How to convey information

 Let me start by saying I wish I really knew how to convey information. What I mean is how to convey information to a crew. How I want a job accomplished. 

I recently, last night in fact, received an e-mail which contained the YM instructions for a yard on a large model railroad. Thirty-One (31) pages, single spaced. No pictures. For that one job on that huge railroad. (There’s something like 36 other positions on that layout, each, I presume, with equally complicated job briefs).

Thirty-one pages?!

The next amazing thing was I read them. It was loaded with interesting information.  And it was, in fact, all describing how to operate a rather complex job. 

A great deal of thought went into this document. After reading it what I thought didn’t go into it was the fact that who ever takes this job isn’t being paid and isn ‘t going to be working this yard 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year.

Early in the document it notes that the railroad is short of covered hoppers in cement service. The short fall is to be made up by the YM, instructing him to assign fifty-five ton open hoppers, that will be filled with bagged cement.

That is very interesting. It really is. But in my opinion it should be handled in the following manner. During re-staging, the layout owner should bill all the covered hoppers AND enough open hoppers to the cement plant. The YM will simply classify the cars and build the train for the cement plant. The local crew will spot the cars as per their waybills, and you can tear that page out of the instruction manual; there is no need to go into the written explaining why you did that. 

No one reads instructions. Okay I’ve said it. I don’t, you don’t. No one. But I can guarantee once they see a 31 page document which they need to read BEFORE they can turn a wheel in their yard it will be unread.

Our written instructions must be SHORT. As short as you can possibly make them. If you want to discuss the genealogy of why a railroad does what it does, do it at lunch.

Work as hard as you can to make your car forwarding system do as much of the work as possible, so the poor dumb, uninitiated YM, who runs amok in your yard, can reasonably achieve what you want.

Yesterday at an op session I attended I came across a waybill that confused me. I was assigned to a local that, to be honest, was very cleverly designed. The basic assignment was, run here, switch the industries, and run back. My instructions were to read each waybill, and if the bill was NOT directing the car to that very industry, then that car was to be pulled, and all the cars collected go back with my train to the originating yard. If the bill is directing the car to that specific industry, leave the car alone.

Those instructions were VERY simple. Easier in fact than my description of them. So after reading the bill once, and becoming confused, I simply followed my instructions. If it doesn’t say “stay” it “goes”.

We all need to oversimplify our instructions. Our “employees” are not coming at these jobs with years of experience on the job. They are, for the most part, only working the job once a month or so, and at a different place each month.

Make it as simple as possible.