from doing so without having to re-label all the car spots again.
The rationale I used was that it is where the odd tank car or
grain hopper would be spotted to unload into silos. However,
it is now part of my plan and has boosted the number of car
spots to 17.
2)
With spots 7, 8 and 9 I envisioned a grain elevator so the
actual order of the cars is immaterial. Thus, I created three
car spot markers numbered 7/8/9 which is the three car spots
together in any order. This accidentally solved the problem of
confusing 9s and 6s.
3)
Whilst I don’t block the outbound train (“X” marks) I have
added a little wrinkle in the system. I now have four “X” plus an
8. Bob and Fergus inspect the waybill for the tanker.
8
The Kayton Short Line - 8
“X1” and an “XE” marker. X1 means the car must be coupled to
the locomotive and XE means it must be at the far end of the
outbound train.
4)
Fergus Fine Foods operates 24/7 with staff loading and
unloading cars and so are a bit concerned about other freight
cars on their spur. Thus I have created the following local rules:
a)
Where possible, Fergus Fine Foods (FFF) will be switched
first.
b)
Due to FFF staff working loading and unloading cars, the
speed limit on the FFF track is 5 miles per hour. The bell must
sound for the duration the loco is on the spur.
c)
Only FFF freight cars are allowed on the FFF spur and no
other cars may be spotted there, even for a short duration.
This effectively reduces the amount of switching space avail-
able to the local.
Plans for development
As I enjoy switching cars, I will develop a car card system for
this layout. This would be relatively easy to do with the car
cards simply having a single number on them to match the
car spots. When spotted, turn over the card for the next spot.
Finally, I am starting on my permanent layout and the ini-
tial benchwork for the first portion is in. It is a staging and
classification yard which will connect directly to Kayton by
straightening out the inbound/outbound track to run par-
allel to Fergus Fine Foods. This will extend the life of the
Kayton Short Line until I finally dismantle it to make way for
the next expansion.
MRH-Aug 2014
