Introduction to Train and Car Cards


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Written by Paul D. Race for Family Garden Trains(tm)

Introduction to Train and Car Cards

This article is a "follow-up" to the article Planning Your Garden Railroad for Operations, which outlines some ways you can have fun imitating real-world railroad practices in your backyard empire. As a result, the information in this article makes more sense if you read the other article first. Once you've done that, this article just takes you a short step further into the world of model train operations, by providing a brief overview some ways that hobbyists and clubs use "paperwork" to plan operating sessions the way the real railroads do. Here are some more caveats before we get started:

The examples presented here are just to get you thinking about things you would like to try. Before you actually adopt any of the methods we mention, you'll want to check out the sources we mention at the end of the article, get more detailed information, and adopt the specific practices that seem most useful to you.
The methods mentioned here are especially useful for railroads where several people can run different trains at once - something that is usually achieved on Garden Railroads with some form of remote control. However, they can be used to make operations more realistic on single-operator railroads as well (although some form of remote control is helpful regardless).
In addition, each method overviewed here has been adapted hundreds, if not thousands of ways to meet the needs of individual hobbyists or their railroads. You may find that a club in your area has slightly different "rules" than the rules you find in the source materials (just as your distant cousins played checkers by different rules than you did). But no one insists that their way is the "only way." You can make up your own rules, too, especially if they make sense from a railroading standpoint.

Topics included in the following discussion are:

Using Paperwork to Plan Operations
Waybills
Car Cards
Train Cards
Bulletins
Conclusion

Some folks use a simplified version of the paperwork real railroads used to use to keep track of what goods and cars go where.

Using Paperwork to Plan Operations
After the trains are running and the weeds are under control, what's next? Some hobbyists become dissatisfied with their railroad just looking like a real railroad - they want it to run like a railroad, too. Many begin planning out their operating sessions in advance. Some folks use a simplified version of the paperwork real railroads use to keep track of what goods and cars go where. Several kinds of paperwork are commonly "modeled."
Note: To help the examples below make a little more sense, we'll use a simplified train layout that is also used in the article Planning Your Garden Railroad for Operations. Of course, the principles applied here work as well, if not better, with more industries and a more complicated track plan.
In this example, the stations are Able, Betty, and Charley; Flagstops are Douglas and Edna; and industries are Frances, Gary, Hannah, and Ida.
For the sake of the examples below, let's assume that:
Frances is a lumber mill
Gary is a pickle factory
Hanna is a warehouse
Ida is a furniture factory
Now let's see how a little "paperwork" can help you use these industries to give your trains a reason to run.

Creating waybills gives you a chance to think through what kinds of loads your railroad will be shipping. . .

Waybills
Waybills record what goods have been accepted for shipment and where they are supposed to go. Creating waybills gives you a chance to think through what kinds of loads your railroad will be shipping, where they will originate, what kind of car(s) they will need, and where they will be delivered.
Some hobbyists ignore waybills and jump right to the "car cards" below, but others start with a stack of waybills. They choose what cars to use depending on what freight needs to be shipped, and which "empty" cars are most convenient to add to the train.
For the example railroad above, you would create the following waybills.

Cut lumber (output of Frances, input of Ida)
Pickle barrels (output of Gary, would be shipped to an "interchange point")
Crated new furniture (output of Ida, input of Hannah)

Two sample waybills for this example railroad are shown at the right. Sample Waybill 1
Date of Order: August 4, 2006
Shipper's Name: Frances Lumber Mill
Point of Origin: Frances
Consignee's Name: NB&DCRR
Destination: Ida Furniture Factory
Consigment Load Description: Furniture-grade lumber
Car Type Required: Staked Flatcar
[On a real railroad, the following part is added when the car is loaded. On your railroad, you could paperclip the car card to the waybill]
Car #: 11002
Date Loaded August 6, 2006

Sample Waybill 2
Date of Order: August 5, 2006
Shipper's Name: Ida Furniture Factory
Point of Origin: Ida
Consignee's Name: NB&DCRR
Destination: Hannah Warehouse
Consigment Load Description: Crated furniture
Car Type Required: Boxcar
[On a real railroad, the following part is added when the car is loaded. On your railroad, you could paperclip the car card to the waybill]
Car #: 560007
Date Loaded August 6, 2006

Many clubs use variations of car cards to plan and keep track of their operations.

Car Cards
Car cards provide information about each car. Many clubs use variations of car cards to plan and keep track of their operations. Often, operators carry a "deck" of cards so they can keep track of what cars they're supposed to be moving where. Here are examples of two kinds of operations that use car cards.

