Model Railroader

Operating the Midwest Railroad Modelers' layout
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TIBS, the Train and Industry
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Blocking System
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Alphanumeric codes § implify card-order operation
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BY DAN HOLBROOK
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DROTOTYPE OPERATION! Operating
I sessions! Car cards! Freight•train procedures books! These phrases bring sweat
to the brow of many a model railroader,
but operation is just too much fun to ignore. Operators model not just the appearance but alsd the actions of real
trains and of the people who run them.
Unless your layout is a small one
you'll probably need help to operate it,
and a lot of the enjoyment is in friends
getting together for an operating session. Too often, though, at the end of a
session our friends aren't so friendly and
aren't interested in participating again.
If asked, they might say they found the
operation interesting but too mentally
exhausting. I think a big part of that
problem is unfamiliarity.
All of us view the world a little differently, and we each operate our model railroads differently. What we need is a way
to help our friends feel familiar with the
way we operate. It may be obvious to me
that, up in Minnesota, Cass Lake iswest
of Duluth, but I shouldn't count on my
friends in the Chicago area knowing that.
Real railroads use waybills, wheel reports, freight-train procedure books, timetables, computers, an army of people, and
a host of other items to move freight cars
from one point to another. Scaling all of
these down to model size becomes a problem of figuring out how much paperwork
is too much for the people we'd like to
have operating with us.
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Bill Neale is the engineer of Burlington·Northern way freight 815, switching at Hamilton on the Midwest Railroad Modelers' HO layout. He's following card-order instructions made easier to use by
TIBS, the "alphanumeric" route and destination coding system explained in Dan Holbrook's article.
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EMPTYCARvARD
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CAR CARDS AND WAYBILLS
In most operating sessions on the Mid • 2 - ]trIATCR
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west Railroad Modelers' layout (see May
1987 MR, page 54), we use the ' Peck
Smith" card
order
system explained by
1..
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.
Doug Smith in the December 1961 MR
Car Class
•
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F,TY - )at 1.CAP
· 042 Steve King described this car- card- andwaybill system again, with some im
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provements he and Allen McClelland
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were using, in the February 1978 Rail
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The system is a scaled-down version of
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railroad paperwork. As fig. 1 shows, the
car card is a 3x5 file card showing the
.... "- ... 1MM
type of car, its reporting marks (initials),
number, and any special instructions on
the left side. Taped to the right side of
the card is a clear plastic pocket to hold
another 3" x 2%"card, the waybill. A car
.
card without a waybill in the pocket indicates that the car is empty and avail. .....
able for loading, and usually there will
be empty-routing instructions behind
Fig. 1. CAR CARDS. Examples of the car cards used in Midwest Railroad Modelers' operating sessions.
the plastic, something like "return to
Both cars represented by these cards are considered empty, but the card on the right has a waybill in its
yard" or "return to home road."
pocket showing that its car has been ordered to the Northwest Paper mill in Hamilton for loading.
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© 2012 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material
may notRAILROADER
be reproduced in any form
MODEL
91
without permission from the publisher. www.ModelRailroader.com
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SIDEONE
SIDE ONE
-TIBSSYMBOL-
t-* TIBS SYMBOL-
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L10
SIDETWO
Shipper ordering-empty car
--•4
TO
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1
RED RIVER POTATO
R R DONNELLEY
Bris
FROM HOOPLE, ND
RED RIVER POTATO
ROUTE:MILW-GLENWOOD-3
MTY FOR LOAD
•Shipper
FROM
HAMILTONPAPER
Woaeiss(
NORTHWEST PAPER
GLENWOOD ,•Consignee
"k Shipper ordering
MTY FOR LOAD empty car
PRODUCE TERMINAL
car Oasdrication 83127
,
When carhas arrived at this destination
TURN waybillover.
LfiRCJ
When car has arrived at this destination.
When car has arnved at this destination
TURN waybillover.
REPEATING (captive-service) WAYBILL
Fig. 2. WAYBILLS. There are two types of waybills, the basic nonrepeating
type for use with any suitable empty car, and a repeating type for cars shutThe waybill is half a 3x5 card that
slips into the pocket of a car card to specify some movement beyond the emptyrouting instructions. The basic waybill,
fig. 2, is a nonrepeating type drawn at
random from a file and calling for a single
movement from a shipper to a consignee.
On one side it names the shipper and tells
what kind of car is needed, and in effect is
an order for an empty car.
Once the car has been spotted at the
shipper, the waybill is turned over. Its
opposite side is the shipment order that
tells what the car is now loaded with
West
Sullivan staging yard
tling between one shipper and one consignee in captive service. Since the
repeating waybill has no "SEPARATE" instruction, it stays with its car card.
and where the load is to be delivered.
