Operating session #25 took place on Saturday 3/21/2026. The session started at 6:00 AM railroad time, and ended at 1:55 PM railroad time. This was a session for Amrail, with 6 crew in addition to myself. We ran at a 3:1 clock ratio. One of the crew members was a first-timer on the layout.
One unusual move this session was that the layout hosted a re-routed eastbound Texas Chief. Due to a track problem on the Illinois river bridge it was routed onto the Rock Island at Chillicothe down to Peoria, then Peoria & Pekin Union from East Peoria to Pekin, where it entered the layout to run to Streator. This move caused more train orders to be written than usual.
Here were the assignments for the session, morning of Wednesday 9/23/1959:- Clock on at 6:00 AM
- 6:00 AM ATSF/P&E/C&IM/P&PU dispatcher on duty. Dan J, all session job.
- 6:00 AM ATSF Pekin switcher on duty. Mitch R, all session job.
- 6:00 AM PPU yard switcher on duty. Mike A, all session job.
- 6:15 AM ATSF Eastward extra local freight from East Yard. Jordan T.
- 7:00 AM ATSF #14 Eastward passenger from Pekin. Bob M.
- 7:30 AM ATSF Eastward passenger extra (diverted #16 Texas Chief) from Pekin. Bob D.
- 7:45 AM ATSF #47 Westward green fruit express from ATSF staging (Streator). Frank S.
- ~ 8:00am PE Corn Products switch job. Mike A.
- 8:30 AM
7:30 AMPE #94 Eastward freight from East Peoria, delayed. Bob M. - 9:00 AM ATSF coal extra from ATSF staging (Streator) to Pekin. Unknown crew?
- 10:00 AM ATSF #48 Eastward through-freight from East Yard. Frank S.
- 10:15 AM CIM #6 Northward freight from CIM staging. Bob M.
- 10:30 AM ATSF Eastward coal empty extra from East Yard to ATSF staging (Streator). Bob D.
- 11:30 AM ATSF Westward extra local freight from Streator. Bob D.
- 12:05 PM PE #11 Westward passenger from PE staging (Bloomington). Jordan T.
- 12:20 PM ATSF #17 Westward mail and express from ATSF staging (Streator). Bob M.
- 12:50 PM PE #95 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington). Frank S.
- Clock off at 1:55 PM
ATSF train orders issued during this session, morning of Wed 9/23/1959:
| Order # | To | Body | Complete |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C+E Eng 810 at East Yard | ENGINE 810 RUN EXTRA EAST YARD TO STREATOR | 5:51 AM |
| 2 | C+E No 47 at Streator C+E No 14 at Pekin | No 47 ENGINE 300L MEET No 14 ENGINE 83L AT ROANOKE No 47 TAKE SIDING | 6:31 AM |
| 3 | C+E Extra 810 East at Morton C+E Extra 21L East at Pekin | EXTRA 810 EAST MEET EXTRA 21L EAST AT MORTON | 7:22 AM |
| 4 | C+E No 47 at Roanoke C+E Extra 21L East at Pekin | No 47 ENGINE 300L MEET EXTRA 21L EAST AT ROANOKE No 47 TAKE SIDING | 7:28 AM |
| 5 | C+E Eng 21L at Pekin C+E Extra 810 East at Morton | ENGINE 21L RUN EXTRA EAST YARD TO STREATOR AFTER 7:40 AM | 7:35 AM |
| 6 | C+E Extra 2105 West at Streator C+E Extra 810 East at Roanoke | EXTRA 810 EAST MEET EXTRA 2105 WEST AT ROANOKE EXTRA 2105 TAKE SIDING | 8:47 AM |
| 7 | C+E Eng 2105 at Streator | ENGINE 2105 RUN EXTRA STREATOR TO EAST YARD | 8:52 AM |
| 8 | C+E Eng 715 at East Yard | ENGINE 715 RUN EXTRA EAST YARD TO STREATOR | 10:10 AM |
| 9 | C+E Eng 806 at Streator | ENGINE 806 RUN EXTRA STREATOR TO EAST YARD | 11:23 AM |
No PE train orders issued during this session, morning of Wed 9/23/1959:
| Order # | To | Body | Complete |
|---|---|---|---|
No CIM train orders issued during this session, morning of Wed 9/23/1959:
| Order # | To | Body | Complete |
|---|---|---|---|
Final thoughts:
- The layout mostly ran well.
- I still need to slow down the trip speed of the command station some more to make sure the PSX circuit breakers trip before the command station, to avoid the entire layout shorting at once.
- I included more info on the importance of checking and signing the registers in the intro talk. This helped in getting all crews to check the register and sign it on departure.
- The slightly adjusted the location of the Digitrax UR93 duple radio may have helped, not fully sure.
- The passenger trains being a bit shorter than in the past helped the sanity of the ATSF Pekin switcher.
- The diverted Texas Chief was an interesting wrinkle in the usual operating scheme.
- The session was a success and I think everyone had fun.
Next op session is scheduled for early April for the Roundhosers.
