Operating Session 26

Operating session #26 took place on Thursday 4/9/2026.  The session started at 1:55 PM railroad time, and ended at 8:53 PM railroad time.  This was a regular session for the Roundhosers, with 4 crew in addition to myself.  We ran at a 3:1 clock ratio.  All of the crew members had visited the layout several times before.  

Here were the assignments for the session, afternoon of Wednesday 9/23/1959:

• Clock on at 1:55 PM
• 1:55 PM ATSF/P&E/C&IM/P&PU dispatcher on duty.  Dan J, all session job.
• 1:55 PM ATSF Westward extra local in Washington.  Bob M.
• 2:00 PM ATSF Pekin switcher on duty.  Mitch R.
• 2:00 PM PPU yard switcher on duty.  Bob H, all (most?) session job.
• 2:00 PM PE #12 Eastward passenger from East Peoria.  Bill S.
• ~ 2:30 PM ATSF Coal empty extra from East Yard.  Mitch R.
• 2:30 PM PE Pekin switcher on duty, delayed due to crew.  Dan J, occasionally assigned.
• 3:05 PM CIM #7 Southward freight from East Peoria.  Bill S.
• 3:15 PM ATSF #13 Westward passenger from ATSF staging (Streator).  Bill S.
• 4:30 PM 3:30 PM ATSF #50 Eastward way-freight from East Yard.  Bob H.
• 4:30 PM PE #90 Eastward freight from East Peoria.  Bob M.
• 4:45 PM ATSF #49 Westward way-freight from ATSF staging (Streator).  Bill S.
• Did not run ~ 6:00 PM ATSF Eastward extra local freight from East Yard.
• 6:30 PM ~ 7:15 PM ATSF Coal extra from Streator to EP(TPW) or East Yard.  Bob H.
• 7:00 PM ATSF #18 Eastward mail and express from Pekin.  Bill S.
• Clock off at 8:53 PM
• Did not run 1:20 AM PE #99 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington)

ATSF train orders issued during this session, afternoon of Wed 9/23/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete
10	C+E Extra 806 West at Morton C+E Extra 2101 East at East Yard	EXTRA 806 WEST MEET EXTRA 2101 EAST AT MORTON	1:56 PM
11	C+E Eng 2101 at East Yard	ENGINE 2101 RUN EXTRA EAST YARD TO STREATOR	1:58 PM
12	C+E No 50 at East Yard C+E Extra 806 West at Morton	No 50 ENGINE 126L RUN 1 HOUR LATE	3:55 PM
13	C+E Eng 300L at Streator	ENGINE 300L RUN EXTRA STREATOR TO EAST YARD	6:11 PM

No PE train orders issued during this session, afternoon of Wed 9/23/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete

No CIM train orders issued during this session, afternoon of Wed 9/23/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete

Final thoughts:

• The layout ran well.
• The trip speed of the command station has been slowed down to make sure the PSX circuit breakers trip before the command station, to avoid the entire layout shorting at once.  This worked well.
• I'm still not fully sure if the slightly adjusted the location of the Digitrax UR93 duple radio has helped.
• The passenger trains being a bit shorter than in the past helped the sanity of the ATSF Pekin switcher.
• Running the layout with 4 crew is two fewer than optimal.  A switchjob went unstaffed, and some other trains were delayed or cancelled due to lack of available crew.
• The session was a success and I think everyone had fun.

I don't currently have any op sessions scheduled, but will likely try to run a session or two in August and early September before the Amrail Ops event which is the end of September.

Operating Session 25

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 AM PE #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.

Operating Session 24

Operating session #24 took place on Sunday 2/15/2026.  The session started at 12:32 PM railroad time, where the previous session had left off, and ended at 9:18 PM railroad time.  This was a session for Amrail and I had 7 crew in addition to myself.  We ran at a 3:1 clock ratio.  Four of the seven crew members were first-timers on the layout. 

Here were the assignments for the session, afternoon of Tuesday 9/22/1959:

• Clock on at 12:32 PM
• 12:32 PM ATSF/P&E/C&IM/P&PU dispatcher on duty.  Dan J, all session job.
• 12:32 PM ATSF Pekin switcher on duty.  Mitch R, all day job.
• 12:32 PM PPU yard switcher on duty.  Al K, all day job.
• 12:32 PM ATSF Eastward extra local freight starting in Roanoke.  Paul H + Alex M.
• 12:40 PM ATSF Eastward coal empty extra from East Yard.  Mike H.
• Late 12:05 12:50 PM PE #11 Westward passenger from PE staging (Bloomington).  Bob D.
• Late 12:20 12:40 PM ATSF #17 Westward mail and express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Devon P.
• Late 12:50 1:20 PM PE #95 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington).  Bob D.
• 2:00 PM PE Pekin switcher on duty.  Devon P, all day job.
• 2:00 PM PE #12 Eastward passenger from East Peoria.  Mike H.
• 1:50 PM ATSF Westward extra local freight from Streator.  Paul H + Alex M.
• 3:05pm CIM #7 Southward freight from East Peoria.  Mike H.
• 3:15pm ATSF #13 Westward passenger from ATSF staging (Streator).  Bob D.
• Late 3:30 4:30 PM ATSF #50 Eastward way-freight from East Yard.  Failed to record crew name.
• 4:30 PM PE #90 Eastward freight from East Peoria.  Alex M.
• 4:45 PM ATSF #49 Westward way-freight from ATSF staging (Streator).  Mike H.
• 6:45 PM ATSF Eastward extra local freight from East Yard, only if needed.  Mike H + Bob D.
• 7:00pm ATSF #18 Eastward mail and express from Pekin.  Paul H.
• 8:25 PM ATSF coal extra from Streator to East Yard.  Al K.
• Clock off at 9:18 PM
• 1:20am PE #99 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington).  Did not run due to end of session.

ATSF train orders issued during this session, afternoon of Tue 9/22/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete
7	C+E Eng 2101 at East Yard	ENGINE 2101 RUN EXTRA EAST YARD TO STREATOR	12:32 PM
8	C+E Eng 715 at Streator	ENGINE 715 RUN EXTRA STREATOR TO EAST YARD	1:50 PM
9	C+E Eng No 50 at East Yard	No 50 RUN 1 HOUR LATE	3:27 PM
10	C+E No 50 at East Yard C+E No 49 at Streator	No 50 MEET No 49 AT ROANOKE No 49 TAKE SIDING	4:10 PM
11	C+E Eng 203C at East Yard	ENGINE 203C RUN EXTRA EAST YARD TO STREATOR	6:43 PM
12	C+E Extra 126 West at Streator C+E Extra 203C East at Morton	EXTRA 126 WEST MEET EXTRA 203C AT MORTON	8:12 PM
13	C+E Eng 126 at Streator	ENGINE 126 RUN EXTRA STREATOR TO EAST YARD	8:25 PM

No PE train orders issued during this session, afternoon of Tue 9/22/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete

No CIM train orders issued during this session, afternoon of Tue 9/22/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete

Final thoughts:

• The layout mostly ran well.
• We had several shorts due to people running turnouts that shorted the entire layout.  I 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.
• One of the shorts took out two locomotives.  They appeared fully dead and unresponsive.  After the session when put back on the rails they both appeared fine and had no signs of trouble.  Odd.  The only common factor was Digitrax decoders, although different decoder models in the two.
• Getting crew to remember to sign the register, and if they do, to sign the correct side of the register, continues to be a bit of a problem.  If crew aren't signing the register it most likely means that they also aren't checking the register for the arrival or departure of all superior trains, which is a big problem in TT&TO.  I think I'll need to add more to the intro talk about the correct use of the register.
• I had slightly adjusted the location of the Digitrax UR93 duple radio before the session. There were no complaints about the radio, so perhaps this new location and radio unit orientation is helpful.
• In afternoon (railroad time) sessions the Pekin and East Peoria areas continue to be a bit congested with people as the ATSF Pekin switcher, PPU switcher, and PE switcher work in close proximity to each other, along with arriving and departing trains on the ATSF and PE.  I need to talk to the guys running those jobs to see how it worked out for them.
• I had previously settled on six crew being the perfect number of crew on the layout.  Seven crew also works if two person crews are put on the local extras.  I enjoy running two person crews on other people's layouts, but have heard that not everyone enjoys being part of a two person crew.  I think it's nice to be able to put a person who is new to TT&TO on a two person crew with someone who is experienced so that they learn from the experienced crew member.
• The crew of the ATSF Pekin switcher suggested that the passenger trains are rather long for the passenger track in Pekin.  I will try running shorter passenger trains next session.
• After the session I took a few of the crew over to visit a nearby layout.  Bill S's C&NW.
• The session was a success and I think everyone had fun.

