Bulletins

Bulletins are supposed to carry information that is too fresh to go into a table-table or something that will be important to the operations of trains temporarily, but not permanent enough to print and issue a new timetable.

 At a recent op session I asked about bulletins and the layout owner, Mark Steenwyck, told me he had several posted, but had not added to them in a while. I noticed them conspicuously posted in a crew area. Several clipboards hanging on an informational wall, looking suspiciously like a BNSF yard office.

He has track bulletins, slow orders, hazmat, wide load, about four different clipboards. Each crew member is supposed to read and sign these at the beginning of each shift. I did not, and didn’t notice that anyone else did. I asked about it and Mark just shrugged.

Bill Darnaby has the same sort of clip board and expects all operators to read it and sign. There is always one  note in the bulletin about the prohibition of urinating in the dump sink! (So naturally at every layout I visit, if I find a dump sink, I ask if I can pee it it! I’m nothing if not classy).

On AIR1 I tried to get everyone to read and sign; the problem was two fold, a lot of the crew wanted to read but there was one clip board and a long line of slow readers. The other problem was a handful of operators would not read it at all.

I chose to read it out loud at the briefing. In fact it was the ONLY thing discussed before each session. It began with the “Rule of the Day” something I copied off an Amtrak yard office bulletin board in Los Angeles.

Each session we read another rule from the TTTO rule book I used to run my railroad. Then I discussed any track repairs, or areas out of service; multiple sections- which trains were running in multiple sections,   Stuff in the bulletin was apropos to the running of the railroad but not in the time-table. Additionally there was housekeeping items, be careful of the dogs, pick up your trash, use the recycle bins for soda cans, etc.

After ten years of doing this my crews could recite the TTTO rule books(!), but always missed the trash cans with their sodas (This drove Helena, my wife, slightly crazy).

So how do you disseminate your bulletin information? How do you communicate the information you think is necessary for the operation of your railroad?

I like the hanging clipboards, but I need to do them in manifold copies so there is less of a line when reading.

Thoughts?