The Adirondack Line  

                                        Operating Concept

Why Operations?

I am of the firm belief that a model railroad has to have a purpose in its existence. Whilst, just running trains around a layout is great for many folks, I am more interested in why and when does a  train run there, what is it carrying from where to where.  Who / what gives permission for it to use a track, are there any rules? etc.

I really got this itch when I lived in the USA, when I became involved with individuals who ran a operating sessions on their layout with a full crew, simulating the prototype within reason. This got a further shove, when I discovered the NMRA OPsig, who are a great gang of people who are available to answer questions on the Net and publish a magazine 'The Dispatcher's Office',  full of operating information four times a year. Also, as I am fortunate to be able attend the NMRA National Convention yearly, I take this advantage with the OPsig to go on their operating sessions to enhance my knowledge. So what does all this mean to The Adirondack Line?

Operating Objectives

Where information is available, all of the trains on The Adirondack Line will run on the correct routes with the correct train numbers or names, taken from prototype timetables etc.

The traffic will include named passenger trains on The Water Level Route and Adirondack Line, together with passenger locals serving the small communities on the Adirondack Line.  Head end cars serving the RPO and REA facilities in Utica will be included in passenger consists. Passenger cars will be transferred between the O&W / DL&W to the NYC at Utica for onward connection to New York / Chicago.

The Adirondack Line will carry through passenger traffic from New York and Montreal stopping at Utica and major mountain towns, with interchanges to the RW&O at Remsen.  Local passenger will serve the small communities. At summer weekends, 10 - 12 coach special trains ran from New York into Raquette Lake to cater for the masses that visited the mountains for their vacations - some short line!!!

Freight will include 'highball' freights travelling directly along the Water Level Route from Chicago to New York and return. Some through freights will stop at Utica to make the required interchanges with The Adirondack Line, O&W and DL&W.

The movement of freight cars will be governed by a shipper at an industry who requires a freight car of a certain type, to make a shipment of a commodity to be delivered to a consignee at another industry. The return of empties will be to prototype rules, returning to home yards, on or off the layout, with confiscation if required. I will be using SHIPIT, a computerised freight car despatch program, which meets all prototype requirements.

Operating Methodology

The layout is planned to use a dispatcher, yard and road crews. The dispatcher will 'live' within the peninsula where one can see the upper and lower parallel staging yards. The dispatcher will use a computerised CTC screen running Winlok

The Water Level Route was a heavily trafficked main line, with all 4 tracks in constant use. To be able to simulate this traffic with a real crew would require more aisle space and room area than I have available - if only!.  This is where another benefit of DCC comes into play. Fortunately, one can simply install electronic circuits, that will detect the presence of a train and also change the direction of switches.  With this capability, I will use Winlok driving the DCC circuits, to computerise the traffic running automatically through the visible Water Level Route area, with trains moving on predefined routes at specified times, from / to the hidden serial and parallel staging.  Also, as trains can sense to availability of a track thus causing the automatic trains to stop if a track is occupied, we can run manual trains under DCC within this traffic pattern. (I hope!!)

The serial and parallel staging yards will also use Winlok to receive trains from the visible layout, pick up DCC control with computerised DCC throttles and route them to an empty staging track.  The serial staging, which holds 4 trains on each track, will automatically advance trains as the preceding track become vacant.

Operating Crew

As mentioned previously, the layout will be under the control of a dispatcher hidden in the peninsular.   Eventually, if things operate as they are intended and the crew understands their role, I hope to move the dispatcher, outside the layout area.  I am undecided at this stage whether to use radios or telephone for communication.

The dispatcher will be responsible for, and control, trains that enter and exit from all staging; moving trains to 'pickup' locations for the road crew.

There will be two yardmasters in the double ended Utica yard. One on the east end, responsible for breakdown and classification of freight trains.  The other at the west end, making up departing trains.  In addition, one local crew will work the Utica industries and the engine terminal.

Two road crews will work the Adirodondack Line in the mountains, whilst another will live dangerously on the Water Level Routedodging the Winlok trains, working local trains between Utica and Herkimer

This gives us one dispatcher, 2 yardmasters and 6 road crews. I will have to organise the timetable carefully to avoid congestion in certain aisle areas.

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