That's almost the same way I

That's almost the same way I do it. I use regular playing cards. Mark the spots ,on the back with a marker. I hav a card for each car.

If I draw 3 spots that call for a box car, I'll draw 3 car cards, so each needs to be spotted at the correct dock..

The cars are put on the track as I draw the spots, at random

Prototyical, realistic, ?? don't know. don't care, its simple and works

Car Cards and Waybills

How and why is it too much?   CC&WB is perfect for a layout just like that,  You have taken the time to make a waybill serious.

Why not complete the system, it is not that hard. It is isnae when people say that a small layout is too much for CC&WB.

You have the perfect example of a layout ready made for CC&WB...

You literally made the way bills into a stack of cards that you shuffle.  

Skinning the cat

All sorts of ways to do that, that is a good way for easy operations.

Another variation:  Seed the layout with about 1/3 of the spots filled.  Pull all the cards from cars at industry,  keep them separate.  Draw 4 cars from the cards at industry, those are your "pulls".  Then draw 4 cards from the "open" stack for the "spots".  The cards from the pulls go in the open stack, the cards from the spots go in the at industry stack.

Same basic concept except it provides 8 unique switching opportunities where the original method provides between 4 and 8 opportunities.  The original method has the advantage of more variation in work.

Personally I would replace the plain "Car Spot …." with the industry name ("Norms Furniture Door 5") to make it a more "railroad" feel than a "game" feel.  That's just me.  One could just as easily go completely the opposite and go all ZTS/CLIC, assign track numbers and label them 12-741-1, 12-742-5, 12-743-8, etc.  (zone 12, track 741, spot 1, zone 12, track 742, spot 5, etc.)  Just depends on the feel you want to create.  Note that the operation is EXACTLY the same, the only difference in the atmosphere is what's printed on the cards.  Sometimes tweaking operations is just that easy.

Too much information

AzBaja, you make a valid point but in my experience, the way bills have too much information. I dont need to know where the car came from, how it got here and what its contents are. I just need to know where it's going. My system I dont need to try and find car NS 12345. I need a boxcar. Doesn't matter what the road name is. When I pull a car, I know its going offline. I dont care where it's going cause it's going into the car storage drawer until needed.

Yes we can make the way bills simpler, but why? This is as simple as I need it to be.

Lone wolf modeler

Thanks Roadglide. This thread is important.

I don't want paperwork. I do model railroading for an escape from the real world. I've never in all my years operated any of my layouts because when the subject comes up I've ALWAYS been told that I HAD to do THIS and THAT had to be on a document that had to be............. 

Now someone mentions using a deck of cards and some simple fun. If I ever start "ops" this is where it makes sense to start. If it's fun maybe the next step will be something I may try. Maybe not.

 OPS.....start with something simple like this. Makes sense to this ole' boy.

Modular

I made a similar system for a modular club.  Basically some "chips" with the "spot numbers" on them and then cards with numbers.  After you set up the modules, the chips are placed at the various industries or spots.  The spots are 'seeded", then you draw cards for what gets spotted.

By using the chips, it can be adapted to any track arrangement, so its independent of the layout and as you have found out, its independent of the roster.  That makes it ideal for a modular set up where the track arrangement and roster can vary from set up to set up.

"Now someone mentions using a

  Hi Rick, 
Don't over complicate operations. Approach it the same as scenery. Create the traffic you've seen on the VE over the years the same way you created the industries themselves, visually . From observation we know the packing houses get reefers for outgoing product, some inbound boxcars of packing materials,maybe occasional machinery etc. Up by the river the quarry needs hoppers. Any added industries get suitable cars for their activities. Now hook them up to the engine and go place them( bringing back any cars already at the locations and ready to head off scene). Since you built the layout you won't really need any paperwork to know where things are going to/coming from but it's nice to write up a hand drawn list assigning specific cars  to specific industries and doors  before starting instead of randomly delivering them.  If you have visitors the switchlists will be more necessary as they will not be familiar with the way the railroad routinely ran. You don't have to know all the details of where the cars came from or where they go once they leave the layout, since you typically wouldn't know that about the prototype operations either, you'd just enjoy the show from your own small part of the big scene, happy knowing that the oranges and canned olives are on their way to somewhere east :> ) ....DaveB 

Operations

The simplest definition of model railroad operations is "running your layout with a purpose".

