The prototype Big Horn Subdivision of the BNSF is dispatched by CTC. This is a relatively heavily used segment of single track main with numerous sidings for meets. During my first operating session, I decided that given the lack of signals on my layout we would dispatch the layout using track warrants. This proved to be a huge workload for the dispatcher (me) and for the crews, and I was not satisfied with the fluidity of the layout. Too much of our time was spent copying warrants and not enough running trains. This set me to thinking about how better to dispatch.

My wife has frequently observed that my road to model railroading accomplishments is indeed a long and winding one. It seems my attention is easily captured by the latest "squirrel" moment, sometimes triggered by a post on this or another message board or facebook group, other times something I see along the tracks. Over the last few months I have fallen into a weathering pothole on the road to completion (a goal far, far in the future!)

I thought that since I posted a question about the use of car cards and waybills that generated a lot of good information for me, it would be appropriate to post a track plan to help people visualize what I am sometimes not very good at explaining. 

I'm dipping my toes into the ocean of operations and struggling some with car forwarding. I have played around with JMRI Ops in the past but thought I would explore car cards and waybills. This post will explore some of the questions and (likely) misconceptions I have about how they are created and used. 

Here is a photo of what I've created to this point. My observations and questions in the next posts. 

With my layout build well underway, there should be adequate material to make a periodic blog post about progress on the Big Horn Sub. This post is intended to provide some background on my modeling experiences and what led me to the Big Horn build.