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Sierra, El Paso & Northeastern

Operation Philosophy

Sierra, El Paso & Northeastern Railroad

The Sierra Central Route

Hograils 2010 Operating Philosophy

For Hograils 2010, the layout is fully operational between Vaughn, NM and Alamogordo, NM including the branchline from Cloudcroft to Alamogordo. With two exceptions, all trains will be run out of Vaughn as turns. Vaughn has three staging facilities: the ATSF and SP yards at Vaughn and the ATSF mainline coming from Willard, NM. Two staging tracks exist at the other end of the layout: the A&SM branchline and the SP mainline from El Paso, TX. All staging is prototypically correct.

Train Movement

Train movement is controlled by Train Order. Time Table operation is planned for the future, but for Hograils 2010 all trains will run as extras. A dispatcher (DS) will manage the operation, which will consist of eight trains during the operating session. The DS is a typical ornery son-of-a-gun: a continuous stream of verbal banter is typical.

Operating Scheme

Car movement on the Sierra Central is based on the car card concept ... with a twist. An Excel spreadsheet is used to generate the following paperwork:

Switch list of the originating train

Station agent’s list (at each town) that specifies certain cars to be picked up by specific trains, cars that are priority moves, and other cars that can be picked up by any train.

Crews will consult with the station agent to determine cars that are available for pick-up. All cars that are picked up will be manually added the train list by the crew.

Trains

The following trains will be run during the operating session:

Coal train (turn) which switches the mines at Ancho and Capitan and Vaughn Coal in Alamogordo

Reefer train (turn) which switches several sidings in Alamogordo for icing, loading and re-icing work.

Stock train (turn) which switches sidings in Alamogordo and Vaughn

Fast freights 990 and 991 that only switch Alamogordo and do not operate as turns.

Alamogordo & Sacramento Mountain (turn) local that switches the Southwestern Lumber and other industries in Alamogordo and returns to Cloudcroft.

Two local freights that switch can switch any of the towns: one from the SP and one from the ATSF.

Typical train lengths are eight to ten cars, with the exception of the A&SM local.

Uncoupling

Due to the difficulty in reaching across the layout and in the interest of preserving many scratch built structures, all single ended sidings have under the track magnets for ease of uncoupling. Main line and double ended sidings require manual uncoupling.

Enthusiastic purists may not like the concept of delayed uncoupling which is encouraged my railroad management.

 

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