When the car reaches the consignee, the
nonrepeating waybill is removed, and
the car is considered unloaded and
empty again. The waybill goes back to
the file to be used again.
Figure 2 also shows the repeating
waybills used for repetitive shipments
like coal from mine to power plant,
grain from elevator to flour mill, or any
other kind of "captive" service. Repeating waybills stay with the car cards, and
are simply turned and replaced in the
pocket to show whether the car is an
Y
Grand Forks Crookston Bemidji Cass Lake
Layout
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CEDAR FALLS
GLENWOOD
A4
To Grand Forks, N. D.
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ToCrooks,mi, Minn.(3 d .13
-
A3
A3
A3
To Bemidji, Minn.
-\
A2
To Cass Lake. Minn. --••
Toce,ar,aii,Firsttwocarstobe•
set out at Cedar Falls
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M20
M20
Waybills in car
cardsas conductor
sees them
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The cards determine where our freight
cars should go, but we also need a system that tells a switch crew or wayfreight conductor how to move the cars
from point A to point B. Cars for different destinations can be placed in the
same train, but for efficient handling
cars for each destination are usually
grouped, or "blocked," together, and the
blocks of cars should be in the best sequence for switching operations at stops
down the line. Prototype railroads put
this information in a book for their employees' use, commonly called a "freighttrain procedures book.'
Our club has been using Doug Smith's
. card system and a freight-train procedures book for about 7 years. We've
found the card system to be strong in
some ways but weak in others. The car
cards and waybills do a good job of simulating prototypical car movements. They
also give a strong and enjoyable sense of
realism, including the amount of paperwork and thought required.
The main weakness is that not all operators will be familiar with the prototype
being modeled or its freight-train procedures. This is a special problem for our
club with its variety of possible opera-
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Fig. 3 TIBS THROUGH-FREIGHT BLOCKING
JULY 1987
empty going back to the shipper or another load on its way to the consignee.
USING THE SYSTEM
•';3=-:·I.>'. / \.' -, :b.,, .,,experlence onyour layout.
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\•·"·,.:..•Consider "Mr. Jones," a BN yardmaster
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4....•:.•·:in· St. Paul. He knows the blocking of
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Off-Ii,out rte.tinillon. represented-f.icars athis yard very well. After all, he's
e •..b, Sulll··an 01=ging yard
' been'at this job for 8 hours every work»
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day fof the last 6 years. He's backed up by
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comp,il• communications systems,
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Cai classification BE-
SEPARATE waybill from car card,
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-Consignee
R R DONNELLEY
When car has arrived at this destination.
TURN waybill over.
Car Classification
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TO CHICAGO,
CarClassification •«IJ
NONREPEATING WAYBILL
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C/L NEWSPRINT
C/L POTATOES--.
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ROUTE:83-GLENWOOD-MILW
(/0 USDA
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VILW
•$hipper
TO HAMILTON
TO
SIDETWO
FROM CHICAGO, IL
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• TIBS route/destination
symbols shown on cars
036
L
036
03
M31
Fig. 4
1
TIBS
WAY-FREIGHT
BLOCKING
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6130
M2 8 M21
M20 Mle - ·
M12
M11'--... 4- --..... -- -, a='
M10- -
Waybillsin car
cards as conductor
seesthem
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(eastbound)
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4
and switch crews and clerks who know
their jobs too.
In contrast, your friend Joe, operating
an HO scale yard, might be called experienced if he's done the same job for
the last five operating. sessions. That's
equivalent to Jones' first week on the
job! And, instead of an army of clerks
and switch crews, he'll be lucky to have
one other person helping him. No wonder Joe feels a little pressure.
The model trains are shorter, say 20-25
rather than 80-100 cars per train, but
that's offset by a 4:1 fast clock, a ratio
equal to the cars-per-train ratio. Joe must
switch just as many cars per hour as
Jones. Obviously, Joe needs shortcuts to
make up the difference in experience.
TIBS
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JO
Mll
.M10
1-•\ Soo Line
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M13
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East to
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GRANVILLE
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rl Fi=-11--MM-Mm-El i--Ei-11-TT
according to TIBS symbols: for train 815,
L10, Lll, L12, and so on.
Alpha codes are used for through
freight routes too, with numeric codes
indicating destinations beyond the layout. See fig. 3, an example of BN train
127's consist ready to leave Glenwood
Yard. A is the route code for trains from
Glenwood to Minot, N. D.; B is for trains
to Fargo, N. D.; and C is for trains to the
Twin Cities. These examples are from
the BN session, but the route codes are
interchangeable for other sessions, so
the waybills are too.
