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Along The Line - Every Job Has Its Paperwork

Paperwork, especially car cards, are used in everyday operations on Matt Snell’s HO scale Conrail New Jersey Division.
	Here is a sample Blocking Card for train WPSP to operate over the Conrail New Jersey Division. The card contains basic instructions and information on the work to be performed by this job.
	A typical Car Card in use on the New Jersey Division. The information on the card includes the car initials and number, the customer and town destination, the contents of the car, and its routing.
	Here is an example of a Bad Order slip filled out for a defective freight car.
	Here is an example of a Bad Order slip filled out for a defective locomotive.
	This is a typical car card rack for local industries located in one of the towns along the Conrail New Jersey Division.
	Sample High and Wide card from the New Jersey Division, based on an actual Conrail form.
	Sample Bulletin Order from the New Jersey Division, based on actual Conrail bulletin orders.
	Sample train sheet from the New Jersey Division.
	The dispatcher’s office, complete with base radios and Train Sheets.
	Actual Conrail Employee Timetables and forms that the New Jersey Division timetable was patterned after.
	Sample page from the New Jersey Division employee timetable, showing a portion of the Chemical Coast Secondary.
	Sample page from the New Jersey Division employee timetable, showing the special instructions section relating to equipment restrictions.

By M. R. Snell/Photos by the Author

Modeling the dense operations of northern New Jersey takes careful planning and execution. My HO scale Conrail New Jersey Division schedules and operates trains like the real thing. Up until now, we’ve concentrated on the physical characteristics of the railroad. Now we’ll start exploring what actually makes it operate. Since I decided to model Conrail in northern New Jersey, I also wanted to model the operations as closely as possible. This meant replicating actual Conrail forms, and adapting them to model railroad use.

Waybill Cards
Waybill cards have been around for years, and take many different forms—from those with pockets and removable portions, to systems involving paper clips laid over a particular destination or customer name. On my layout, we have chosen to use an imprinted index card with two styles and colors. Green cards are assigned to non-revenue equipment (engines, cabooses, MOW equipment, company service cars, etc.), and blue cards are assigned to revenue equipment (any freight car that can be spotted at an industry). Every piece of revenue equipment is assigned to an industry, while most non-revenue equipment is pooled and can move freely upon the discretion of the operators.

The non-revenue cards are imprinted index cards that contain the equipment’s reporting marks, the class of equipment (locomotive model or freight car type), operating restrictions, where the equipment is assigned, and any routing information for returning foreign line power.

The revenue card contains the equipment’s reporting marks, the consignee name and destination city, the train routing from the time it enters the railroad until it is spotted at its destination, the connecting railroad, the name of the shipper, the commodity carried, and any other special instructions. Cars containing hazardous materials are given a red stripe across the top of the card so that the crew can identify these cars quickly and assure that they are placed properly within the train’s consist. On the reverse side of the card is the same information, except with outbound routing information. At midnight, railroad time, the card is flipped over from inbound to outbound.

This system enables the train operator or yardmaster to quickly make decisions regarding what to do with equipment at hand. It also removes the possibility of misdirected cars, as is possible with the sliding-paper-clip method. The color-coding also helps to make a quick distinction between the types of equipment on hand. In the event a car is misrouted, we just write the reroute information on a blank white index card and attach it to the waybill. This comes in quite handy for special movements, such as needing spacer cars for a hazmat train, and it saves having to write out a whole new waybill. Once the special move is completed, you can discard the white card.

The third type of card in use is the train card. Here also two colors are used: pink, denoting road trains; and green, denoting locals. On this card we list the train symbol, the days and times of operation, the connecting railroad information, and any special operating instructions (such as set-outs or blocking instructions). In the case of local freights, these instructions will detail the work the local is to perform.

Bad Order Cards
The “bad order” slip is a supplement to the car cards. When a defect is discovered by a member of the crew, the slip is filled out after discussing the nature of the problem with the dispatcher. The bad order slip is attached to the car card, and at some point, the mechanical department can address the issue. The bad order slip is also used to note defects on the right-of-way and wayside signals.