Next op session is scheduled for mid March for Amrail.

Operating Sesssion 23

Operating session #23 took place on Thursday 1/15/2026.  The session started at 6:00 AM railroad time, and ended at 12:32 PM railroad time.  I initially thought I had 8 crew coming, then lost three due to illness and no-show, and then had a last minute addition of one to end up with the usual 6 crew in addition to myself.  Because of thinking I'd have a larger number than usual I had planned slightly heavier than usual number of trains, and some two person crews.  We ran at a 3:1 clock ratio.  This was a special session due to a friend of a friend being in town.  Two of the six crew members were first-timers on the layout.  This was the second operating session of the day for most of the crew attending, so we started a little later than usual for a weeknight, and ended a bit earlier as people were tired.

Here were the assignments for the session, morning of Tuesday 9/22/1959:

• 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.  Mark V, all session job.
• 6:00 AM PPU yard switcher on duty.  Bob B, all (most) session job.
• 6:15am ATSF Eastward extra local freight from East Yard.  Bob M.
• 7:00am ATSF#14 Eastward passenger from Pekin.  Mike A.
• 7:30am, slight delay PE #94 Eastward freight from East Peoria.  Mike A.
• 7:45am ATSF #47 1st section Westward green fruit express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Bill S.
• 8:15am ATSF #47 2nd section from ATSF staging (Streator).  John A.
• ~ 9:00 AM PE Corn Products switch job.  Bob B, along with doing PPU yard job.
• 10:09 AM ATSF coal extra from ATSF staging (Streator) to Pekin.
• 10:00 AM delayed to 11:20 AM ATSF #48 Eastward through-freight from East Yard.
• 10:15am CIM #6 Northward freight from CIM staging.  Bob B, along with doing PPU yard job.
• ~ 10:30am ATSF Eastward coal empty extra from East Yard to ATSF staging (Streator)  Did not run due to heavy traffic on railroad.
• ~ 11:30am ATSF Westward extra local freight from Streator.  Did not run due to heavy traffic on railroad
• 12:05pm Delayed PE #11 Westward passenger from PE staging (Bloomington)
• 12:20pm Delayed ATSF #17 Westward mail and express from ATSF staging (Streator)
• Clock off at 12:32 PM

ATSF train orders issued during this session, morning of Tue 9/22/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete
1	C+E Eng 721 at East Yard	ENGINE 721 RUN EXTRA EAST YARD TO STREATOR	6:02 AM
2	C+E No 14 at Pekin C+E No 1-47 at Streator	No 14 ENGINE 83L MEET No 1-47 ENGINE 300L IN ROANOKE No 1-47 TAKE SIDING	6:21 AM
3	C+E Eng 300L at Streator C+E Eng 707 at Streator	ENGINE 300L AND ENGINE 707 RUN AS FIRST AND SECOND No 47 STREATOR TO EAST YARD SECOND No 47 RUN 30 MINUTES LATE	6:25 AM
4	C+E Extra 721 East at Morton C+E Extra 2105 West at Streator	EXTRA 2105 WEST MEET EXTRA 721 EAST AT ROANOKE EXTRA 2105 WEST TAKE SIDING	10:07 AM
5	C+E Eng 2105 at Streator	ENGINE 2105 RUN EXTRA STREATOR TO EAST YARD	10:09 AM
6	C+E No 48 at East Yard C+E Extra 721 East at Morton C+E Extra 2105 West at Roanoke	No 48 RUN 80 MINUTES LATE	10:42 AM

No PE train orders issued during this session, morning of Tue 9/22/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete

No CIM train orders issued during this session, morning of Tue 9/22/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete

Final thoughts:

• The layout mostly ran well.
• We ran into a problem with the power district covering Pekin and East Yard tripping when there were too many locomotives active there as an A-B-A set of F units entered.  As the number of sound locomotives on the layout has increased it turns out that my rather conservative setting of the DCC Specialties PSX circuit breakers at 1.3 Amps was too low.  The trip level of the circuit breaker covering Pekin and East Yard has been increased to 2.5 Amps after the session.  Based on my testing this has fixed the problem.  The other circuit breakers remain at 1.3 amps.
• One person using a UT4D throttle reported periodic Digitrax duplex radio non-responsiveness when standing by Morton when there were a bunch of people in the vicinity.  Investigating the signal strength using a UT6D, since that is the only throttle showing radio signal strength, showed the signal slightly lower there.  I plan on mounting the UR93 duplex radio in a higher position, and more aligned with the ground plane to see if that results in improvement.  Supposedly the signal pattern is a donut shape, so being aligned with the ground plane should keep the lower signal above and below the "donut hole" away from where any crew might be standing.
• In the future when I run two sections of No 47 I think I need a longer gap between the two sections.  It's easy for the Pekin switcher to get overwhelmed and the yard tracks to get too crowded when a transfer from the P&PU and two sections of No 47 arrive in quick succession.
• The session started a bit late due to late arriving crew.  This resulted in me rushing the session start and not giving as much of an intro talk.  This led to some crew missing signing the registers and not fully following all of the rules of TT&TO.  I need to remember to always give the full intro talk.
• Six crew is perfect for a session that takes place in the morning railroad time.
• The session was a success and I think everyone had fun.

Next op session is scheduled for mid Feb for Amrail.

Operating Session 22

Operating session #22 took place on Saturday 5/24/2025.  The session started at 6:00 AM railroad time, and ended at 1:55 PM railroad time.  I had 6 crew, in addition to myself.  We ran at a 3:1 clock ratio.  This was a session for Amrail, and three of the six crew members were from out of town and were first-timers on the layout.

Here were the assignments for the session, morning of Monday 9/21/1959:

• 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. Peter A.
• 6:00 AM PPU yard switcher on duty.  Mark W.
• 6:15 AM ATSF Eastward extra local freight from East Yard.  Steve R.
• 7:00 AM ATSF#14 Eastward passenger from Pekin.  Paul H.
• 7:30 AM PE #94 Eastward freight from East Peoria.  Dave H.
• 7:45 AM ATSF #47 Westward green fruit express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Rich S.
• 8:00 AM PE Corn Products switch job. (Unless we have larger crew)
• ~ 8:30 AM ATSF Westward extra local freight from Streator.  Paul H.
• 10:00 AM ATSF #48 Eastward through-freight from East Yard.  Dave H.
• 10:15 AM CIM #6 Northward freight from CIM staging.  Rich S.
• ~ 11:00 AM ATSF Eastward coal empty extra from East Yard to ATSF staging (Streator).  Rich S.
• ~ 11:30 AM ATSF coal extra from ATSF staging (Streator) to Pekin Jct.  Steve R.
• 12:05 AM PE #11 Westward passenger from PE staging (Bloomington).  Mark W.
• 12:20 AM ATSF #17 Westward mail and express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Peter A.
• 12:50 AM PE #95 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington).  Paul H.
• Clock off at 1:56 PM

ATSF train orders issued during this session, morning of Mon 9/21/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete
1	C+E ENG 2395 at East Yard	ENG 2395 RUN EXTRA EAST YARD TO STREATOR	5:57 AM
2	C+E No 14 at Pekin C+E No 47 at Streator	No 14 ENG 21L MEET No 47 ENG 300L IN ROANOKE No 47 TAKE SIDING	6:28 AM
3	C+E x2395 East at Morton C+E x715 West at Streator	EXTRA 2395 EAST MEET EXTRA 715 WEST IN ROANOKE EXTRA 2395 TAKE SIDING	8:09 AM
4	C+E Eng 715 at Streator	ENG 715 RUN EXTRA STREATOR TO EAST YARD	8:17 AM
5	C+E x715 West at Washington C+E x810 East at East Yard	EXTRA 715 WEST MEET EXTRA 810 EAST IN MORTON. EXTRA 715 WEST TAKE SIDING	10:09 AM
6	C+E Eng 810 at East Yard	ENG 810 RUN EXTRA EAST YARD TO STREATOR	10:15 AM
7	C+E x810 East at Washington C+E x2105 West at Streator	EXTRA 810 EAST MEET EXTRA 2105 WEST IN ROANOKE EXTRA 2105 TAKE SIDING	11:15 AM
8	C+E Eng 2105	ENG 2105 RUN EXTRA STREATOR TO EAST PEORIA VIA TPW AT PEKIN JCT	11:18 AM

No PE train orders issued during this session, morning of Mon 9/21/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete

No CIM train orders issued during this session, morning of Mon 9/21/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete

Final thoughts:

• The layout ran well.
• The expanded intro talk continues to get the crew to remember to sign the registers consistently and to fully ponder their train orders.
• Six crew is perfect for a session that takes place in the morning railroad time.
• This crew did a great job.
• I wrote more train order than usual, as there was a lot of extras.  I ran both an eastbound coal empty extra and a westbound coal extra, in addition to the usual AM eastbound and AM westbound local extras.

