry. Maybe you can just save that move for your return trip when it becomes a trailing point switch. HMMMM it's kind of like a game.

If you are picking up outbound cars (empty or loaded cars pulled from customer sidings or interchanges), where do you want those placed in your train. In other words, are you going to be picking up these outbounds on the head end, behind your engine(s), or off the rear end, behind your consist and ahead of the caboose (if you have one). That makes a big deal to the engineer. As you progress down the line, and you are picking up cars off the head end, the engineer will have more cars to handle (hang on to) going into and out of sidings. More cars equals more slack for that engineer to control. You don't want the engineer hanging on to, say, 20 cars to spot a car on a siding that holds only 1 car. The slack in those 20 cars alone, if not adjusted properly by the engineer, could force that car right off the end of the track.

I know of a engineer up here on the NYS&W RR that always had to have empties on the rear of his train heading back to Utica, NY. Why? His reason was simple. On the Northern Division of the NYS&W, there is a really steep grade northbound, from Paris, NY to Utica, NY. He said that by having empties on the rear of the train, they acted as "parachutes" when the brakes where applied. Whereas having loads on the rear "pushed" the train downhill. The empties on the rear end would tend to "pull" the train backwards and help hold the train back by keeping it "stretched out" going down hill. Makes sense to me. 

Certain industries may request cars to be placed in a certain order, for unloading purposes, on their siding. Do this before you leave the yard as well.

Next time your trackside, LOOK at the train itself as it passes. I know, most people want to see which engines are in the lead. But after the engines pass, look at the train. In what kind of order are those cars in. What kind of cars are blocked together? Where are the empties located? Why are they in THAT order.

Get the big picture before departure. What cars need to be on what tracks, what sidings and where on those sidings? What customers need to be serviced first or last? Are the cars properly blocked according to destination, interchange or work to be done. Are your Hazardous Materials tank cars properly spaced? Sorry, I just had to throw that one in. I did'nt know how "in depth" you wanted to get. Federal regulations require loaded HazMat cars be "buried" at least 6 car lengths from an occupied engine or caboose. Empty HazMat cars need to be spaced 2 car lengths from a occupied engine or caboose. Are yours?

What do you want your train to look like when the work is done? Where do you want the outbounds located?

To me, yard operations are the best part of model railroading. Yes, I enjoy watching trains run around the layout and, in real life, rolling down the mainline. But so much work is done behind the scenes that people often forget about. Those trains were "made up" somewhere along the line and chances are that a "yard crew" put it together. Don't be in a "rush" to get out on the main. Get your train properly blocked before leaving the yard. It will save you time and aggrevation down the line.

Sorry if this got too much in detail for you. It's just the railroader in me that sometimes has to come out of retirement.

Still a NJ Devil's Fan!!!!! 

 

Steve

I have a friend who has a blocking diagram for the local originating from his yard (modest sized layout..). The yard switcher just needs to consult this diagram to see which industries need to go where when present. The diagram was put together by a railroader who visited his layout one day. I think this is a great idea if you are going to have a lot of "visiting" operators. I think it also adds interest to the yard crew if they may not otherwise have a lot of classification to do.

Another layout I operate on has one job in particular that has customers enroute with no run-around. I sort by customer then put them all up front because they will be all switched as trailing point switches, whether it be on my way in or way out.

If there is capacity to do so, I think it adds interest to a local to block their own cars at the far end before heading back to the yard.

Chris

Steve,

Great post on blocking.  Good points on Hazmat.  That reminded me of a photo on Al Krug's website regarding hazmat tank cars placed next to shiftable loads.  See

http://krugtales.50megs.com/rrpictale/p040101/p040101.htm

Don

Great point. Shiftable loads are, yet another, problem for train crews to worry about. That's an easy one to "throw at" your yard crew. Make them "switch out" that train to be "rules compliant".

For those of you that are wondering what a "shiftable load" is, it's quite easy to explain.

A shifable load is any load that may "shift" on a railcar during transit. A few good examples are: poles, logs and pipes. A load may shift side to side or front to back depending on speed, slack and track condition. A good engineer is always concerned with this issue.

For safety purposes, a shiftable load is NEVER to be placed next to an occupied engine or caboose, tank cars or any car carrying HazMat. A shifted load could damage or puncture these engines, cabooses and freight cars causing serious injury, damage, spills or even death.

That's a "biggy" with the FRA.

Hey, that's an easy one to "model"

Still a NJ Devil's Fan!!!!! 

 

Steve

Safety rules are era-sensitive.  The rules in effect in 2009 weren't all in effect in 1909.  While 1909-era railroads had rules for the placement of explosives and flammables in a train, I question whether there were rules on shiftable.  Hearing from experts who know when particular rules were in effect would be highly useful.  If one is serious in attempting to operate like the prototype, this is as important as information on when certain equipment like couplers, truck frames, wheels, brakes, etc. were outlawed or required so that models are appropriate for the era modeled.

It is nice to follow rules and regulations but if we end up using rules like the prototype, the hobby might become more of a job than an enjoyment and it won't as fun.

I guess that applies to the "rivet counters" out there too. You know who I'm talking about. The ones that can tell the difference between a E8 and E9 or GP39's from GP40's. This only applies to those modelers that truly model the prototype. Why go half way? There's ALWAYS someone out there who will ALWAYS question what you have done. It's all about having fun...right?

At least you will have an answer for that person who asks: why are your tank cars in the middle of your train and not behind the engine? Prototypical Operation at it's best.

Be prepared...they are out there...and you know who you are.

Still a NJ Devil's Fan!!!!! 

 

Steve