Passenger Operations: can it come together?

 Based strictly on the plans for my next layout, my mainline is 930’ long. Figure about 30 minutes end to end at full track speed.

I do not, at this writing, know how many station stops a passenger train will make. For four of my passenger trains (#’s 1, 2, 15, 16) they make only one or two stops. For the other four (#’s 27, 28, 35, 36), all mail and express trains, they have multiple stops.

Let’s look only at Train 27. Twenty-Seven is one of two of my primary East-West Mail and Express trains. #27 will also bring fresh milk in to a creamery at Littlerock Yard (East Charleston, WV).

I am a TTTO railroad. So when a crewman picks up this train he shows up at Chatsworth Yard and picks up this train. He has Time-Table authority so he knows what time he is departing, but he still must get a clearance from the Dispatcher.

So the train crew for #27 has a train pack full of CCWB’s, a Time-Table, and a clearance. He then signs the register, and OS’s his departure.

I want this train to simulate picking up and dropping off an occasional passenger. So the train packet will also have some passenger tickets in it. Each ticket will instruct the train crew where to set out a passenger.

This train departs Chatsworth and stops at the next station on the line, in this case, Wingfoot. Let’s say, at this time, I  budget a three minute for each station stop. The crew must look through his packet, find the passenger ticket for Wingfoot and place it in the stations bill box.

Okay, so now I want to have the Mail train pick-up and set-out, well, Mail. Mail is simulated with waybills that are set-out and picked-up at each station. 

So now during that three minute station stop, the train crew has to find the correct passenger ticket AND a mail bag waybill.

Now, I would like the Mail and Express train to set out some “Express”. Express packages are simulated with, again, a waybill. We’re back at Wingfoot Depot, we’ve just come to a complete stop, and that three minute timer starts again. The train crew must go into his train packet, look for passenger tickets addressed to Wingfoot, then mail bag bills, and now any express waybills addressed to Wingfoot.  #27’s conductor places all these waybills into the stations bill box. Is all right with the world?

Not yet. #27 is also slated to pick-up loaded milk cans. The train crew must check Wingfoot’s bill box and look for the waybills I use to simulate a loaded milk can. He must do this within the afore mentioned three minute station stop.

Finally we can depart. Right? I’m running a TTTO layout. There should be a working Train Order signal at Wingfoot depot. If it’s set to “Go”,  once the three minutes is up, off we go. If that TO signal is set to “Stop”, then this crew must check with the dispatcher for orders. The train crew must also OS his departure to the DS as well.

So IF I do add all these separate things to the work load, Train 27 needs to stop at Wingfoot, hopefully on time. They must set out waybills simulating passengers, mail, express and pick-up milk cans waybills. Additionally they must pay attention to the TO signal, and finally OS.

DO YOU THINK THREE MINUTES IS ENOUGH TIME?

And the crew of #27 must do this again and again at each station stop on his schedule.

I think utilizing TTTO vastly improves the experience of operating a train. I think adding passengers, Mail and express, and milk cans makes a passenger trains run much more interesting. 

I’ve already told you just running over the layout with out stopping will take 30 minutes. Adding ten odd stations stops at three minutes each? We’re looking at an hour to get across the layout.