Waybill & Card Systems: Some railroaders who operate from waybills, pick a few waybills first, then pull the cards for the cars they need as they build up their trains. Then they fasten each waybill to the appropriate car card by paperclips or some more clever arrangement, so that car is "dedicated" to that particular waybill only until its goods have been delivered. Then the waybill is returned to the "kitty" and car is handled as an "empty." In this mode of operation, the car cards do not include a description of the contents, source, or destination, since those could change every session.

Car Card-Centered Operations: Some systems bypass the waybill and go straight to a more detailed car card. These systems assume that certain cars will always be used to haul certain loads (which may be an appropriate assumption on small railroads like our example). Car cards in these situations do> include a description of the contents, source, and destination. The card in our example has added a "When Empty Return To" line to simplify ongoing operations. Some car card systems have a "full" and an "empty" version on the front and back of the card respectively. That way, they can keep track of which cars are "full" and which cars are "empty" simply by turning the cards over in their deck.
When car card systems are used for operations with multiple trains, they are often used in conjunction with train cards (discussed below). In this mode, the train cards contain only general information about the train, such as its overall route, schedule, and typical service. Specific operations for that day's service depend on the car cards chosen.
There are almost as many methods for using car cards to plan your operations as there are model railroads. If you have only one or two operators at a time, one simple method is to draw cards at random to make up your train. You could turn over every other card to determine whether the car is "full" or "empty" before you set out. Many other ways have been tried, as the links at the end of this article show.

Two sample "car" cards based on the examples above are shown at the right.
Sample Car Card for Waybill & Car Card Operation
Car Road Name and Number: DC&NBRR #11002
Car Type: Staked Flatcar
Shipper's Name:
Point of Origin:
Consignee: NB&DCRR
Destination:
Consigment Load Description:
When Empty Return to:

Sample Car Card for Car Card-Centered Operation
Car Road Name and Number: DC&NBRR #11002
Car Type: Staked Flatcar
Shipper's Name: Frances Lumber Mill
Point of Origin: Frances Depot
Consignee: NB&DCRR
Destination: Ida Furniture Company Depot
Consigment Load Description: Furniture-grade lumber
When Empty Return to: Frances Lumber Mill

Train Cards . . . tell the "rules" for operating each train during a particular operating session.

Train Cards
Train cards record each train's ordinary route and schedules. In a sense these tell the "rules" for operating each train during a particular operating session. (Think of it as a "role-playing" game if that helps.) Train cards are very handy for beginning operators or for keeping operations "straight" when several people are operating at one time. There's also no reason you can't have multiple sets of instructions for each train, so that the operation of that train varies from one session to the next.
When you use train cards in conjuction with the car cards, the train cards provide general instructions, such as where and when to depart, the types of freight typically hauled, where to arrive, and so on. Then some system is devised for getting appropriate car cards into the hands of the operator of each train. As an example, the "deck" of cards from the last operating session might remain attached to the train card, Or you could draw cards and start "from scratch" every time.
Some hobbyists, especially operators who are setting up an operating session for first-time operators, create train cars that are much more detailed and essentially substitute for the car cards. That way, folks new to operations can work at the same time without a lot of direction and still have a "productive" session. If you like this idea, there's no reason you can't have several "versions" for each train you plan to run, so when people show up, they pick a train at random, then pick a card at random from that train's "options." That way the trains interoperate differently, and one session can be quite different from the next.
One unusual use of such detailed train cards takes place on Jack Burgess' Yosemite Valley Railroad. Jack has recorded step-by-step operations for several different trains, based on records from real operations on the railroad he is modeling. When multiple operators and trains are active, Jack's instructions reenact a single day's real business on the real railroad. If everyone does their job right, you can tell, because there is a three-train "meet" at a particular place and time.
Creating train cards helps you think about the kinds of trains you would like to run and the kinds of operations you would like to see them run. Creating train cards, waybills and car cards should all help you think about the kinds of stations, sidings, switch yards, and industries you want to have.
Sample Train Card for Use With Car Cards
Train Name [and/or number]: City of New Boston #7 Eastbound
Point of Departure: Able Switch Yard
Point of Arrival: Edna Flagstop and Wye
Standing Orders: Bypass stations and flagstops unless flagged.
Departure: Able Switch Yard: 0815
Arrival: Turn and become Donnels Creek #8 Westbound

Sample "Freestanding" Train Card
Train Name [and/or number]: City of New Boston #7 Eastbound
Consist: 2 "empty" lumber cars, 2 boxcars "full" of furniture, 3 empty box cars
Point of Departure: Able Switch Yard
Point of Arrival: Edna Flagstop and Wye
Standing Orders: Bypass stations and flagstops unless flagged.
Departure: Able Switch Yard: 0815
Frances: Drop off empty lumber cars; pick up full lumber cars.
Gary: Bypass unless flagged. If flagged, pick up empty covered hoppers and drop off box car.
Hannah: Drop off 2 empty box cars; pick up any full box cars.
Ida: Drop off 2 full box cars; pick up empty lumber cars.
Edna Flagstop and Wye: Turn and become Donnels Creek #8 Westbound [new directions for #8 Westbound would be on another card.]