Using TIBS the yardmaster initially
classifies cars by alpha codes, sorting
them into separate tracks for each destination or group of destinations. Then
he reswitches each track full of cars into
numerical order and ends up with properly blocked trains. TIBS makes it easy
to see that he's got it right: all cars in a
train should have the same alpha code
on their waybills and should be in numerical order according to the numeric
codes. (Depending on traffic, some numbers may be skipped.)
Back in fig. 3, notice the block of cars
with a TIBS symbol of M20 on the head
end of the train. These cars are to be set
out at Cedar Falls and are going on 127
instead of local 823 to expedite their
movement. Seeing these cars out of sequence with the rest of their train alerts
train 127's crew that all their cars don't
go through to the staging yard.
I wanted TIBS to be so lo•ical and easy
to understand that it coula work all by
The Train and Industry Blocking System, «TIBS," is a shortcut for Joe and all
others like him. TIBS is a system of alphanumeric symbols shown in the top
right-hand corner of each waybill- see
fig. 2 again. The TIBS symbol at the top
of each waybill begins with a one- or twoletter "alpha code" signifying the route
and/or train which the car should take. In
my BN operating session, an L tells the
Glenwood yardmaster that a car goes in
train 815, the local to St. Anne.
The second part of the symbol is a one.
or two-digit "numeric code that indicates
a specific destination on or off the layout.
The numeric codes are selected so the
yardmaster can block any train just by
putting the cars in numerical order
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GLENWOOD
-\. \
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BN train 823 (Cedar Falls Turrd'
Cedar Falls-'•\21,
22• leaving Glenwood Yard
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ST. ANNE
341 44
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itself. To differentiate off-layout destinations (staging yards) from those on the
layout, off-layout points have one-digit
numeric symbols. Destinations on the layout, the towns and industries actually
modeled, have two-digit numeric codes.
That means that the TIBS symbols
themselves tell, 127's crew that their
M20 cars are to be set out at some intermediate point. In this way TIBS takes
the information from waybills and procedures books and simplifies it into a system of easily remembered symbols.
TIBS alphanumeric order favors Glenwood, the primary classification yard, so
westbounds leaving there are blocked
with codes in ascending order. However,
descending alphanumeric order is still
easy enough to remember for crews handling eastbound trains.
BLOCKING WAY FREIGHTS
Way freights are blocked in much the
same way as through trains. TIBS assigns
a specific alpha code to each local, so that
all cars for 823 have an alpha code of M
followed by a two-digit number, just as all
cars for 815 have an alpha code of L followed by a two-digit number. Each town
is assigned a block of 10 to 20 two-digit
numbers, dependhog on the number of industries, so that each industry or other'
destination can have a unique TIBS symbok Northwest Paper, L10; Duluth &
North Eastern interchange, Lll; and
Conwed, L12.
When 823 leaves Glenwood Yard, it's
blocked MlO through M19 for Granville
(westbound), M20 through M29 for Cedar Falls, and M30 through M39 for
Granville (eastbound). See fig. 4.
We can see in fig. 5 how the local's
cars are blocked for convenient switching on arrival at Granville. That M14
car buried in the train is another example of making the system easy to use. I
selected the code for that industry, Anderson Farm Service, because any M14
car usually ends up directly opposite
that spot when the westbound local pulls
into the passing track at Granville.
It's a simple matter for the crew to
J
1
Track schematics at
each town show industry
locations with TIBS symbols
Fig. 5
-[XE--1
TIBS BLOCKING
FOR WAY-FREIGHT SWITCHING
036 036EEJ-3
036C--l.M"-,23Et!,
0361-"tj
Train 823 (Cedar Falls Turn)
arriving at Granville
MODEL RAILROADER
93
BLOC•NG CHART FOR THROUGH AND WAY FREIGHTS OUT OF GLENWOOD YARD
TIBS
SYMBOL
COLOR TIBS
CODE SYMBOL
DESTINATION
TRAIN NUMBER 127/X35
Westbound
Ai
Cass Lake. Minn.
Yellow
A2
Bemidji, Minn.
A3
Crookston. Minn.
A4
Minot, N. D. and beyond.
Note:
127/X35 may handle a fill of cars for M20 through M29
and/or any "N" or "P" TIBS carsat Glenwood. If you have
too many cars for 127, run a 2nd 127 or an X35 later
DESTINATION
TRAIN NUMBER 33823 - Cedar Falls Turn
M10
GRANVILLE, Mid Valley Fruit
1 Ell•i •Ii •- I•:1•1::• :t=•'u,••,Grain
TRAIN NUMBER 157/X33
Westbound
B1
McGregor, Minn.