Operating Session 21

Operating session #21 took place on Sunday 5/4/2025.  The session started at 1:45 PM railroad time, and ended at 10:00 PM railroad time.  I had 6 crew, in addition to myself.  We ran at a 3:1 clock ratio.

Here were the assignments for the session, afternoon of Saturday 9/19/1959:

• Clock on at 1:45 PM
• 1:45 PM ATSF/P&E/C&IM/P&PU dispatcher on duty.  Dan J, all session job.
• 1:45 PMATSF x707 West (Order #7) at starting at Morton to East Yard.  Bob M.
• 1:45 PM ATSF Pekin switcher on duty.  Mike A.
• 1:45 PM PPU yard switcher on duty.  Will A.
• 1:45 PM PE #95 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington), running late.  Bill A.
• 2:00 PM PE Pekin switcher, along with Corn Products and American Distilling switch jobs.  Rich S.
• 2:00 PM PE #12 Eastward passenger from East Peoria.  Frank S.
• ~ 3:00 PM CIM Northbound extra from CIM staging.  Frank S.
• 3:15 PM ATSF #13 Westward passenger from ATSF staging (Streator).  Frank S.
• 3:30 PM ATSF #50 Eastward way-freight from East Yard.  Bill A.
• 4:30 PM PE #90 Eastward freight from East Peoria.  Bob M.
• 4:45 PM ATSF #49 Westward way-freight from ATSF staging (Streator).  Frank S.
• 5:30 PM ATSF Eastward extra local (x707 E) freight from East Yard.  Bill A.
• 3:05 PM ~ 5:30 PM CIM #7 Southward freight from East Peoria, run late.  Will A.
• 7:00 PM ATSF #18 Eastward mail and express from Pekin.  Frank S.
• ~ 7:45 PM ATSF Westward coal extra (x2105 W)Streator to East Yard.  Rich S.
• Clock off at 10:00 PM
• 1:20 AM PE #99 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington).  Did not run before end.

ATSF train orders issued during this session, afternoon of Sat 9/19/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete
8	C+E No 50 at East Yard C+E No 13 at Morton	No 50 MEET No 13 IN EAST YARD	3:20 PM
9	C+E ENG 707	ENG 707 RUN EXTRA EAST YARD TO STREATOR	4:38 PM
10	C+E x2105 West at Streator C+E x707 East at Washington	EXTRA 2105 WEST MEET EXTRA 707 EAST IN ROANOKE EXTRA 2105 WEST TAKE SIDING	6:46 PM
11	C+E ENG 2105 at Streator	ENG 2105 RUN EXTRA STREATOR TO EAST YARD	6:48 PM

PE train orders issued during this session, afternoon of Sat 9/19/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete
1	C+E No 95 at Tremont C+E No 12 at Peoria	No 95 MEET No 12 AT EAST YARD No 95 TAKE SIDING	1:19 PM

CIM train orders issued during this session, afternoon of Sat 9/19/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete
1	C+E ENG 54 at Havana	ENG 54 RUN EXTRA HAVANA TO EAST PEORIA	1:35 PM
2	C+E No 7 at East Peoria C+E x54 N at Havana	No 7 RUN TWO HOURS LATE	1:40 PM

Final thoughts:

• The layout ran well.
• The expanded intro talk helped get the crew to remember to sign the registers consistently and to fully ponder their train orders.
• Six crew works well for a session that takes place in the afternoon railroad time.  It could also work with five.
• As it gets into the evening railroad time there aren't enough trains to keep everyone busy, but I'm ok with that.

Operating Session 20

We're back!  It's been two years, and unfortunately no layout expansion took place.  Life got busy, and the expansion was put on hold.  I have however put the staging area back together, and operating sessions have started up again.

Operating session #20 took place on Thursday 4/17/2025.  The session started at 6:00 AM railroad time, and ended at 1:40 PM railroad time.  I had 8 crew, in addition to myself.  We ran at a 3:1 clock ratio.

Here were the assignments for the session, morning of Saturday 9/19/1959:

• 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. Bob M, all session job.
• 6:00 AM PPU yard switcher on duty.  Mark V + Charlie S, all session job.
• 6:15 AM ATSF Eastward extra local freight from Pekin.  Mike H.
• 7:00 AM ATSF#14 Eastward passenger from Pekin.  Bill S.
• 7:30 AM PE #94 Eastward freight from East Peoria.  Kurt V.
• 7:45 AM ATSF #47 Westward green fruit express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Mitch R + Frank S.
• 8:45 AM ATSF Eastward coal empty extra from East Yard to ATSF staging (Streator).  Bill S.
• 10:00 AM ATSF #48 Eastward through-freight from East Yard.  Frank S.
• 10:15 AM CIM #6 Northward freight from CIM staging.  Bill S.
• 11:00 AM ATSF Westward extra local freight from Streator.  Mitch R.
• 11:43 AM ATSF coal extra from ATSF staging (Streator) to East Peoria via Pekin Jct.  Mike H.
• 12:05 PM PE #11 Westward passenger from PE staging (Bloomington).  Frank S.
• 12:20 PM ATSF #17 Westward mail and express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Bill S.
• 12:50 PM PE #95 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington).  Mike H
• Clock off at 1:40 PM

ATSF train orders issued during this session, morning of Sat 9/19/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete
1	C+E Eng 2395 at Pekin	Eng 2395 run extra Pekin to Streator	6:02 AM
2	C+E No 14 at Pekin C+E No 47 at Streator	No 14 eng 21 meet no 47 eng 300 in Roanoke No 47 take siding	6:30 AM
3	C+E x2395 East at Morton C+E x203C East at East Yard	x2395 East meet x203C East in Morton x2395 East take siding	8:30 AM
4	C+E Eng 203C at East Yard	Eng 203C run extra East Yard to Streator	8:33 AM
5	C+E x2395 East at Roanoke C+E x707 West at Streator	x2395 East meet x707 West in Roanoke x707 West take siding	10:01 AM
6	C+E Eng 707 at Streator	Eng 707 run extra Streator to East Yard	10:04 AM
7	C+E Eng 2105 at Streator	Eng 2105 run extra Streator to East Peoria via TPW at Pekin Jct	11:38 AM

No PE train orders were issued during this session, morning of Sat 9/19/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete

Final thoughts:

• The layout ran well overall.  Better than I expected after sitting for two years.
• The fast clock has been switched to 12 hr mode from 24 hr mode due to request from crews.
• Eight crew is a bit too many for the layout.  I had to double up crews a couple of times, which I realize not everyone loves.  The large crew also caused me to run more trains than I normally would have.
• One locomotive developed a mysterious motive failure during the session and had to be airlifted out.  DCC functions continued to work, but the engine would not move.  At this point I have too many failed engines and need to get around to fixing them and getting them back in service.
• When short occurs it is shutting down the whole layout.  It appears that the circuit breaker on the new command station is reacting faster than the old command station did.  It is cutting the power faster than the DCC Specialties PSX-1 circuit breakers can.  They have been configured to slow down a bit (20ms?) to let the Frog Juicers (10ms) do their job.  I need to talk to Digitrax to figure out the exact speed of the circuit breaker on the command station to know what speed to set the PSX-1s to, so that they can be faster than the command station.
• I'm liking the new Train Register books designed by Bob Hanmer.  I need to train the crew better to sign their entries on the correct side of the registers.  The new Dispatcher's Order Book is also nice.
• I need to have a more consistent intro talk to remind everyone of things like signing the registers, not leaving a station before their train is scheduled to, particularly when we have new operators.

Operating Session 19

Operating session #19 took place on Tuesday 5/16/2023.  The session started at 1:45 PM railroad time, and ended at 8:22 PM railroad time.  I had 7 crew, in addition to my self.  We ran at a 3:1 clock ratio.

