Some of you are familiar with

Some of you are familiar with the original version of this spread sheet (http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/6795).  Working with Chris Adams and his Valley Lines layout, we've extended the sheet for use on a full layout.

The top of the fully exposed sheet:

 

The printed version:
 

The new columns support the multi-car type capability.  There's an equal chance any of the types acceptable at a given slt will be selected, so, for example, there's a 60% chance a car will be delivered to Whthersfield Lumber's first slot.  If one is, there's an equal chance it will be BOx Car, flat car or gondola.  (If one is, there's a 10% chance -7% overall - that it will be two cars of the same type.)

Other changes tend to be the consequence of availabe new fields, more than new functions, but spaces are provided for car markings to identify specific cars and spots that never receive cars, but may be used for off-spot holds or the interchange of cars between jobs en route to their final destination. While these spots will never generate traffic, the sheet is designed so that, if a frequency and at least one car type is added to a line, the spot will change to a fully functional, traffic handling spot.

Full instructions are also provided (via Google Document - link incleded).

As with the original, anyone with the url can access and copy the sheet and instructions for their own use or even to redistribute in original or modified form, so long as they don't seek to profit from the redistribution in any way.)

One small comment and Thanks, too!

Thanks for your time and effort to make this available!  I have been playing with it and I do like it.  I have been adjusting the percentage numbers to see how it works and thinking about how to use it for our Free-moN group.

I have one suggestion which is to mention in the instruction document that automatic recalculation in Excel should be turned off in order to use the file.

It works so much better when it doesn't recalculate every time something is typed in a cell!

Good point.  Footnote 1 has

Good point.  Footnote 1 has been changed to include the recommendation....

switch list generator download

Could the next step be ???

I have used the previous version of the Switch List and thought it was the perfect solution for my layout operations. As I look at this version, I was struck be a new question.  If you can have a cell for an occupied car number, could a separate set of cells or fields be included which would be used to store the available car numbers and sorted by respective car types, so that the program could randomly draw from those cells and tell you what car should be delivered? I don't know Excel well enough to try and program it, but that would be a great addition in my opinion. 

Thank you.

Thank you Mike for an easy to set-up and use switch list generator.  I downloaded the spreadsheet and instructions and was up and routing soon after.

[@Tinderbox, after opening the link to the Google Sheet Mike provided above, under the File heading you will see the option to download as ... several different formats including Open Office.]

I did have to make one tiny change to get it to work in my particular situation (under Excel) ... I was simply using the numbers to identify my cars (no letters) and the spreadsheet was ignoring them (never telling me to pick-up a car).  I fixed this by changing column J row 6 and below) from =IF(I6> ",IF(NOT(RAND()< $C$2),"Yes","No"),") to =IF(I6<> ",IF(NOT(RAND()< $C$2),"Yes","No"),") ...

Thanks again for sharing.  

Printed version of your spreadsheet

Hi Mike, I have a small layout that was originally built for rail fanning, but even before I finished it, my interest has moved to operation and I have followed the numerous  posts on your switch list generator.  I think it will be perfect for me and I thank you for your work on this.  From the pictures on your post I see that the printed version only shows certain columns. My question is how do you get that?  When I press the print command in Open Office Calc I get the hole sheet (all the columns) which includes a lot of info that is not required for the train moves.

Appreciate any help on this, thanks again,

Pierre

Dowloading as ods file

Under "Files" on the Docs menu is a "Download as" option.  That brings up a submenu and the second option in the sib-menu is "OpenDocument Format(.ods)".  Click that option.

Hiding columns

On the columns headers (the row with the column letters) click the columns you want to hide and, when they're selected, right click on the highlighted headers.  A little less than midway down the pop up men is a option to hide columns and the selected columns).  Click that option and you'll never see the columns again (until you unhide them, by selecting the columns on either side of the hidden ones,, right click and select "Un-hide Columns" from the pop up menu)

BTW, while having dinner with

BTW, while having dinner with a number of exhibitors and visitors to the NE Train Show today, someone who knew the "real" Mike Rose mentioned to one of the spreadsheet users who knew me about the sheet his acquaintance had written.

While I certainly wouldn't mind getting credit for "real" Mike Rose's accomplishments, I'm "fake" Mike Rose.  My real name's Mike Rosenberg and I've been working with computers so long that we used to be limited to 8-char ID's.  To be honest, when I joined this group, I hadn't heard of the real Mike Rose or I'd have given up my beloved ID in a moment.

