Getting Real Column - 6
example pages for the Coast Route; one is a manifest train, the
Golden Gate Manifest, symbol GGM, the other a perishable block
fromWatsonville, symbol WPB. Note for the WPB that schedules
eastward over connecting railroads are also shown (T&L = Texas &
Louisiana Lines, or T&NO; SSW = Cotton Belt; CRIP = Rock Island).
My plan was to abstract all of the Coast Route train schedules and
information, and place these on the inside front cover and first
right-hand page of my timetable
(the former being on the manila
stock, and the latter on white
paper). Although not prototypi-
cal, this location would be conve-
nient for operators to consult.
Finally, one more item that can
be useful is a schematic dia-
gram (not a map) of any towns
or other complex trackage,
complete with track names.
Railroaders give names to every
feature which might be of impor-
tance, and certainly to every
track they might need to use
(or direct someone else to use).
Many might be obvious (team
track, warehouse spur), but
others may be more obscure.
Richard Hendrickson tells the
story of visiting Jerry Stewart
when he was a tower operator
in the Chicago area, and over-
hearing Jerry tell an approaching
train crew to hold short of “the
oil spur.” Looking down the line
from the tower, he could see no
9. A page from the 1965
freight schedule book,
showing the Watsonville
Perishable Block
schedule.
9
10. A hand-drawn schematic map showing track iden-
tifications in a town. The L&C refers to a former layout
which had a freelanced Lompoc & Cuyama short line.`
oil facilities. So he asked Jerry about this, who replied (railroaders
can see this coming), “Oh, the oil stuff has been gone for years,
but that’s the name of the track.” Your operators need to know all
these names.
[10] is an example of a simple, hand-drawn schematic, from the
time when I planned to include Lompoc on my layout. The inter-
change was with the freelance short line, Lompoc & Cuyama. This
kind of schematic is quick to make and fully informative, though
maybe not as elegant as the rest of the timetable. I wanted to find
a better approach.
Constructing a timetable
My first issue was howmuch of a schedule to show. On my layout,
the junction of the main line and the branch, called Shumala, is
only a fewmiles south of Oceano, and accordingly is not a train-
order station. The depot therefore houses an agent but not an
10
MRH-Oct 2014