Bulletins announce exceptions that affect train operation. . . . think about what kinds of fun "monkey wrenches" you can throw into your own operations.

Bulletins
announce exceptions that affect train operation. In the real world, these may announce that a bridge or siding is "out" or has been placed back into service. In hobby operations, these can be the "Community Chest" cards that change the rules mid-session and make things more interesting. On our sample railroad, announcing that a bridge is out near Flagstop Edna would turn the railroad from a loop railroad into a point-to-point railroad in less time than it takes to read the card. A "bad" passing track might mean that a train has to hold up at another station or on an industrial siding while another train passes, and so on.
When creating bulletins, think about what kinds of fun "monkey wrenches" you can throw into your own operations. A stranded railroad VIP who demands that the next available passenger train stop at some industry to pick him up. An accident that ties up a particular grade crossing for ten minutes while the engineers in the locale "cool their heels." A requirement that all trains be off the mainline for the next half hour so a "Presidential Special" can come through. You might put in some "passes" as well. Such-and-such an industry is closed today so there is no need to stop, and so on.
How and when bulletin cards are pulled is up to you, of course. Perhaps some are passed out at the beginning, and a new one is drawn every twenty minutes or whenever a train crosses a particular bridge, or so on. Use your imagination - it's your railroad.
Sample Bulletin
New Boston and Donnels Creek
BULLETIN
Effective Immediately: The weight limit of the West River bridge north of Flagstop Edna has been reduced. Only light passenger trains and local freights with less than seven cars are now permitted to use this route. All other trains traveling northbound toward Able Switchyard must use the Wye to reverse direction and travel west.

The descriptions and illustrations above are simply examples of different ways people plan complex operating sessions that mimic real-world operations. In addition to the examples above, some systems have used no cards at all - they use colored tacks or stickers to label cars directly or keep track in some other way. The point of all of this is to get you thinking about how you can design your railroad to take advantage of such systems if you ever decide to use one (or several).

Conclusion
If you read the Planning Your Garden Railroad for Watchability article first, like you were supposed to, you should have some pretty good ideas about the overall path of trains on your railroad. And now you know why I kept stressing that you would probably have to go back and add sidings. The next article in this series, Planning Your Garden Railroad for Reliability tells you how sidings and other features need to be planned carefully to provide the most reliable operation. After all, you wouldn't want to design the perfect operational, most watchable railroad only to discover that your trains won't run on it.
In the meantime, you should have some ideas about how to make operations on your railroad more realistic, and more fun for visitors who you get involved with train operation.
Where to Go for More Information
Several companies over the years have offered software to help you inventory your cars and make car cards and related paperwork. Today, many hobbyists just use Word or spreadsheet software to do the same thing. Your first step will be deciding whether you even want a paper-based system or if you'd be happy with the simpler (non-documented) operations described in the Planning Your Garden Railroad for Reliability article. Then if you think a paper-based system will help you, consider whether you should let waybills, car cards, or train cards or some combination of the three guide your operations on a daily basis. The choice you make may depend on who you expect to be running trains with you on any given day.
Train cards with detailed consist lists and stop-by-stop instructions are the easiest for new operators to use, but may require more setul.
Car-card operations bring you closer to the kind of choices and variety faced by real-world engineers, once they're heading out of the switchyard with that day's consist.
Operations that are driven by waybills may provide the best overall view of the way railroads make operational choices, but they may be a little complicated for new operators to catch onto.
A few examples of links I have found useful follow.

