Enhanced Passenger Operations

 On AIR 1 I started experimenting with enhanced passenger operations. Many of us run passenger trains across our layout’s. Some of us ask our passenger trains to do a fair/moderate amount of switching. I operate on two layouts that go a step further, asking their passenger trains to set out “mail bags” (Represented by a waybill). 

Only Al Daumann and I regularly ask out passenger trains to do the following:

Switch cars

Pick-up and drop off passengers along the route (Passengers are simulated with a ticket or a waybill slip)

Pick-up and drop off mail (Mail is simulated by a waybill)

Pick-up and drop off express Express (Express packages are simulated by a waybill or “Express Bill of Lading”)

Pick-up loaded milk cans and drop off MTY milk cans (Milk cans are simulated by a waybill or “Can Bill”)

Make flag stops ( Crews are alerted to a flag stop by a message in their packet and a flag displayed at the pick-up point)

Together all these functions are called Enhanced Passenger Operations. When you add all these collateral functions to TTTO operations, the passenger run becomes quite complicated.

At the start of a run the train packet will have all the associated paperwork for the run. Passenger tickets will instruct crews where to drop a passenger. When the train has arrived at the station called out on the ticket this ticket is placed in the bill box of the depot.

Bills representing bags of mail will likewise have the depot called out where they need to be dropped. Bags of mail usually are dropped on the fly, but it’s usually far easier to drop the mail bag bill into the depot bill box while the train is stopped. Additionally I have included a registered mail procedure. Registered mail might usually include cash shipments to towns, and require additional time while stopping.

Express bills of lading will in turn instruct the crew where these “packages” need to be dropped.  Upon arrival at these stations these bills are placed in the depot bill box. Now I have coupled with this process a message IF additional time might be required to make this set out. For example if the item being delivered is heavier than usual, more time might be required to off-load it.

Milk cans: these will be restricted to only two trains, #’s 27-28. Every morning train 27 will come into East Charleston after negotiating the layout. On this trip in addition to the odd mail bag delivery and dropping off some express it will pick up an express reefer from the Western Maryland in Chatsworth. Then it will stop at every town on the way to pick up loaded milk cans. These cans will be “stored” in the “Can car” (A heavy weight baggage car, the milk is set out cold at each depot, and the trip isn’t long enough for it to require additional cooling). Upon arrival at Littlerock, the express reefer from the WM and the can car get set out at the creamery. A express reefer or two of butter is picked up and #27 continues on west, off the layout. In the evening #28 travels east across the layout setting off express, mail bags and MTY milk cans at every town along the way. Upon arrival in Chatsworth #28 will set out an express reefer for the WM, and then continue East off-layout.

Finally, and only from time to time, a passenger train, informed by message, may make a flag stop to pick-up or set out a passenger. The flag stops are clearly marked in the time-table. The station where the flag stop is to be made is called out in the message AND there is a green and white flag displayed trackside. 

So passenger operations on AIR2 are far more complex than simply running a passenger train across the layout. There’s cars to pick-up and set-out, passengers, mail, express and milk cans.  Each train is very busy.