Here were the assignments for the session, afternoon of Friday 9/18/1959:

• Clock on at 1:45pm
• 1:45pm ATSF/P&E/C&IM/P&PU Dispatcher on duty.  Dan J, all day job.
• 1:45pm ATSF Pekin switcher on duty. Mike H.
• 1:45pm PPU yard switcher on duty. Mark V.
• (Running late) 12:50pm PE #95 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington). Kurt V.
• 2:00pm PE Pekin switcher on duty. Mitch R.
• 2:00pm PE #12 Eastward passenger from East Peoria. Charlie S.
• 2:05pm ATSF Eastward extra local freight from East Yard. John S.
• 3:05pm CIM #7 Southward freight from East Peoria. Charlie S or Kurt V?
• 3:15pm ATSF #13 Westward passenger from ATSF staging (Streator). Bill S.
• (Delayed to 4:30pm) 3:30pm ATSF #50 Eastward way-freight from East Yard. Kurt V.
• 4:30pm PE #90 Eastward freight from East Peoria. Charlie S.
• 4:45pm ATSF #1-49 Westward way-freight from ATSF staging (Streator). Bill S.
• 5:00pm ATSF #2-49 Westward way-freight from ATSF staging (Streator). Charlie S.
• 7:00pm ATSF #18 Eastward mail and express from Pekin. John S.
• 7:00pm ATSF Westward coal extra from staging (Streator). Bill S and Charlie S.
• Did not run. 8:00pm ATSF westward extra local
• Clock off at 8:22pm
• Did not run. 1:20am PE #99 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington)

ATSF train orders issued during this session, afternoon of Fri 9/18/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete
7	C+E Eng 721 at Pekin	Eng 721 run extra Pekin to Streator	1:40pm
8	C+E No 50 at East Yard C+E x721 East at Morton	No 50 run 1 hour late	3:27pm
9	C+E No 1-49 at Streator C+E No 2-49 at Streator	Eng 2105 and 707 run as first and second 49    Streator to East Yard	4:43pm
10	C+E Eng 203C at Streator	Eng 203C run extra Streator to East Yard	6:49pm

PE train orders issued during this session, afternoon of Fri 9/18/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete
1	C+E No 95 at Tremont    C+E No 12 at Peoria	No 95 meet No 12    In Tremont No 95 take siding	1:05pm

Thoughts on how the session ran:

• I discovered that some crew had trouble reading the fast clock display in 24 hr mode.  I tend to forget that not everyone thinks in 24 hr mode.  I will reconfigure the clocks to show time in AM/PM mode for the future.
• I switched from the Micro-Mark clearance cards and train order forms to printed out Santa Fe clearance cards and train order forms.  I didn't get any comments on the positives or negatives of this, but I think I like the slightly higher realism of using actual Santa Fe forms.
• The 3:1 clock ratio continues to work well.
• I need to have a more consistent intro talk to remind everyone of things like signing the registers, particularly when we have new operators.

Operating Session 18

Operating session #18 took place on Thursday 4/20/2023.  The session started at 6:30am railroad time, and ended at 1:45pm railroad time.  I had 7 crew, one more than optiomal, in addition to my self.  We ran at a 3:1 clock ratio.

Here were the assignments for the session, morning of Friday 9/18/1959:

• Clock on at 6:30am
• 6:30am ATSF/P&E/C&IM/P&PU Dispatcher on duty.  Dan J, all day job.
• 6:30am ATSF Pekin switcher on duty. Bill S, all day job.
• 6:30am PPU yard switcher on duty.  Bob M, all day job.
• 6:35am ATSF Eastward extra local freight from East Yard.  Mike A.
• 7:00am ATSF#14 Eastward passenger from Pekin.  Charlie S.
• 7:30am PE #94 Eastward freight from East Peoria.  Mike H.
• 7:45am ATSF #47 Westward green fruit express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Chuck R.
• CANCELLED 8:00am PE Corn Products switch job. (Cancelled).
• ~ 8:30am ATSF Westward extra local freight from Streator.  John S.
• 10:00am ATSF #48 Eastward through-freight from East Yard.  Mike H.
• 10:15am CIM #6 Northward freight from CIM staging.  Charlie S.
• ~ 10:15am ATSF Eastward coal empty extra from East Yard to ATSF staging (Streator).  Chuck R.
• 12:05pm PE #11 Westward passenger from PE staging (Bloomington).  Mike A.
• 12:20am ATSF #17 Westward mail and express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Mike H.
• DELAYED, DID NOT RUN 12:50pm PE #95 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington)
• Clock off at 1:45pm

ATSF train orders issued during this session, morning of Fri 9/18/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete
1	C+E Eng 2395 at East Yard	Eng 2395 run extra East Yard to Streator	6:30am
2	C+E No 14 at Pekin C+E No 47 at Streator	No 14 Eng 70 meet No 47 Eng 21 in Roanoke No 47 take siding	6:35am
3	C+E Extra 2395 East at Morton C+E Extra 715 West at Streator	Extra 2395 East meet Extra 721 West in Morton	8:09am
4	C+E Eng 721 at Streator	Eng 721 Run extra Streator to East Yard	8:11am
5	C+E Extra 203C East at East Yard C+E Extra 721 West at Morton	Extra 203C East Meet Extra 721 West in Morton Extra 721 West take siding	10:10am
6	C+E Eng 203C at East Yard	Eng 203C Run extra East Yard to Streator	10:13am

No PE train orders were issued during this session, morning of Fri 9/18/1959:

Thoughts on how the session ran:

• Overall the session ran well.
• The 3:1 clock ratio continues to work well.
• I need to have a more consistent intro talk to remind everyone of things like signing the registers, particularly when we have new operators.

Operating Session 17

Operating session #17 took place on Saturday 11/19/2022.  The session started at 1:34pm railroad time, and ended at 9:03pm railroad time.  I had 6 crew, a mix of Amrail and the usual guys, in addition to my self.  With one of the crew members being a student paired with another person, I could have optimally used one more crew.   We ran at a 3:1 clock ratio, which continues to work well.

Here were the assignments for the session, afternoon/evening of Thursday 9/17/1959:

• Clock on at 1:34pm
• 1:34pm ATSF/P&E/C&IM/P&PU Dispatcher on duty.  Dan J, all day job.
• 1:34pm ATSF Pekin switcher.  Rick W.
• 1:34pm PPU East Peoria yard switcher.  Bob M.
• (Late) 12:50pm PE #95 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington).  Mike A.
• 1:42pm ATSF Extra 721 West local freight from Streator.  Chris C + Matthew C.
• 2:00pm PE Pekin switcher on duty.  Mike A.
• 2:00pm PE #12 Eastward passenger from East Peoria.  Gary H.
• 3:05pm CIM #7 Southward freight from East Peoria. Dan J.
• 3:15pm ATSF #13 Westward passenger from ATSF staging (Streator). Gary H.
• 3:30pm ATSF #50 Eastward way-freight from East Yard.  Gary H.
• 4:30pm PE #90 Eastward freight from East Peoria.  Dan J.
• 4:45pm ATSF #49 Westward way-freight from ATSF staging (Streator).  Mike A.
• 6:07pm ATSF Extra 715 West coal extra from ATSF staging (Streator) to East Peoria.  Bob M.
• 6:49pm ATSF Extra 721 East local freight from East Yard.  Gary H.
• 7:00pm ATSF #18 Eastward mail and express from Pekin.  Chris C + Matthew C.
• Clock off at 9:03pm
• DID NOT RUN 1:20am PE #99 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington)

ATSF train orders issued during this session, afternoon/evening of Thu 9/17/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete
7	C+E Eng 721 at Streator	Eng 721 run extra Streator to Pekin East Yard	1:42pm
8	C+E Eng 715 at Streator	Eng 715 run extra Streator to Pekin East Yard	6:07pm
9	C+E Extra 715 West at Roanoke C+E Extra 721 East at East Yard	Extra 715 West meet Extra 721 East in Morton Extra 721 East take siding	6:47pm
10	C+E Eng 721 at East Yard	Eng 721 Run extra East Yard to Streator	6:49pm

PE train orders issued during this session, afternoon/evening of Thu 9/17/1959:

Order #	To	Body	Complete
1	C+E No 95 at Tremont    C+E No 12 at Peoria	No 95 Eng 5607 meet No 12 Eng 5606    In East Yard No 95 take main	1:15pm

Thoughts on how the session ran:

• Overall the session ran well.
• The 3:1 clock ratio continues to work well.  It allows me to not feel rushed when thinking about and writing train orders.
• Everyone is doing a good job of signing and reading the registers, and getting a pretty good handle on TT&TO operations.

Operating Session 16

Operating session #16 took place on Sunday 10/9/2022.  The session started at 6:50am railroad time, and ended at 1:33pm railroad time.  I had 3 operators in addition to my self.  I used to feel that 7 people was the optimally sized crew, but lately have been aiming for 5-6 people.  We ran at a 3:1 clock ratio, which I'm starting to feel is better than the 4:1 ratio I've been mostly using for a while.  At this ratio I felt I had more time to ponder and write train orders, and was still able to fill in yard crew as we were short of crew.