Planning Your Garden Railroad for Operations - The Family Garden Trains article that you should have read before you read this one. :-)
Bob Johnson's Basics of Operations, Car Cards and Waybills for your Model Railroad Layout - provides suggestions for "easing into" various kinds of prototypical freight and switching operations.
Jack Burgess' Yosemite Valley Railroad - describes one model railroader's attempts to make operating sessions on his railroad as close as possible to the operating sessions on the prototype short line he models.
Matt Snell's Every Railroad Has Its Paperwork - describes real-world "car cards" and other documents that affect train operations on the New Jersey short line he models as well as on his own model railroad.
John Russell's Railroad Freight Operations - Summarizes several of the most popular systems for planning prototypical operating sessions.
And as always, please contact us with questions, corrections, or other feedback.
Best of luck, all,
Paul D. Race

Reader Feedback on Train and Car Cards
As part of my research for this project, I am soliciting feedback from several friends about their experience. I will put their comments here as they come in.

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Creating waybills gives you a chance to think through what kinds of loads your railroad will be shipping. . .	Waybills Waybills record what goods have been accepted for shipment and where they are supposed to go. Creating waybills gives you a chance to think through what kinds of loads your railroad will be shipping, where they will originate, what kind of car(s) they will need, and where they will be delivered. Some hobbyists ignore waybills and jump right to the "car cards" below, but others start with a stack of waybills. They choose what cars to use depending on what freight needs to be shipped, and which "empty" cars are most convenient to add to the train. For the example railroad above, you would create the following waybills. Cut lumber (output of Frances, input of Ida) Pickle barrels (output of Gary, would be shipped to an "interchange point") Crated new furniture (output of Ida, input of Hannah) Two sample waybills for this example railroad are shown at the right.	Sample Waybill 1 Date of Order: August 4, 2006 Shipper's Name: Frances Lumber Mill Point of Origin: Frances Consignee's Name: NB&DCRR Destination: Ida Furniture Factory Consigment Load Description: Furniture-grade lumber Car Type Required: Staked Flatcar [On a real railroad, the following part is added when the car is loaded. On your railroad, you could paperclip the car card to the waybill] Car #: 11002 Date Loaded August 6, 2006 Sample Waybill 2 Date of Order: August 5, 2006 Shipper's Name: Ida Furniture Factory Point of Origin: Ida Consignee's Name: NB&DCRR Destination: Hannah Warehouse Consigment Load Description: Crated furniture Car Type Required: Boxcar [On a real railroad, the following part is added when the car is loaded. On your railroad, you could paperclip the car card to the waybill] Car #: 560007 Date Loaded August 6, 2006

Many clubs use variations of car cards to plan and keep track of their operations.	Car Cards Car cards provide information about each car. Many clubs use variations of car cards to plan and keep track of their operations. Often, operators carry a "deck" of cards so they can keep track of what cars they're supposed to be moving where. Here are examples of two kinds of operations that use car cards. Waybill & Card Systems: Some railroaders who operate from waybills, pick a few waybills first, then pull the cards for the cars they need as they build up their trains. Then they fasten each waybill to the appropriate car card by paperclips or some more clever arrangement, so that car is "dedicated" to that particular waybill only until its goods have been delivered. Then the waybill is returned to the "kitty" and car is handled as an "empty." In this mode of operation, the car cards do not include a description of the contents, source, or destination, since those could change every session. Car Card-Centered Operations: Some systems bypass the waybill and go straight to a more detailed car card. These systems assume that certain cars will always be used to haul certain loads (which may be an appropriate assumption on small railroads like our example). Car cards in these situations do> include a description of the contents, source, and destination. The card in our example has added a "When Empty Return To" line to simplify ongoing operations. Some car card systems have a "full" and an "empty" version on the front and back of the card respectively. That way, they can keep track of which cars are "full" and which cars are "empty" simply by turning the cards over in their deck. When car card systems are used for operations with multiple trains, they are often used in conjunction with train cards (discussed below). In this mode, the train cards contain only general information about the train, such as its overall route, schedule, and typical service. Specific operations for that day's service depend on the car cards chosen. There are almost as many methods for using car cards to plan your operations as there are model railroads. If you have only one or two operators at a time, one simple method is to draw cards at random to make up your train. You could turn over every other card to determine whether the car is "full" or "empty" before you set out. Many other ways have been tried, as the links at the end of this article show. Two sample "car" cards based on the examples above are shown at the right.	Sample Car Card for Waybill & Car Card Operation Car Road Name and Number: DC&NBRR #11002 Car Type: Staked Flatcar Shipper's Name: Point of Origin: Consignee: NB&DCRR Destination: Consigment Load Description: When Empty Return to: Sample Car Card for Car Card-Centered Operation Car Road Name and Number: DC&NBRR #11002 Car Type: Staked Flatcar Shipper's Name: Frances Lumber Mill Point of Origin: Frances Depot Consignee: NB&DCRR Destination: Ida Furniture Company Depot Consigment Load Description: Furniture-grade lumber When Empty Return to: Frances Lumber Mill

