Greetings All,
Empire Belt RR Operations Part 5
Welcome to another installment of the Empire Belt RR's ongoing look at model railroad operations. Today we'll focus on putting the I.P.D. and Railbox cars from the previous posts into the model railroad operations alongside the class one RR freight cars under AAR rules.
"Boxcar, Erie Lackawanna" by Gary Lee Todd, Ph.D. is marked with CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/?ref=openverse.
Adding Complexity to Model Railroad Operations
With a basic understanding of the AAR freight car rules of the time you are modeling a modeler can easily add some complexity to model railroad freight operations if so inclined.
Eliminating the industry commandeering freight cars can be the first step. You can make this a no go for your operations. Freight cars made empty on the layout get pulled from layout industries, interchanges or staging yards and get moved to your freight yard or interchange track for inspection by the car inspectors and assignment by your freight agent to empty car requests if any .
You've just added some additional prototypical freight car moves without the cost of adding more freight cars. Using some type of car movement control (I'm using car cards & waybills) that allows for an industry to request empties for loading will require your model railroad freight agent or yard master to review empty car requests and select the proper cars to fulfill the empty car requests.
Flexibility, Simplicity and Complexity Working Together
I know I don't want to model a bunch of 1:87 scale clerks in a freight office but I want to try and add the challenges of more prototypical freight car operations up to a point. As a solo operator with the time to run an ongoing op session where a single day could last a week or more I have the option of adding as much or a little complexity to an op session as I want.
What Gets Loaded and What Goes Away Empty?
Revenue is the name of the game in 1:1 scale operations and I'm experimenting in making this a priority in my 1:87 scale operations. Choosing the right freight car for the right load going in the right direction does present some challenges which I am finding enjoyable.
The Freight Yard Is Not A Destination
This is a quote from the late Andy Sperandeo that can serve as a guide for model railroad freight operations. The exemption is your home road empties returning to the yard to be readied for their next movement.
Foreign road cars sitting in your freight yard are costing you money. IPD and Railbox cars are costing you even more money. Holding foreign road IPD and Railbox freight cars for potential loading costs money. At some point in your operations empty foreign road, IPD and Railbox cars could be moved towards the interchange where they were received under load as per prototype practice.
As your railroad serves its customers empty cars will be returning via locals, interchanges and symbol trains.
Getting Empty Freight Cars For The
Empire Belt and Long Island RRs?
Ah! The EBRR, a switching district RR with limited rolling stock, and the LIRR with no revenue freight car rolling stock are dependent on the 1:1 railroad that connects them to the national rail network. AAR rules do allow for the movement of freight cars in the opposite direction of the owning road for loading if the freight cars travels towards, to or over the owning roads tracks.
"Illinois Central Gulf Boxcar" by Gary Lee Todd, Ph.D. is marked with CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/?ref=openverse.
Example
The Empire Belt RR freight agent has received a request for an empty 50' boxcar from Superior Furniture in Empire City for a load of furniture heading to Toledo, Ohio. With no suitable empty in North Side Yard the EBRR agent contacts his counterpart at Terminal Yard for an empty car to fulfill the request. The Terminal Yard agent has six empty fifty foot boxcars currently sitting in the yard.
Railbox #33377. Is one choice as this is a free runner but with a higher per diem and mileage charge than railroad owned freight cars under AAR rules.
ATSF 152350. This car is not suitable to fulfill the empty car request from Superior Furniture. The large XF designation indicates this car has a specially treated interior and is to be used for "Food Loading Only''.
ITC #8080. Another empty car choice for the Superior Furniture load going to Toledo, Ohio. The 8080 would be moving towards its home rails.
SOO #18939. Another choice for the Superior Furniture load going to Toledo, Ohio. The 18939 would also be heading in the direction of its home rails.
VTR #4040. Is suitable for the load. This is an I.P.D. boxcar that has a higher per diem rate than the boxcars under AAR rules and the Railbox boxcars and is also a "free runner".
BM#79084. A good looking newly painted car that could be used if necessary however the load going to Toledo, Ohio is not heading towards the B&M home rails.
Which Car Would You Have Loaded?
Which of the above six cars would you pick for the furniture load from Superior Furniture in Empire City going to Toledo, Ohio?
Here is how I ranked cars for suitability
SOO #18939. First choice because the plug door would keep the load cleaner than a sliding door. This car travels under standard per diem rates and is heading towards home rails.
ITC #8080. Second choice. Car is suitable for load and travels under standard per diem rates towards home rails.
Railbox #33377. Third choice. Car is suitable for load, per diem rate is higher than the SOO and ITC boxcars and car is considered a "fee runner".
VTR #4040. Fourth choice. Car is suitable for load. It has the highest per diem rate and is considered a free runner.
BM #79084. Fifth choice. Car is suitable for load, but is under AAR travel rules and would be traveling away from home rails. This would ne my car of last resort. Remember when a freight agent needs a boxcar he needs a boxcar.
ATSF #15230. Eliminated from consideration for this load due to special loading XF designation.
Next Move
The SOO Line boxcar would be placed in train EC-1 that is the daily transfer run from Terminal Yard to North Side Yard. The other five boxcars could be used for other loadings or sent empty off layout in the next train to Selkirk or a staging yard.
The EBRR will deliver the car to Superior Furniture and then pick it up after it's loaded. The loaded SOO Line boxcar would then be sent back to Terminal Yard in EBRR Train EB-2 for movement towards Selkirk and Toledo, Ohio.
Final Thoughts and Comments
Implementing empty car requests into an op session can be as simple as looking at an industry in need of boxcars and choosing an empty for the load(s) without regard for the direction or per diem.
This may not be for everyone as layout operations can be complicated enough without adding additional prototypical practices.
On the plus side it costs zero to give it a try and who knows it might be another enjoyable endeavor in you ops sessions.
Per Diem Sample
Union Pacific Per Diem Rates for EMP and UMAX Containers.
Thanks for reading!!!
See you soon!!!