Here were the assignments for the session, morning of Thursday 9/17/1959:

• Clock on at 6:50am
• 6:50am ATSF/P&E/C&IM/P&PU Dispatcher on duty.  Dan J, all day job.
• 6:50am ATSF Pekin switcher on duty. Dan J, doing double duty.
• 6:50am PPU yard switcher on duty.  Dan J, doing triple duty. (yard pre-sorted to avoid insanity)
• 7:00am ATSF#14 Eastward passenger from Pekin.  Mike A.
• 7:05am ATSF transfer run Pekin East Yard to PPU East Peoria Yard.  Greg B.
• 7:30am PE #94 Eastward freight from East Peoria.  Greg B.
• 7:45am ATSF #47 Westward green fruit express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Charlie S.
• 8:09am ATSF Westward extra local freight from Streator.  Mike A.
• 9:20am ATSF Eastward extra local freight from Streator. Greg B.
• 10:00am ATSF #48 Eastward through-freight from East Yard.  Charlie S.
• 10:15am CIM #6 Northward freight from CIM staging.  Dan J.
• 11:05am ATSF Westward coal extra from Streator to TPW East Peoria via Pekin Jct.  Charlie S.
• 12:05pm PE #11 Westward passenger from PE staging (Bloomington).  Charlie S.
• 12:20pm ATSF #17 Westward mail and express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Greg B.
• 12:50pm PE #95 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington).  Delayed, train did not yet run.
• Clock off at 1:33pm.

Train orders issued during this session:

Order #	To	Body	Complete
1	C+E No 14 at Pekin C+E No 47 at Streator	No 14 Eng 70 Meet No 47 Eng 21 in Roanoke    No 47 take Siding.	6:30am
2	C+E Eng 707 at Streator	Eng 707 run extra Streator to Pekin East Yard	7:52am
3	C+E Extra 707 West at Roanoke C+E Extra 715 East at Pekin East Yard	Extra 707 West meet Extra 715 East in Morton Extra 707 West take siding	9:13am
4	C+E Eng 715 at Pekin East Yard	Eng 715 Run extra Pekin East Yard to Streator	9:16am
5	C+E Extra 2101 West at Streator C+E Extra 715 East at Washington	Extra 2101 West Meet Extra 715 East in Roanoke Extra 2101 West Take Siding	10:55am
6	C+E Eng 2101 at Streator	Eng 2101 Run Extra Streator to East Peoria via TPW at Pekin Jct	11:07am

Thoughts on how the session ran:

• Overall the session ran well.  One minor turnout adjustment was done with a file.
• I liked the slower pace of the 3:1 clock ratio.  It allowed me to not feel rushed when thinking about and writing train orders.
• With me doing double duty as the ATSF Pekin yard switcher, and the P&PU East Peoria yard switcher the P&PU yard got a bit backed up by the end of the session.  A couple of more people would have been optimal.

Operating Session 15

Operating session #15 took place on Thursday 9/15/2022.  Usually for operating sessions I re-stage the layout and start the sessions at ~ 6:30am railroad time.  This time I decided to try out continuing the day where the previous session left off.  We started off with the clock at 4:15pm.  The afternoon and evening schedule of trains is a bit mellower, and is optimal for 5 people.  This time I had 4 operators in addition to myself.

The session started at 4:15pm railroad time, and ended at 9:00pm railroad time.  I decided to run the clock at a slightly slower than usual 3:1 ratio.  I felt like this worked well, but one person commented that they thought the 4:1 ratio might work better for an afternoon/evening session, while perhaps the busier morning/afternoon sessions might benefit from the 3:1 ratio.  I'll try that next time and we'll see how it turns out.

Here were the assignments for the session, afternoon/evening of Wednesday 9/16/1959:

• Clock on at 4:15pm
• 4:15pm ATSF/P&E/C&IM/P&PU Dispatcher on duty.  Dan J, all day job.
• 4:15pm ATSF Pekin switcher on duty, all day job.  Dan J, doing double-duty.
• 4:25pm ATSF Eastward extra local freight from East Yard.  Frank S.
• 4:30pm PE #90 Eastward freight from East Peoria.  Mike A.
• 4:45pm ATSF #49 Westward way-freight from ATSF staging (Streator).  Bill S.
• 4:50pm PPU Transfer from East Peoria yard to ATSF East Yard.  Charlie S.
• 5:30pm (delayed from 3:30pm) ATSF #50 Eastward way-freight from East Yard.  Charlie S.
• 5:30pm PE Pekin switch job, including American Distilling job.  Mike A.
• 7:00pm ATSF #18 Eastward Fort Madison Fast Mail from Pekin.  Bill S.
• 8:05pm ATSF Westward coal extra from ATSF staging (Streator) to PPU East Peoria Yard.  Bill S. + Charlie S.
• Clock off at 9:00pm
• 1:20am PE #99 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington).  Did not run before end of session.

Train orders issued earlier in the day during the previous session:

• 1.  To: C+E x707 West at Streator, C+E x2395 East at East Yard.  Body:  Extra 707 West meet extra 2395 East in Morton.  Complete: 6:15am.
• 2.  To: C+E Eng 707 at Streator.  Body: Eng 707 run extra Streator to East Yard.  Complete: 6:17am.
• 3.  To: C+E Eng 2395 at East Yard.  Body: Eng 2395 run extra East Yard to Streator.  Complete: 6:19am.

Train orders issued during this session:

• 4.  To: C+E No 50 at East Yard, C+E No 49 at Streator, C+E x707 East at East Yard.  Body: Train no 50 run 2 hours late.  Complete: 3:25pm.
• 5.  To: C+E Eng 707 at East Yard.  Body: Eng 707 run extra East Yard to Streator.  Complete: 4:20pm.
• 6.  To: C+E x707E at Roanoke, C+E x2101W at Streator.  Body: Extra 707 East meet Extra 2101 West in Roanoke.  Extra 707 East take siding.  Complete: 7:28 pm.
• 7.  To: C+E Eng 2101 at Streator.  Body:  Eng 2101 run extra Streator to East Yard.  Complete: 8:05pm.

Thoughts on how the session ran:

• Overall the session ran well, with no track or power problems.  5 people in addition to myself dispatching would be the right number of people for an afternoon/evening session.  We made do with 4, but me running the ATSF Pekin job in addition to dispatching lead to a lot of unsorted cars in ATSF Pekin East Yard by the end of the session.
• The 3:1 clock ratio worked, but next time I might try 4:1 for an afternoon/evening session, and try 3:1 for a morning/afternoon session.
• The new-ish UR93 radio receiver continued to work well.  All operators used radio throttles and there were no reports of radio problems.
• The new-ish UT6D throttle continued to run well.  I like that it works well off of rechargeable Eneloop NIMH AA batteries.  I should probably get one or two more of these throttles.
• I haven't been able to get the LogicRail loconet clocks to sync their time with the Digitrax command station without having a computer with JMRI running as clock master.  I have concluded that I just need to continue having the computer clock master involved.  It appears that people using older Digitrax command stations have more luck with the LogicRail clocks working correctly.

Operating Session 14

After a long break due to Covid, operating session #14 took place on Sunday 11/21/2021.  I had 7 operators in addition to myself.

A recently added track in the ATSF East Yard has helped to hold the ATSF #17/#18 trainset that now is staying in Pekin longer after the recent-ish time-table change.  I still need to add another track behind the Pekin depot to give better access to the team track when the depot house track is loaded with cars.  This will also make room to store a few cabooses by the depot, like the Santa Fe did in real life.

The clock came on at 6:30am, and went off at 4:28pm.  It ran at the usual 4:1 ratio.