Dimensional and Other Special Movements
Another supplement to the car card is the “high-and-wide” slip. Yardmasters can designate cars as dimensional movements (such as a large electrical transformer on a center-depressed flat), which operate in weekly special movements as called by the yardmaster. The slips are attached to the car cards to notify the operators as to the special status of the car.

The Call Board
So now that we know how to tell what’s what in the way of equipment, how do we know what trains are running, and who’s running what? We start with the call board. The railroad operates in actual linear time, with different trains operating on different days. When we start a new operating session, we merely pick up where we left off with no re-staging or other set-up required. The call board reflects the schedule changes from day to day. It lists all road freight which will be operated, as well as the times. It also lists all dispatcher, local, and yard jobs, and the times of those assignments. If trains are deleted from the schedule, they are simply crossed out. Provision is made for special moves, like Office Car and MOW trains.

Starting with filling the dispatcher, local, and yard assignments, operators can then pick the road freight they will operate. One major requirement for any assignment is being qualified for the job. A qualification and seniority listing is kept in the crew area. To qualify for a particular assignment, operators must demonstrate they are familiar with the territory and the rules for which they will be operating on. If they are not, a “pilot” can be assigned to them to get them qualified. In the event multiple qualified people want the same assignment, then a decision is made based on seniority.

Bulletin Orders
From time to time operators may miss an operating session, or there may be maintenance or other factors that may affect the physical plant of the railroad. Rather than try to remember all the changes, or try to explain them to twenty people, we use a system of “bulletin orders.” Prior to each operation session, a bulletin order is generated for each railroad company (Conrail, Amtrak, NJ Transit) listing things that could possible affect train movement. They are posted in specified locations, as well as in a book kept at the Dispatcher’s station. This enables operators to stay up to date if they have missed a few operation sessions by checking the bulletin orders in the book.

Train Sheets
There is a lot of activity on this railroad to keep track of. The dispatchers use train sheets (“Record of Train Movement”) to keep a record of all train movements during an operating session. The train sheet records the train symbol, power, length, and crew. Dispatchers mark the train’s progress over the road on a grid that shows each station and controlled point. Boxes are provided for Blocking Devices and Form D’s issued and annulled. We’ll explore these more later on.

The Employee Timetable
One of the tools that all operators are issued is an Employee Timetable. While many think only of timetables that contain schedules, an employee timetable contains information about the physical characteristics of the railroad, including all stations, mileposts, controlled points, siding lengths, and any restrictions or special instructions that may apply. The 36-page employee timetable that governs my New Jersey Division is pattered after the ones that were issued by Conrail.

The station pages provide the most information for operating any given section of track. Each page lists the rail line name along with the dispatcher and radio channel in use, a line diagram of the track configuration, a listing of all stations and named points, rules in effect controlling speeds and signaling, as well as any height, clearance, or weight restrictions. Any of us who have built a layout will realize that we have actual restrictions on our railroads where certain equipment doesn’t quite clear a bridge, or a building, or wayside signal. All of the restrictions listed in my New Jersey Division timetable are for real—which we have learned the hard way!

Completing the timetable is the qualification page, which lists each rail line as well as each section of NORAC signal rules. Here is where operators can mark the sections that are qualified in so they can keep track of what they have accomplished over time. I designed the timetable in Lotus, and I would be happy to provide the information I used to anyone who has an interest in developing a timetable for their own model railroad.

Moving Forward
In our next installment, we will talk about adapting the NORAC rule book for use on a model railroad.

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About the Author
Matt Snell, 36, born and raised in northern New Jersey, the basis for his HO scale Conrail New Jersey Division, is a dockworker currently residing in Milford, Ohio. Matt has been a model railroader and a railfan since age 12 and is currently married, "with goldfish and trains."