LAYOUT DESCRIPTION/ConOps
The railroad runs east to west and is generally single-tracked, with sections of multiple track serving as passing and runaround facilities. It has a (future) branch line originating in a coastal resort community, joining the mainline where port traffic originates in staging. A major yard is the origin for several freight turns and future trackage rights interchange traffic from adjacent carriers. A large passenger station accommodates the commuter and future long-distance trains. The railroad continues through industrial zones with interchanges to off-line carriers, eventually climbing into the mountainous region. On the climb, a branch to a major logging facility joins the main line. Coal becomes the prime business on the upper level of the layout as it continues to climb through the mountains. A major coal loading facility provides unit-trainloads for a power plant. Another interchange provides additional bridge traffic. Just before the western end of the railroad, another branch line will diverge to serve numerous coal mines and a ski resort. The western end of the railroad is a hidden staging yard from which through traffic both originates and terminates.
Locations are named in alphabetical sequence from east to west to aid the crews in determining their location without having to learn the geography of the region depicted. All industries also follow this naming sequence, with all sites in a particular zone beginning with the same letter.
Regular Operating Sessions will resume shortly. The schedule will accommodate the commuter rail service, through manifest freight trains, local general freight and coal turns, coal and intermodal priority trains, and yard work to keep traffic flowing. Train movement is supervised by a dispatcher and monitored at a computer-based CTC system using JMRI Panel Pro The panel has turnout control and position indication at "interlockings" and shows continuous track occupancy because all rolling stock has been equipped with resistor wheelsets.
Crews use a Digitrax Digital Command Control (DCC) system with tethered, WiFi, and simplex and duplex radio throttles to operate their trains allowing walkaround control in close proximity to the movement of the trains. Four-cycle waybills are used with car card pockets to describe the movement of the cars, and the card deck for an entire train is held by the train crew to govern their handling of the individual cars.
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