Regulating unloading cycles

 Some industries on our layouts get switched once every session. Other’s would normally get switched multiple times a session. How can we establish a procedure that facilitates switching an industry multiple times a session, that doesn’t require some sort of outside influence? 

What I’m trying to say is how can this procedure start at the beginning of each session, and continue until the end, with out ME (IE., the layout owner) having to flip waybills or somehow generate a new switch list? A system that is non-mechanical or non-electronic. 

Currently I’m very interested in multiple car-card boxes. I’m not simply referring to a three box system: Set-Out/Hold/Pic-up. Although, to be honest,  this is simply a variation of that system. I’m looking at a multi box system that regulates the unloading times of cars, and randomly picks cars to be pulled by the next shifts local.

I certain I’ve described this system several times before, but you install a number of card boxes, two or more, and each trip to the industry requires the cards to be moved one box to the right. The box on the far left is labeled “Set-Out”, the box on the far right is labeled “Pick-Up”. When the local arrives the first thing the crewman does is move all the car cards in those boxes ONE box to the right. The Set-Out box is now empty, and the cards that were in the pick-up box are in the crewman’s hands. The car cards he has with him when he arrives go into the set-out box.The crewman pulls the cars for the cards he pulled from the pick-up box. 

The number of boxes is up to you. You might simply have one box with dividers in the box, each with a different label, although this format might lead to some confusion, but if the crew is careful it should work just as well. With the exception of the box on the far left and far right, each box is labeled with some procedure, some physical-some administrative, to give more “Flavor” to the process (Box two might be labeled “Unloading”, box three might be labeled , “Billing”, box four might be labeled, “Clean-out”, and so on…)

On AIR1 my large industries, with multiple spots, had multiple boxes; one for each spot. At Wingfoot Paper, for example,  there were boxes for pulp-wood, coal, chemicals, MTY’s for loading, etc. 

With this new plan everything is combined into one industry box, or in our case boxes. As car cards progress through the boxes, cars from each facet of the paper industry are processed. If there is a car that is carrying a commodity that is NOT unloaded or worked multiple times in a day, that spot might have its own box; those car cards are removed from the progression.

My point is that when the local arrives for each shift he has a variety of cars to spot and pull, just not all one car or commodity type.

By the nature of the business some commodities might demand more cars and switching. Pulpwood, for example, each local might bring five pulp loads each trip, along with onesies from other commodities, but to be honest that’s to be expected.

There are limiting factors. Open loads accumulate until you’ve gone through the entire box progression, and are faced with either stopping or pulling loaded cars. I personally do not like treating obviously MTY open cars as loaded and vice-versa. You might not find this so objectionable. 

If your mill job makes three trips you can make do with four card boxes. Each successive trip might require another box. 

This system prevents your crew from pulling every car at one time, and it adds a bit of randomness to his pull;  he doesn’t really know what he’s going to pull until he goes through the Pick-up box.

I’ve come to like this system very much. 

Obviously it doesn’t work for every industry, but if you have several large or complicated industries on your layout this is a clever, and simple way to regulate the through-put of cars at that industry.