1713 SW Castinet Ln Port Saint Lucie, FL 34953 us
Operating the Railroad
The railroad operation is controlled by a timetable, 4:1 ratio fast clock, three station agents and a Dispatcher. All operators working in the three yards and any on the main line must communicate with the local station agent who then converses with the Dispatcher. Any change in or additional orders are directed to the station agent from that Dispatcher. This is accomplished via two-way radios.
Station agents will advise of any orders or changes to the train crew or crews needing these instructions. The Dispatcher has a track schematic of both upper and lower levels of the layout in his office in which he keeps track of each train. Staying in contact with each station agent provides him with a picture of where all the mainline trains are.
During our operating session, we run two peddler freight trains, one for each division, as well as two 1st division ‘Thru’ trains & two passenger trains. We also send out one thru train from this div. to head up and terminate in the 2nd div’s east most terminal hidden yards. From that same yard the yard masters will release a similar train heading out west bound to the lower hidden yard.
The schedule also lists four mail express trains, usually performed by our rail trucks, the galloping geese. During a full operating session we usually operate at least 18 trains. If we have enough crew members we will tack on an ‘Extra’ or two which are trains not listed on the employee timetable. We prefer to operate with two operators working each yard, Denver, and the hidden yards.
The remaining crew are assigned to handle the scheduled and extra trains with usually two members per train. One (the boss of the train) is the conductor and the 2nd person is the engineer/ brakeman. This railroad was designed with operation in mind from day one. I believe it has succeeded in meeting that goal.