Here were the assignments for the session, Wednesday 9/16/1959:

• Clock on at 6:30am
• 6:30am ATSF/P&E/C&IM/P&PU Dispatcher on duty.  Dan J, all day job.
• 6:30am ATSF Pekin switcher on duty, all day job. Bob H.
• 6:30am PPU yard switcher on duty, all day job.  Mark V.
• 6:30am ATSF Eastward extra local freight from East Yard.  Frank S.
• 7:00am ATSF#14 Eastward passenger from Pekin.  Bob M.
• 7:30am PE #94 Eastward freight from East Peoria.  Bill S.
• 7:45am ATSF #47 Westward green fruit express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Kurt V.
• 8:00am PE Corn Products switch job.  Did not run.
• 9:30am ATSF Westward extra local freight from Streator.  Mike A.
• 10:00am ATSF #48 Eastward through-freight from East Yard.  Bill S.
• 10:15am CIM #6 Northward freight from CIM staging.  Bob M.
• 12:05pm PE #11 Westward passenger from PE staging (Bloomington).  Bill S.
• 12:20am ATSF #17 Westward mail and express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Bob M.
• 12:50pm PE #95 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington).  Kurt V.
• Afternoon TPW Eastward coal extra from ATSF staging to TPW staging (East Peoria).  Did not run.
• 2:00pm PE Pekin switcher on duty.  Bob M.
• 2:00pm PE #12 Eastward passenger from East Peoria.  Frank S.
• 3:05pm CIM #7 Southward freight from East Peoria.  Bill S.
• 3:15pm ATSF #13 Westward passenger from ATSF staging (Streator).  Mike A.
• 3:30pm ATSF #50 Eastward way-freight from East Yard.  Delayed, did not run before end of session.
• Clock off at 4:28pm
• 4:30pm PE #90 Eastward freight from East Peoria.  Did not run before end of session.
• 4:45pm ATSF #49 Westward way-freight from ATSF staging (Streator).  Did not run before end of session.
• 7:00pm ATSF #18 Eastward mail and express from Pekin.  Did not run before end of session.
• Evening extras on ATSF if needed.  Did not run before end of session.
• 1:20am PE #99 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington).  Did not run before end of session.

Train orders issued during the session:

1. To: C+E x707 West at Streator, C+E x2395 East at East Yard.  Body:  Extra 707 West meet extra 2395 East in Morton.  Complete: 6:15am.
2. To: C+E Eng 707 at Streator.  Body: Eng 707 run extra Streator to East Yard.  Complete: 6:17am.
3. To: C+E Eng 2395 at East Yard.  Body: Eng 2395 run extra East Yard to Streator.  Complete: 6:19am.

Thoughts on how the session ran:

• Overall the session ran well.  7 people in addition to myself dispatching is the right number of people.  4:1 seems to be the right clock ratio.
• I'm going to try running smaller follow-up sessions where a smaller crew runs the ~ 4:30pm - midnight part of the railroad day.
• Not having the P&E Pekin switcher come on duty until 2pm has some pros and cons.  This does however match reality.
• Pro: The people running the ATSF Pekin switcher and the P&E Pekin switcher spend less time being in each other's way.
• Con: The P&E Pekin yard tracks end up getting more congested.
• Neutral: The passing P&E way-freights end up having to handle their own car pick-ups and drop-offs in Pekin, which my operators need to get used to.
• Even though the P&E Pekin switcher is no longer on duty in the mornings I may need to try having a morning P&E switch-job for American Distilling and Corn Products.
• We had less Digitrax radio issues than in the past, but still got a couple of reports of iffy radio.  I'm now using the new UR93 radio receiver.  I may need to set the older UR92 back up, to see if having both in operation fixes things.
• The new UT6D throttle ran well and was liked.  I will likely get more of these.

Operating Session 13

Operating Session #13 took place on Thursday 1/16/2020.  I had 7 operators in addition to myself.  One of the operators was a first timer at TT&TO, so he was assigned as an engineer with an experienced conductor for learning purposes.

The recently adjusted ATSF and P&E timetables continued to work well.  With the ATSF #17/#18 trainset staying in Pekin longer than before I am thinking about adding another track to East Yard to store the trainset to avoid congestion in East Yard or the Pekin yard by the depot.


Here were the assignments for the session, Tuesday 9/15/1959:

• 6:45am ATSF/P&E/C&IM/P&PU Dispatcher on duty.  Dan J, all day job.
• 6:45am ATSF Pekin switcher on duty. Mike A, all day job.
• 7:00am PPU yard switcher on duty.  No permanent assignee.  Sometimes Dan J, sometimes Mike A as needed.
• 7:00am PE switcher on duty. Mark V, all day job.
• 7:00am ATSF#14 Eastward passenger from Pekin.  Bob M + Elliott D.
• ~ 7:15am ATSF Extra 721 East local freight from East Yard. Kurt V.
• 7:30am PE #94 Eastard freight from East Peoria.  Charlie S.
• 7:45am ATSF #47 Westward green fruit express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Rick M.
• ~ 9:00am ATSF Extra 707 West local freight from ATSF staging (Streator).  Bob M + Elliott D.
• 10:00am ATSF #48 Eastward through-freight from East Yard.  Charlie S.
• 10:15am CIM #6 Northward freight from CIM staging.  Dan J.
• ~ 11:50am TPW Extra 401 West coal ATSF staging (Streator) to East Peoria via Pekin Jct.  Bob M + Elliott D.
• 12:05pm PE #11 Westward passenger from PE staging (Bloomington).  Charlie S.
• 12:20pm ATSF #17 Westward mail and express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Rick M.
• 12:50pm PE #95 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington).  Bob M.
• 2:00pm PE #12 Eastward passenger from East Peoria.  Rick M.
• 3:05pm CIM #7 Southward freight from East Peoria.  Dan J.
• 3:15pm ATSF #13 Westward passenger from ATSF staging (Streator).  Charlie S.
• 3:30pm ATSF #50 Eastward way-freight from East Yard.  Delayed, did not run before end of session
• ~ 4:15PM. End of session
• 4:30pm PE #90 Eastward freight from East Peoria.  Did not run before end of session.
• 4:45pm ATSF #49 Westward way-freight from ATSF staging (Streator).  Did not run before end of session.
• 7:00pm ATSF #18 Eastward mail and express from Pekin.  Did not run before end of session.
• Evening ATSF Eastward extra local from from East Yard.  Did not run before end of session.
• 1:20am PE #99 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington).  Did not run before end of session.

Train orders issued during the session:

1. To: C+E No 14 at Pekin, C+E No 47 at Streator.  Body: No 47 Eng 203L Meet No 14 Eng  21 in Roanoke.  No 47 take siding.  Complete: 6:00am.
2. To: C+E x721 East at East Yard, C+E x707 West at Streator.  Body: Extra 721 East meet Extra 707 West in Morton.  Extra 721 take siding.  Complete: 6:45am.
3. To: C+E Eng 721 at East Yard.  Body:  After No 14 departs East Yard Eng 721 run extra East Yard to Streator.  Complete: 6:50am.
4. To: C+E Eng 707 at Streator.  Body:  Eng 707 run extra Streator to East Yard.  Complete: 7:12am.
5. To: C+E TPW x401 West at Streator, C+E x721 East at Washington.  Body:  Extra TPW 401 West meet Extra 721 East in Roanoke.  Extra 721 take siding.  Complete: 11:30am.
6. To: C+E Eng TPW 401 at Streator.  Body: Eng TPW 401 run extra Streator to East Peoria via Pekin Jct.  Complete: 11:47am.
7. To: C+E PE No 12 at East Peoria.  Body:  No 12 run 45 minutes late.  Complete: 2:28pm.

Operating Session 12

Operating Session #12 took place on Saturday 12/28/2019.  I had 6 operators in addition to myself.  With us being a bit short handed I ended up running the P&PU yard switcher in the morning in addition to dispatching.  The P&E Pekin switcher also needed to run his own Corn Products switch jobs and American Distilling switch jobs.

The recently adjusted ATSF and P&E timetables worked well.  On the ATSF we now have bigger time gaps in between scheduled trains, allowing the extra locals to do their work without as much interference.  I had previously been thinking about changing the fast clock ratio to 3-1, but the usual 4-1 worked really nicely with the new timetables.


Here were the assignments for the session, Monday 9/14/1959:

• 6:45am ATSF/P&E/C&IM/P&PU Dispatcher on duty.  Dan J, all day job.
• 6:45am ATSF Pekin switcher on duty. Rich S, all day job.
• 7:00am PPU yard switcher on duty.  Morning Dan J, afternoon Frank S.
• 7:00am PE switcher on duty. Dave H, all day job.
• 7:00am ATSF#14 Eastward passenger from Pekin.  Charlie S.
• 7:15am ATSF Eastward extra local freight from East Yard. Brad H.
• 7:45am ATSF #47 Westward green fruit express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Frank S.
• 9:50am ATSF Westward extra local freight from ATSF staging (Streator). Bill A.
• 10:00am ATSF #48 Eastward through-freight from East Yard.  Charlie S.
• 10:15am CIM #6 Northward freight from CIM staging.  Frank S.
• 12:05pm PE #11 Westward passenger from PE staging (Bloomington).  Charlie S.
• 12:20pm ATSF #17 Westward mail and express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Dan J.
• 12:50pm PE #95 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington).  Brad H.
• 2:00pm PE #12 Eastward passenger from East Peoria.  Brad H.
• 3:05pm CIM #7 Southward freight from East Peoria.  Charlie S.
• 3:15pm ATSF #13 Westward passenger from ATSF staging (Streator).  Brad H.
• 3:30pm ATSF #50 Eastward way-freight from East Yard.  Frank S.
• 4:30pm PE #90 Eastward freight from East Peoria.  Charlie S.
• 4:45pm ATSF Westward coal extra from ATSF staging (Streator) to East Peoria via Pekin Jct.  Brad H.
• 4:55pm ATSF #49 Westward way-freight from ATSF staging (Streator).  Dan J.  Stopped in Roanoke at end of session.
• End of session ~ 5:15pm.
• 7:00pm ATSF #18 Eastward mail and express from Pekin.  Did not run before end of session.
• Evening ATSF Eastward extra local from from East Yard.  Did not run before end of session.
• 1:20am PE #99 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington).  Did not run before end of session.

