As several folks have written here and elsewhere, modeling mining/logging operations…or any bulk commodity is largely boring and repetitious…at least for the modeler. Same number and types of cars going to the same place…same loads coming back out.

Welp Trainfans, guess what? That not the way it works in the real world. Mines have good days and bad, just like any other industry. Railroads don;t deleiver a set number of cars everyday. The Foremen calls up the RR agent and say “Hey Bill, were gonna need 19 redballs in for the thrid trick.” Basically hes requesting that 19 cars be delivered for that shift of work. Sometimes mines have down time…sometimes they hit record production. My question is how to simulate this random traffic?

I want to have to call Extra crews on some days…or take a crew off if theres not enough traffic for a run…or have to cut extra tonnage into the mixed trains. So I’m looking at using a set of dice. The basic premeis is to pick an arbitrary number as a maximum output for the day, probably a multiple of whatever your maximum trainlength can be, Say 24 If you use a pair of regular dice…course if you have some of those RPG dies handy, thatcould be more interesting. Then, determine a minimum production for the day, (Perhaps one trainlength?) then use the die to determine how many cars to add to that figure for the session. That would mean if you have a 8 car minimum output, you would haul between 8 and 24 loads out for the day.

Another wrinkle to add is the fact that you only have a finite number of hoppers, and they have to be unloaded somewhere. This also operates in a random output, so you may not have a enough hoppers avalible for loading by the time the next coal turn is scheduled. Perhaps a die roll could determine how many cars got unloaded in the intervening time period? Or place constraints on the switching crew that each hopper has to be spotted for a certain lengthof time to be dumped?

Thoughts?