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.
