| The Dispatcher |
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| Operations - June 16, 2009 |
| We had a great crew and everyone seemed to have a good time. We only had six operators plus the superintendent and that seemed to work very well. It is making me rethink the optimal crew size. I used to think the more the better, up to about ten operators or more, however, I am now not convinced that a large crew is necessarily better. Stay tuned. |
| The Operators We had six crew members plus the superintendent, but we made the railroad hum. Since we only had 6 operators, the Superintendent took over the dispatch duties on a roving basis, because he also was a hogger and a photographer. Jeff Osborn and Seth Neumann volunteered for the yardmaster positions, Since Les Dahlstedt had a very early flight in the morning and needed to leave a bit early, he, along with John Blunden, Earl Girbovan and Andy Schnur took over the hogging duties. Everyone kept pretty busy and the yardmasters even had a chance to get out of the yard and do a different job. |
| Statistics: The total number of cars moved was 303 in a total of 26 trains: 0 1st class passenger trains 1 Passenger Steam Fan Trip 2 2nd class Fast Freights (#210) 13 turns (out plus back) 6 through freight 2 PRR interchanger's (out and back) 2 boat interchanger's (out and back) Online customer deliveries/pick ups totalled 91 cars at industrial sidings and in addition, we even picked up/setout a total of 0 express loads in our passenger operations. |
| The Yardmasters |
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| The first meet of the day took place in Cadillac with the extra 325 southbound through train met the Cadillac Turn. The second meet was the Passenger Steam Fan Trip running from Fort Wayne all the way to Mackinaw City. The picture is the PRR M1a, 4-8-2 running through Comstock Park Yard and the second one is Andy watching the big steamer running through Cadillac. |
| Since we had such a small crew (not small in stature or size, just small on numbers) Bob did the dispatching as he walked around the layout running trains and taking pictures. It was a blast. |
| The Moves of the Day |
| Meets and Steam! |
Here (left) are both of the
yardmaster at work. Seth in
Comstock Park Yard, GR and Jeff
up in Mackinaw City. Both look
very busy and kept their yards
ready for business.
Below is Jeff running Extra 325
South between Traverse City and
Petoskey. Yes, that is correct,
running a mainline train!! The
Superintendent let the
yardmasters out of their yard to
help run the railroad. Seth earned
extra pay by running the PRR
interchanger and Jeff did some
mainline work. I think they enjoyed
it.
yardmaster at work. Seth in
Comstock Park Yard, GR and Jeff
up in Mackinaw City. Both look
very busy and kept their yards
ready for business.
Below is Jeff running Extra 325
South between Traverse City and
Petoskey. Yes, that is correct,
running a mainline train!! The
Superintendent let the
yardmasters out of their yard to
help run the railroad. Seth earned
extra pay by running the PRR
interchanger and Jeff did some
mainline work. I think they enjoyed
it.
Above, is Les working the Grind
Job. He had to leave a bit early -
Hey Les, let's get your priorities
straight - putting Work before
Operating is just not right!!!
Hope your Dallas trip was good.
Job. He had to leave a bit early -
Hey Les, let's get your priorities
straight - putting Work before
Operating is just not right!!!
Hope your Dallas trip was good.
Here are John and Earl
having a meet in Walton
Jct. John ran the
WJ/Kalkaska turn and
Earl was dropping off
cars from his southbound
through train. Everyone
had a variety of work.
having a meet in Walton
Jct. John ran the
WJ/Kalkaska turn and
Earl was dropping off
cars from his southbound
through train. Everyone
had a variety of work.
Andy is shown here working
the Cadillac Turn. He had
so much fun in Cadillac that
he took a second Cadillac
turn in the same operating
session!!
I heard that Andy had to
have an extra session with
his shrink after two Cadillac
turns in the same night!
the Cadillac Turn. He had
so much fun in Cadillac that
he took a second Cadillac
turn in the same operating
session!!
I heard that Andy had to
have an extra session with
his shrink after two Cadillac
turns in the same night!
| Well crew, I thought things went pretty well, except for that damn mainline turnout in Petoskey that either shorted or derailed every train that run through it. (That thing will be fixed ASAP or I will blow it up). In any case, it appeared that everyone had a good time. A couple of interesting things came up after the session. First, it was brought up to me that maybe there were too many interchange destinations for our cars, ie: PRR and Boat. Interesting question that deserves some pondering, which I will be doing before the next operations. Also, I will be pondering the crew size for future operations. Things went pretty well with 6 operators plus the Super. I am thinking that maybe a 7 man crew could be optimal. Input on both issues (and any other operating issues) is certainly welcome. Great operations, see you all next time. |