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 string diagram for the ATSF

Below is a new string diagram for the update timetable on the ATSF.  The new timetable gives more room for extra local freights to work in the morning and afternoon.

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.

More P&E staging tracks built

P&E staging has been improved to support a more realistic schedule for the Peoria and Eastern.  Now with two 7ft hidden staging tracks I can support two freights each way, and a passenger train each way.  Additionally a too tight curve on the 2% grade from staging was ripped up and re-laid with about a 16" radius.  Previously a single engine could only pull 8 cars up from staging.  Now that same engine can pull 14 cars.  I've learned to never go for an excessively tight radius, even in hidden trackage by staging.