Train orders issued during the session:

1. To: C+E ENG 2395 at East Yard.  Body: AFTER No 14 DEPARTS EAST YARD ENG 2395 RUN EXTRA EAST YARD TO STREATOR.  Complete: 6:30a. 
2. To: C+E X707 WEST at Streator, C+E X2395 EAST at Morton.  Body: EXTRA 707 WEST MEET EXTRA 2395 EAST IN ROANOKE.  Complete: 9:26a.
3. To: C+E ENG 707 at Streator.  Body: ENG 707 RUN EXTRA STREATOR TO EAST YARD.  Complete: 9:45a.
4. To: C+E No 48 at Washington, C+E X707 WEST at Roanoke.  Body: No 48 RUN 30 MIN EARLY.  Complete: 10:32a.
5. To: C+E P&E No 12.  Body: No 12 WAIT AT EAST PEORIA UNTIL No 95 HAS ARRIVED.  Complete: 1:55p.
6. To: C+E ENG 2101 at Streator.  Body: ENGINE 2101 RUN EXTRA STREATOR TO EAST PEORIA VIA PEKIN JCT.  Complete: 4:40p.

New ATSF and P&E timetables for the layout

I've tweaked the ATSF timetable to create a bit more room in the afternoon schedule to run extras.  The action on the ATSF now runs into the evening as well.

ATSF timetable

The P&E timetable has been altered to have all four scheduled freights that existed in reality in 1959.

P&E timetable

The train info pages have been updated to match the new timetables.

Evolving the time table and operating scheme

So far most of the action on my time table is concentrated between 7am and 6pm.  Operating sessions generally start with the clock at 6:45am and tend to go until 4pm - 5pm railroad time, with the fast clock running at a 4-1 ratio.  This makes means each session is about 2:30 - 3 real hours.  This seems to be about the natural point where operators start to fizzle.  Most of my sessions take place on weeknight evenings, which adds to the early fizzle factor for most people.

In operating on other layouts I've grown to like the variety when operating sessions pick up at whatever layout time that the last operating session ended.  This type of continuous ops makes each session feel a bit different.  I'm hoping to evolve my time table and operating scheme a bit more in this direction.  As a bonus, by spreading out the scheduled trains a bit there will be more room to fit in extras.

The first change on the ATSF will be to change the scheduled departure of the westbound ATSF #17, the Pekin Fast Mail from staging to depart at 12:30pm instead of 11:00am.  This also allows it to receive a sleeper from the LA to Chicago eastbound Super Chief, which will have stopped off-layout at Streator at 11:40am.

The next change is #18, the Ft. Madison Fast Mail from Pekin, will depart at 7:00pm instead of 1:00pm.  This will open up the schedule quite a bit in the afternoons, to allow for extra locals in both directions to work the industries, as well as coal hauls from ATSF staging to TP&W East Peoria staging.  The eastbound Fast Mail will also carry a connecting sleeper header to the westbound Chicago to LA Super Chief, which stops in Streator at 8:40pm.  This connect sleeper cannot miss the connection or heads will roll.

On the C&IM I will plan on running an evening freight extra in both directions if crew availability and traffic allows.

On the P&E I will move to a more realistic schedule with all four daily scheduled freights, by adding #99 and #94.  The will require an additional staging track be built for the P&E. 

The next change will to try out a 3-1 clock ratio instead of the previous 4-1 ratio.  My hope is that this gives the yard operators a less rushed experience, and the locals more time to do their work.  Hopefully this still works for the scheduled through freights and passenger trains.  We'll see.  Operating sessions will switch to one covering the early shift and the next covering the late shift.  The first will be from 6:30 AM - 2:30 PM or 3:30 PM railroad time.  The second will be from ~ 3:00 PM - ~ 11:00 PM railroad time.  There will be no night shift operating session due to low traffic.

I still need to figure out if the crew sizing for an early and late op session will need to be the same, or if the late shift works better with a smaller crew.

New proposed time tables below, with changes highlighted in red.

Proposed new Santa Fe time table

Proposed new Peoria and Eastern time table

Operating Session 11

Operating Session #11 took place on Sunday 8/25/2019.  I had 5 operators in addition to myself.  I had to leave the P&E Pekin switcher and the P&PU yard switcher unmanned, focusing on crewing the ATSF.  This works for a while, but by the afternoon the layout started to clog up a bit when the traffic wasn't flowing smoothly between the ATSF/P&E and ATSF/P&PU. We still had fun.

With it being a Sunday schedule all of the ATSF passenger trains are still scheduled, but none of the freights are.  Any ATSF freight that ran did so as an extra.

The crews are getting better about signing the registers at ATSF staging and ATSF Pekin East Yard now that all of the train instruction sheets mention it.

Here were the assignments for the session, from memory due to poor record keeping that day, Sunday 9/13/1959:

• 6:45am ATSF/P&E/C&IM/P&PU Dispatcher on duty.  Dan J, all day job.
• 6:45am ATSF Pekin switcher on duty. Mark G, all day job.
• 7:00am PPU yard switcher on duty.  Mostly uncrewed, occasionally crewed by Dan J.
• 7:00am PE switcher on duty. Mostly uncrewed, occasionally crewed by Bill A.
• 7:00am ATSF#14 Eastward passenger from Pekin.  Charlie S.
• 7:15am ATSF Eastward extra local freight from East Yard. William A.
• 7:45am ATSF X203L West Westward green fruit express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Bill A.
• ~ 8:00am P&PU Transfer job.  Bill B.
• ~ 9:30am TPW Westward coal extra from ATSF staging (Streator).  Annullled
• ~ 10:00am ATSF X203C East Eastward through-freight from East Yard.  Bill B.
• ~ 10:00am PE Morning Corn Products job.  Bill A.
• 10:15am CIM #6 Northward freight from CIM staging.  Dan J.
• 11:00am ATSF #17 Westward mail and express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Charlie S.
• ~ 11:00am PE Morning American Distilling job.  Bill A.
• Mid day ATSF X707 West local freight from ATSF staging (Streator).   William A.
• 12:05pm PE #11 Westward passenger from PE staging (Bloomington).  Bill B.
• 12:50pm PE #95 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington).  Dan J.
• 1:00pm ATSF #18 Eastward mail and express from Pekin.  Delayed, did not run before end of session.
• 2:15pm PE #12 Eastward passenger from Pekin.  Delayed, did not run before end of session.
• End of session
• 3:05pm CIM #7 Southward freight from East Peoria.  Did not run before end of session.
• 3:15pm ATSF #13 Westward passenger from ATSF staging (Streator).  Did not run before end of session.
• ~ 3:30pm ATSF extra Eastward way-freight from East Yard.  Did not run before end of session.
• 4:30pm PE #90 Eastward freight from East Peoria.  Did not run before end of session.
• ~ 4:45pm ATSF extra Westward way-freight from ATSF staging (Streator).  Did not run before end of session.

Train orders issued during the session:

1.  To: C+E X203L WEST at Streator, C+E X721 EAST at East Yard.  At: 6:40A.  Body:  X203L WEST MEET X721 EAST IN MORTON.  X203L WEST TAKE SIDING.
2.  To: C+E X203L WEST at Streator, C+E No 14 at Pekin.  At: 6:40A.  Body:  X203L WEST MEET No 14 IN ROANOKE.  X203L WEST TAKE SIDING.
3.  To: C+E ENG 203L at Streator.  At: 7:05A.  Body:  ENG 203L RUN EXTRA STREATOR TO EAST YARD.
4.  To: C+E ENG 721 at East Yard.  At:  7:09A.  Body:  AFTER No 14 DEPARTS EAST YARD ENG 721 RUN EXTRA EAST YARD TO STREATOR.
5.  To: C+E X203C EAST at East Yard, C+E X721 EAST at Morton.  At:  9:08A.  Body: X203C EAST MEET X721 EAST AT MORTON.  X721 EAST TAKE SIDING.
6.  To: C+E ENG 203C at East Yard.  At:  9:10A.  Body:  ENG 203C RUN EXTRA EAST YARD TO STREATOR.
7.  To: C+E X203C EAST at East Yard,  C+E X721 EAST at Morton.  At:  9:50A.  Body: X203C MEET X721 EAST AT ROANOKE.  X721 EAST TAKE SIDING.  TRAIN ORDER 5 IS ANNULLED.
8.  To: C+E ENG 707 at Streator.  At:  12:20P.  Body:  ENG 707 RUN EXTRA STREATOR TO EAST YARD.

