CC&WB’s continued

 On my recent trip to Kansas City I operated on one layout that was very well documented. I, as Yardmaster, knew what was expected of me. Each train that arrived at my yard was clearly instructed as to what the needed to do. In short, it was very clearly organized.

I had waybills that read CHICAGO, or OMAHA, or MINNEAPOLIS. It was very easy for me to KNOW precisely where these cars were going next. I like that very much. I want to accomplish my assigned tasks correctly and efficiently. These bills allowed me to do this.

On AIR2 I plan to use white waybills for “normal” loads and pink waybills for “Preferred Movement”*.  Generally perishable commodities or expedited loads would use these bills.

I have 2nd class time freights assigned to pick-up only preferred loads, but I allow them to fill their tonnage with like commodities, that are not billed as preferred movement loads.

So how should I accomplish this? For example my Train #97 carry’s preferred perishable produce and preferred LCL and eventually terminates in Chicago. So it would pick up cars with pink bills listing CHICAGO as a destination. My layout is not a huge originator of produce, but there might be a lot of preferred LCL. If the train had remaining space it could be filled with loads billed to Chicago, but traveling on simple white waybills. Yardmasters and road crews would know to look for pink waybills, then read the destinations.

On the other hand when an extra freight stops in Littlerock yard it would NOT normally pick up any cars traveling on preferred bills, even though the train goes to the same destination. An extra does not get the same preference across the railroad as a 2nd Class Time-Freight. Under normal circumstances the extra would be overtaken and passed by the time freight.

Do you use preferred movement bills? How do you delineate “hot” freight from “dead” freight?

*white bills are normal freight, pink bills are preferred loads, yellow is for routing an MTY car, ETC…