Train Cards . . . tell the "rules" for operating each train during a particular operating session.	Train Cards Train cards record each train's ordinary route and schedules. In a sense these tell the "rules" for operating each train during a particular operating session. (Think of it as a "role-playing" game if that helps.) Train cards are very handy for beginning operators or for keeping operations "straight" when several people are operating at one time. There's also no reason you can't have multiple sets of instructions for each train, so that the operation of that train varies from one session to the next. When you use train cards in conjuction with the car cards, the train cards provide general instructions, such as where and when to depart, the types of freight typically hauled, where to arrive, and so on. Then some system is devised for getting appropriate car cards into the hands of the operator of each train. As an example, the "deck" of cards from the last operating session might remain attached to the train card, Or you could draw cards and start "from scratch" every time. Some hobbyists, especially operators who are setting up an operating session for first-time operators, create train cars that are much more detailed and essentially substitute for the car cards. That way, folks new to operations can work at the same time without a lot of direction and still have a "productive" session. If you like this idea, there's no reason you can't have several "versions" for each train you plan to run, so when people show up, they pick a train at random, then pick a card at random from that train's "options." That way the trains interoperate differently, and one session can be quite different from the next. One unusual use of such detailed train cards takes place on Jack Burgess' Yosemite Valley Railroad. Jack has recorded step-by-step operations for several different trains, based on records from real operations on the railroad he is modeling. When multiple operators and trains are active, Jack's instructions reenact a single day's real business on the real railroad. If everyone does their job right, you can tell, because there is a three-train "meet" at a particular place and time. Creating train cards helps you think about the kinds of trains you would like to run and the kinds of operations you would like to see them run. Creating train cards, waybills and car cards should all help you think about the kinds of stations, sidings, switch yards, and industries you want to have.	Sample Train Card for Use With Car Cards Train Name [and/or number]: City of New Boston #7 Eastbound Point of Departure: Able Switch Yard Point of Arrival: Edna Flagstop and Wye Standing Orders: Bypass stations and flagstops unless flagged. Departure: Able Switch Yard: 0815 Arrival: Turn and become Donnels Creek #8 Westbound Sample "Freestanding" Train Card Train Name [and/or number]: City of New Boston #7 Eastbound Consist: 2 "empty" lumber cars, 2 boxcars "full" of furniture, 3 empty box cars Point of Departure: Able Switch Yard Point of Arrival: Edna Flagstop and Wye Standing Orders: Bypass stations and flagstops unless flagged. Departure: Able Switch Yard: 0815 Frances: Drop off empty lumber cars; pick up full lumber cars. Gary: Bypass unless flagged. If flagged, pick up empty covered hoppers and drop off box car. Hannah: Drop off 2 empty box cars; pick up any full box cars. Ida: Drop off 2 full box cars; pick up empty lumber cars. Edna Flagstop and Wye: Turn and become Donnels Creek #8 Westbound [new directions for #8 Westbound would be on another card.]

Bulletins announce exceptions that affect train operation. . . . think about what kinds of fun "monkey wrenches" you can throw into your own operations.	Bulletins announce exceptions that affect train operation. In the real world, these may announce that a bridge or siding is "out" or has been placed back into service. In hobby operations, these can be the "Community Chest" cards that change the rules mid-session and make things more interesting. On our sample railroad, announcing that a bridge is out near Flagstop Edna would turn the railroad from a loop railroad into a point-to-point railroad in less time than it takes to read the card. A "bad" passing track might mean that a train has to hold up at another station or on an industrial siding while another train passes, and so on. When creating bulletins, think about what kinds of fun "monkey wrenches" you can throw into your own operations. A stranded railroad VIP who demands that the next available passenger train stop at some industry to pick him up. An accident that ties up a particular grade crossing for ten minutes while the engineers in the locale "cool their heels." A requirement that all trains be off the mainline for the next half hour so a "Presidential Special" can come through. You might put in some "passes" as well. Such-and-such an industry is closed today so there is no need to stop, and so on. How and when bulletin cards are pulled is up to you, of course. Perhaps some are passed out at the beginning, and a new one is drawn every twenty minutes or whenever a train crosses a particular bridge, or so on. Use your imagination - it's your railroad.	Sample Bulletin New Boston and Donnels Creek BULLETIN Effective Immediately: The weight limit of the West River bridge north of Flagstop Edna has been reduced. Only light passenger trains and local freights with less than seven cars are now permitted to use this route. All other trains traveling northbound toward Able Switchyard must use the Wye to reverse direction and travel west.