operator. For that reason, there is of course no train-order signal at
the depot.
Moreover, passenger trains, even the mail train, would not ordi-
narily stop there (I might consider occasional flag stops). In daylight
hours, there were just two pas-
senger trains: the Daylight in
both directions, and the mail
train, nos. 71 and 72, in both
directions.
For freight operations, SP prac-
tice on most divisions was to
operate through freights, that
is, freights which ran from divi-
sion point to division point,
without any intermediate
switching. These were usually
scheduled trains (these are the
trains you see in [4]), with addi-
tional sections, and sometimes
11. The pro-
totype time-
table for the
Lompoc and
White Hills
Branches,
from Timetable
No. 158 of
1950.
11
extra trains, as needed. I duplicate this on my main line by operat-
ing freights which simply pass by Shumala in both directions.
The mainline schedule therefore shows, in effect, the freight and
passenger trains which pass Shumala without interacting. This
makes the schedule in my timetable really only a guideline to a
lineup of the trains that will appear on the main line.
Let me digress to explain that a lineup or sequence of events is a
simple way to conduct operations. You would simply write a list of
the trains that will run, in time order. Maybe it would say some-
thing like, “run the hotshot freight westward; run the mail train
eastward; switch local industries in Epsilon and then run the local
freight as far as Delta, do needed switching en route, return.” This
avoids time pressure, because each train movement only takes
place once the previous one has been completed. In my case, as
described above, the layout arrangement is such that a timetable
really provides only a sequence of trains.
MRH-Oct 2014