Simulating moving freight from A to B. The level of detail you choose to involve in that is up to you.

(In the simplest form, a mine or quarry line that moves material from source to tipple is a realistic operating layout with absolutely no paper work or dispatching of any kind.)

additional thought

I think that your plan is a fine way to run that road. I would say that if you made the car cards (leave off any stuff you don't like) you could have cars that are held You would have a setup, hold, and pickup box. It could add a lot of operational interest with barely any additional work. I operate on a very large layout that uses the same principal, no car numbers, any 50' box in the train will do the job and I like it a lot! 

I am thinking about making my waybills more simple.

I currently sort out bound cars into north and south. I only have one mainline train in staging to pick up and drop off cars though. You could make waybills that have the car type and spot on it and then simply out bound on the backside. It would just help you keep track of what you have already switched.

Switching Philosophy

I am fortunate to have a large operating layout with 4 yards and 40 industries for switching using car cards/waybills.

My operators love switching so I stage the layout for operations by first having locals make pickups and set outs at nearby industries in one or two towns.  I also stage coal trains to deliver empties at mines and pick up loads for delivery to yards or the power plant.

Through trains are made up in the yards generally deliver loads or empties heading East or West.  For example reefers or covered hoppers always travel East for delivery to the yards and then food plants and return empty when heading West and offline. Through trains allow the operators to navigate the entire RR which is always great.

The ultimate goal for me and the operators is having fun, which we have been doing for several years!

Frank

Great take on a simple card ops

Yes there are many ways to do card ops and switch lists... yours is a good, fun, simple solution.  Thanks for sharing.

The system I use...

Each car has an index card assigned to it with a list of all possible destinations. A paper clip is attached as a "indicator". You pick the car up where you find it and move it to the next destination on the list at which point you slide the paper clip down to indicate the new location. A blood simple way to move a car from point A to point B and one that has let me get my "feet wet" while trying to wrap my head around more complex schemes.

I most likely will expand on this simple scheme in the future but for now, it works well enough on my small pike and a recommend it for anyone else who wants to give ops a try but, like me, has a problem following the more detailed articles and threads that all to often go down "rabbit holes".

Legos again

Legos have many uses in model railroading, stand in buildings, something to hold that up for a minute (or 5 years), something to hold that square, a form for a mold, etc.  I used the larger Duplo square bricks as waybills for one layout I had.  They had tape with the car number and could be drawn at random and stuck together in the proper order for switching.

Paul

Great Idea

I’m copying this for use when I complete my layout. I’m building a turn of the century layout and simple (not to say crude! LOL!) is my watchword. Thank you for posting. I had considered using the old “tacks on a roof walk” color coded to cards and delivery spots, but this will work better with less preparation. I’m a solitary modeler, no other for miles, so I just need something to keep me organized and make sure all my shippers and receiving customers are properly serviced.

Perfect for my pike.

Can't wait to try this out! Just printed my first set of car cards. I usually operate alone and have been looking for a number of years for something simple yet fun. Thanks for the idea.

Uno cards

I use uno cards(three packs mixed together)in a similar fashion. Each color represents a direction: North, South, East, West. The wild cards are  “shop cars” or special moves; the skip, draw two and reverse cards in general, are Hazmat. Before a session, I will usually have an index card with rules governing what the card values represent or which local industry, if any, gets worked. Then just shuffle and deal a card to each inbound train car from staging. There are a few other tweaks, but in general it works pretty well. 

And another thing!

Also, it's your railroad, it's supposed to be fun and relaxing. If you enjoy large layouts with waybills and a central dispatch have a blast. Personally I like simple and this is it. I have been a model rail since 1969 and there are as many opinions on this topic as there are model railroaders, as for me I don't need a second job.

Paperclip from the beginning

Michael:

The first operating group I joined (the RifRaf) used paperclip advancing around the perimeter of an index card. One index card for each car on the layout. It was up to the various operators to get the car in the right train be it through or local.

I eventually built a DOS based computer program that accomplished the "paperclip" method. 

Kurt