So I've come out of the woodwork and changed my name, to free up the name for the real Mike Rose.

Selecting car IDs

In theory it's possible.  THe only problem is that some of those cars are already out on the railroad and aren't available.  And, while we're working on a new  version of the sheet that actually requires the survey of the layout and listing cars in spots so we can generate agent orders for each job at each station (equivalent to what happened in the "old days", when station agents would be called by industry freight managers and told when a car was ready to go and where it was to go, if it was a load, rather than an empty), I'm not sure it's a great idea.

Think of the layout owner setting up the next session and building consists in the fiddle yard/staging. Now s/he has to find not just the right type of car, but a specific car - and that makes the job of building trains "difficult" to say the least.

JohnThe only problem I found

John

The only problem I found with that solution was that I have the nasty habit of rather than deleted an entry to prepare for the next session, I tend to enter a blank instead - and I'm told to pick up a car where there is no car.  The idea was that greater than a space instead of a null value was safe because markings should begin with the alpha AAR code for the owning company. 

But if it works for others (and I'm not sure when AAR codes became standard), they're welcome to make the change.

ah ....

Fair enough.  I honestly figured that there was a reason that you had done it that way, but couldn't really figure it out ... now I know.  Easy enough to add an alpha to the car id.  Thank you for the explanation.

Thanks!

I've been looking for a way to generate traffic for my Lenape Northern layout out. I wanted something simple and easy to use. This fills the bill nicely.

Thanks!

Numbers Version?

Mike: Have you tested this in Apple Numbers? One other thought while I type on my iPhone is that a mobile app version amazing.  Beside generating a switch list it could be carried with me as I operate and modified on the fly. 

Thanks for sharing your work. 

Using numeric only car IDs

@John, If you want to use only numeric car IDs, (column I) without modifying the code in column J you can set the cell format to Text.

In other words select column I and select Format Cells and select Text instead of General, that should solve your problem.

I tested it in a very limited fashion and that seemed to work.

Excellent work

Thank you for your efforts in designing this. I have been working on a similar project using FileMaker Pro 8.5. The logic you have used appears to be straightforward and I may see about researching (actually plagiarizing) your work to convert it to a full function Database. I currently have all my rolling stock in FileMaker and would like to reference it to fill the train. I realize of course I'll have to figure out whether or not a car is actually available.

Is there anything new since last fall?

Mike

Thank you for your efforts in

Thank you for your efforts in designing this. I have been working on a similar project using FileMaker Pro 8.5. The logic you have used appears to be straightforward and I may see about researching (actually plagiarizing) your work to convert it to a full function Database. I currently have all my rolling stock in FileMaker and would like to reference it to fill the train. I realize of course I'll have to figure out whether or not a car is actually available.

Is there anything new since last fall?

Mike

Finally Found This!!

Whhoooo!   I found this a couple years ago when my layout was not much more than a dream and pile of boards.  Played around with it and loved it.   New computer and no idea where I found this.  Spent the last week and half looking for it.

  I hope this will indeed work for me.   I have a fairly large shelf layout.....In regard to a benchwork layout its small I guess.  I have a mainline train which leaves an interchange heading west.  Its intent is to drop cars at another interchange for a large city which is divided in two sections (East and West side)   West side serves two large breweries and a few local companies.   East side serves the more heavy industry side of town.  The East side Switch crew actually interchanges (relays?) the cars delivered from the main to the West side tracks.   In addition to that the West Side has a Cassette yard which provides more traffic.  

  The mainline train returns East from the interchange to its point of origin and drops the cars it picked up on the East side of town.  It then has its own local run to make to the 7-9 industries on the mainline.  

    I hope this program will work.  I hate to spend time entering all this data just to find out 1) I did it wrong or 2) Its not what I need.   

Thanks

   Jason

Anything New?

I've built a pretty big layout: 300 cars, 30 locos, 80 tortoises, etc.  Now I have to figure out how to operate it.  I'm debating between cards and switch lists.  I'm thinking I'll start with Rosenberg's nice simple system then go to cards or JMRI later.  So two questions: pros/cons of cards v. lists?  Mike do you have any updates since 2016?

Thanks all.