WARNING _ Many, many pictures follow!
OK - It only took me a month to get motivated to do this, but here is a complete op session in pictures.
Lets start at the top of the train manifest for the WILO Turn…
Train Originates at SWIL Tank in South Willow Hill…
Well, not exactly. #3 is stationed at SWIL Tank, but doesn’t have the power to handle the train, so #5, stationed at BOX gets the call. First up, pick up Tank 1002 from Chandler Quality Water…
There is just enough room past the SWIL switch at BOX for a locomotive and one car…
#5 shoves Tank 1002 down the run-around. This move wasn’t necessary as the tank could have been just shoved up the main…
Preparing to work Willow Hill, the crew drops tank 1002 on the main…
Working the industrial siding at Willow Hill is a challenge. All of the above ‘industries’ are individual spots on the same track. Here #5 enters the siding…
And picks up Gondola 1467 from Russel Poultry…
Then continues down the siding collecting all of the cars since we need to pick up the last two…
I didn’t notice at the time that Tank 8874 had dropped off the end. Hopper 892 will get shoved clear of the switch so other cars can be put back in their spots…
Just as well that tank dropped off as there is just enough track to get the cars clear of the switch…
As we prepare to put the cars that are remaining back in their spots we notice the missing tank, so to make room, Hopper 892 gets left on the main while we go back for the tank…
After the Troublesome Tank gets picked up, the remaining cars get spotted back where they belong before we leave…
With work at Willow Hill complete, it’s time to look at what is next…
Nook is the next switch shoving East, so we need to block the train with Nook cars on the lead. First, Gondola 1467 gets run around the train and coupled to the front…
Then #5 comes back down the run-around looking for Flat 18…
One rule on the CVSRy is that crews can utilize all open track, so the Industrial siding is used to drill into the train for Flat 18…
Of course, that meant that we would need to spot those remaining cars once again when we’re done…
Once 18 was drilled out and the siding put back in order, the Wilo Turn proceeds East to Nook…
Our manifest says that there are two cars to set out at Nook, however there is no available track. This is due to a shortcoming in how JMRI calculates available track. Since there is a second stop at NOOK on our return trip for pick-ups, the system thinks there is enough track. We are forced to make the pick ups early. Turning the page on the manifest we find the pick-ups for Nook…
Flat 1519 and Box 2 are picked up and left on the main wile Gondola 1467 and Flat 18 are set-out at the Nook TransLoad Facility…
And that completes our work at Nook…
Another view of the Nook switch from the other side of the wall…
Looking back at our orders…
We are to proceed West with 7 cars, but we really have 9 because of the out-of-order pick up…
And here is what’s next…
Working Tyrone and Kistler in cold weather is a challenge as well because the track beyond the yard switches will only accommodate 3 cars when the door to outdoors is closed…
That’s not enough to get into Tyrone, the switch numbered 5 in this pic…
So we need to do some planning and split the train up into manageable pieces. But first, lets get rid of the entire train and grab our pick-ups…
Were you paying attention? Where did M-10 and Shorty go? They were blocking access to the cars so we sent it West to idle at Willow Hill while we work this end of the railroad. 3 cars, just perfect to clear the switch so we can drop our pick ups on the main…
Then go back for our set-outs…
And put back the car that was not part of the pick-ups…
Work at Tyrone complete, our next stop is Kistler…
This shows the relationship of the Main (HONY), the Kistler Yard and the Tyrone yard…
Back to that rule about available track, no reason the empty track at Tyrone can’t be utilized to help drill cars for Kistler…
With #5 shoved tight against the exit door…
The cars pulled from Kistler just barely clear the switch…
Next spot the set-outs…
At this point our manifest says that we are to run back the same way we came to Nook for pick-ups, but we already have these cars spotted on the main…
So we go back for the cars from Nook…
And couple them to the rear of the train before heading off to Willow Hill. Here is our orders for WILO…
JMRI does not present the work in the most logical order, so it is up to the crew to look at the big picture and make a plan. Since flat 1519 is right in front of the engine, its a good choice to work Golding Square Box first. To do so we cut clear of main switch the just beyond the flat…
Then set out Flat 1519 at Golding’s…
Then run-around the train…
Once around the train, we drill the train to get the needed cars in the correct order for the industrial siding. Maximum of two cars at a time beyond the run-around switch…
After dropping that tank on the run-around, we go back and pull all the cars from the industrial siding…
Without the tank there is enough room to get clear of the switch…
Next we put the cars in the correct order for spots on the industrial track. This takes several moves…
Spotting the hoppers…
Before work at Willow Hill could be completed, #5 developed a catastrophic problem (dead battery), so #3 was called in to rescue #5 and finish the turn. She struggled, but got the job done…
Cars spotted back where they belong…
And finally, the last car is spotted completing work at Willow Hill…
Our last stop is South Willow Hill…
Again, the track length beyond the SWIL switch only accommodates the locomotive plus one car, so two trips are needed to complete the work. First set out Hopper 226…
And finally, Tank 106…
And terminate the train off the main…
Each time I work this it gets a little easier. The key is remembering the limitations at both ends and planning ahead to minimize blocking moves.
I hope at least one person other than Ric enjoys this post. It was a ton of work to shoot and post (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