Operating Session 10

Operating Session #10 took place on Thursday 8/1/2019.  This time I had 7 operators in addition to myself.  While things still run fine with 7 operators, the P&E Pekin switcher ends up overloaded, due to not being able to call spare crews to run the P&E American Distilling job or the P&E Corn Products job.  I may end up trying to still call crews to run these two industrial jobs and have them abandon those switch jobs when they get called for scheduled trains.  Since both the American Distilling job and the Corn Products job are out of the way in their own switching area, abandoning those jobs in place for a while and returning to complete it shouldn't be a problem.

The Digitrax duplex radio throttles continued to work well for the most part, although I'm planning on moving the radio receiver to a more central location to try to get rid of an occasional dead spot on the east end of Pekin.

Many crews forgot to sign the ATSF train registers in ATSF staging and at Pekin East Yard.  This is problematic when operating using TT&TO.  I plan to modify all of the ATSF train instruction sheets to remind people to sign the registers.

We ran into the Digitrax Zephyr "FULL" error message once and had to run the slot clearing procedure.  All signs point towards it being a good idea to upgrade to a more capable command station soon.

Here were the assignments for the session, Saturday 9/12/1959:

• 6:45am ATSF/P&E/C&IM/P&PU Dispatcher on duty.  Dan J, all day job.
• 6:45am ATSF Pekin switcher on duty. Greg B, all day job.
• 7:00am PPU yard switcher on duty.  Frank S, all day job.
• 7:00am PE switcher on duty.  Mike A, all day job.
• 7:00am ATSF#14 Eastward passenger from Pekin.  Charlie S.
• 7:15am ATSF Eastward extra local freight from East Yard. Bob H.
• 7:45am ATSF First #47 Westward green fruit express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Bill S.
• 8:15am ATSF Second #47 Westward through freight from ATSF staging (Streator).  Bob M.
• 10:00am ATSF #48 Eastward through-freight from East Yard.  Charlie S.
• 10:15am CIM #6 Northward freight from CIM staging.  Bill S.
• 11:00am ATSF #17 Westward mail and express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Bob M.
• ~ 11:30am ATSF Westward extra local freight from ATSF staging (Streator).   Bill S.
• 12:05pm PE #11 Westward passenger from PE staging (Bloomington).  Charlie S.
• 12:50pm PE #95 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington).  Bob M.
• 1:00pm ATSF #18 Eastward mail and express from Pekin.  Charlie S.
• Afternoon TPW Eastward coal empty extra from TPW staging (East Peoria).  Extra train did not run.
• 2:15pm PE #12 Eastward passenger from Pekin.  Bob M.
• 3:05pm CIM #7 Southward freight from East Peoria.  Dan J.
• 3:15pm ATSF #13 Westward passenger from ATSF staging (Streator).  Bob M.
• 3:30pm ATSF #50 Eastward way-freight from East Yard.  Charlie S.
• 4:30pm PE #90 Eastward freight from East Peoria.  Train did not run before end of session.
• 4:45pm ATSF #49 Westward way-freight from ATSF staging (Streator).  Train did not run before end of session.

Train orders issued during the session:

1.  To: C+E Eng 203L.  Body:  Eng 203L display signals and run as first 47 Streator to East Yard.  Complete: 6:00A.
2.  To:  C+E Eng 715.  Body:  Eng 715 run as second 47 Streator to East Yard.  Complete: 6:10A.
3.  To:  C+E No 14, C+E First 47.  Body: No 14 meet First 47 in Roanoke.  First 47 take siding in Roanoke.  Complete: 6:15A.
4.  To:  C+E Eng 707.  Body:  After No 14 departs East Yard Eng 707 run extra East Yard to Streator.  Complete: 6:50A.
5.  To:  C+E X721 West, C+E X707 East.  Body:  X721 West meet X707 East in Roanoke.  X707 East take siding.  Complete:  11:29A.
6.  To:  C+E Eng 721.  Body:  Eng 721 run extra Streator to East Yard.  Complete:  11:32A.
7.  To:  C+E No 7.  Body:  No 7 run 1 HR early.  Complete:  1:55P.

Operating Session 9

Operating Session #9 took place on Thursday 7/18/2019.  I had 9 operators in addition to myself.  This was the largest crew I’ve had yet.  The conclusion is that 8 operators is a more optional crew size.  With 9 some people ended up waiting a while between trains.

The Digitrax duplex radio throttles generally worked well, although at the east end of East Yard the reception didn't seem to be the best.  A second UR92 radio receiver is probably a good idea for the future.

During the session I ran into a slot limitation problem with my DCC command station.  I’m still running off of a Digitrax Zephyr DCS50 command station.  It has 12 control slots, and somehow we ran out.  For a while it seemed like we could only have 6-7 throttles with a locomotive assigned to it.  When doing some research afterwards I discovered that if locomotives aren’t dispatched with all functions (including headlight) off, then the slot isn’t released.  Additionally, old consists defined in the system may be holding onto slots.  During the next session I plan on running the slot release procedure, and then have each operator make sure they turn off all functions before dispatching their locomotives.  Do note that the clearing procedure also wipes any consists you may have configured.  If that doesn’t do the trick then it is time to upgrade to a more capable command station.  I’m still a bit amazed that the oldest most basic Digitrax Zephyr has managed to do the job so far.


Here were the assignments for the session, Friday 9/11/1959:

• 6:45am ATSF/P&E/C&IM/P&PU Dispatcher on duty.  Dan J, all day job.
• 6:45am ATSF Pekin switcher on duty.  Greg B, all day job.
• 7:00am PPU yard switcher on duty.  Kurt V, all day job.
• 7:00am PE switcher on duty.  Frank S, all day job.
• 7:00am ATSF#14 Eastward passenger from Pekin.  Peter A.
• 7:00am PE Corn Products AM job.  Mike H.
• 7:45am ATSF #47 Westward green fruit express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Bob M.
• 8:15am ATSF Westward extra local freight from ATSF staging (Streator).  Mike A.
• 10:00am ATSF #48 Eastward through-freight from East Yard.  Charlie S.
• 10:15am CIM #6 Northward freight from CIM staging.  Peter A.
• ~ 10:30am ATSF Eastward extra local freight from East Yard.  SEVERELY DELAYED DUE TO DELAYS FROM OPPOSING EXTRA.
• 11:00am ATSF #17 Westward mail and express from ATSF staging (Streator).  Bill S.
• ~ 11:00am PE American Distilling AM job.  Mike H.
• 12:05pm PE #11 Westward passenger from PE staging (Bloomington).  Peter A.
• 12:50pm PE #95 Westward freight from PE staging (Bloomington).  Mike A.
• 1:00pm ATSF #18 Eastward mail and express from Pekin.  DELAYED 1HR.  Mike A.
• 1:42pm TPW Westward coal extra from ATSF staging (Streator).  Peter A.
• 2:15pm PE #12 Eastward passenger from Pekin.  Charlie S.
• 3:05pm CIM #7 Southward freight from East Peoria.  Bill S.
• 3:15pm ATSF #13 Westward passenger from ATSF staging (Streator).  Charlie S.
• 3:30pm ATSF #50 Eastward way-freight from East Yard.  Delayed 1 hrs, Mike H.
• Session ended 4pm.
• 4:30pm PE #90 Eastward freight from East Peoria.  Run after session.
• 4:45pm ATSF #49 Westward way-freight from ATSF staging (Streator).  Run after session.

Train orders issued during the session:

1. To: No 14, No 47.  Body: No 14 Meet No 47 in Roanoke.  No 47 take siding in Roanoke.  Complete: 6:40am.
2. To: x707W.  Body: After No 14 arrives in Streator engine 707 run extra Streator to East Yard.  Complete: 7:30am.
3. To: x401W.  Body: TP&W engine 401 run extra Streator to East Peoria via Pekin Jct.  Complete: 1:05pm
4. To: No 18, x401W.  No 18 run 1HR late.  Complete: 1:42pm
5. To: No 13, No 50.  No 50 run 1HR late.  Complete: 3:30pm.