B2
Brainerd, Minn.
B3
Staples, Minn.
B4
Fargo. N. D. and beyond
Note:
If you have too many cars for 157, either run a
2nd 157 oran X33 later.
Brown
Brown
Brown
Brown
TRAIN NUMBER 33810 - Ashland Local
TRAIN NUMBER 154-126
C1
C2
C3
C4
CS,
Eastbound
Twin Cities, CEMENT loads
Twin Cities, COAL loads
Twin Cities, GRAIN loads
Twin Cities, all other loads
Be9ond the Twin Cities
Green
Green
Green
Green
Green
Westbound
-
TRAIN NUMBER 33815 - St. Anne Turn
L10
Lll
L12 ·
L13
L14
L15
L20
L21
L22
L30
L40
, L50
· ' HAMILTON. Northwest Paper Co.
HAMILTON, DNE interchange
. HAMICTON. Team track
HAMILTON. Potlatch Forest Products
HAMILTON, Conwed
HAMILTON
ADA,
Carrol County Elevator
ADA.
Team track
ADA.
Cemury Lumber Co.
ADA.
Statewide Co.
ST. ANNE. Team track
ST. ANNE. DMIR interchange
TRANSFER/INDUSTRY JOBS
DWP
MILW
DMIR
, CNW '
X1
X2
X3
X4
X5
X6
X7
X8
X9
X10
SOO
CNW
S1
S2
S3
P S4
S5
S6
Cars for DWP
Carsfor MILW
Cars for DMIR
Cars for CNW
Duluth, Minn..Bu
Duluth, Minn., Gl
Duluth, Minn.,Oc
Duluth, Minn.,Ge
Mi
Duluth,
Duluth, Minn.,
Minn., Ca
Duluth. Minn.; Pe·
Duluth, Minn., Inc
Duluth, Minn., Hal
Duluth, Minn., Inte
Cars for Soo line
Carsfor CNW
Superior, Wis., Mis
Superior, Wis., AD
Superior. Wis.. Os
Superior, Wis., Atw
Superior, Wis., Pea
Superior, Wis., Ben
GLENWOOD, Produ
GLENWOOD
GLENWOOD, Mat. tr
GLENWWOD, Clean
No
code
TRAIN
NO.
158/X32
SET PICK
OUT UP
X
94
JULY 1987
No
code
Eastbound
• Green
Green
Green
Green
GLENWOOD YARDMASTER:
When it becomes necessary to run 2nd sections of trains
and/or extras in any direction:
1. Get dispatcherortrain directorapproval to call train
2. Makesure powerisavailableto run train
3. Train should be called as a 2nd section over the regular
route only if called within 6 fast-clock hoursafterthe
1st section is called. After 6 hours, train should be called
as an extra if there is an extra schedule over the route.
If not. then continueto call train asa2nd or 3rd section
of the regularly scheduled train
THROUGH FREIGHTS
COLOR
TIBS SYMBOL
CODES
Brown
81 through B4
LlOthrough L14
N14
Black
N20 through N50
Mlo through M31
157/X33
X
128
X
L10 through L14
X
WAY FREIGHTS
L40 and L41
Brown
Bl through 84
33815
X
BLOCKING CHART
FOR ST. ANNE
No
code
ST. ANNE
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Ashland, Wis., CNW interchange
.
Ashland, Wis., Soo Line interchange
Ashland. Wis., Pub. Utilies Power Co.
Ashland, Wis., all other cars
-
-
TO APPLY CHART:
Find "Train Number" and "Set Out" or"Pick Up"
Carsinthe"TIBS Symbols"column have a TIBS symbol, butdonothaveacolor code
Cars in the' Color Codes" column have both a TIBS symbol and acolor code
When picking up or setting out cars in the "TIBS Symbols" column, apply only the TIBS
symbol. When working with cars in the "Color Codes" column. apply only the color code
X
BLOCKING CHART
FOR GLENWOOD
YARD
"1110
Rll
R20
R30
R31
R32
R33
Westbound
LAKE SUPERIOR TERMINAL & TRANSFER
1 --il,- ., .
-- Handled by:
Handled by:
T1
Superior. Wis.. FUGTA
LSTT job no. 7
T2
Superior. Wis.. Globe Elev. LSTT job no. 7 AZo
DWP transfer run, Red
T3
Superior,
Wis.,
GTA
LSTT job no. 7
MILW train no. 6061 Red
T4
Superior, Wis.. Cargill
LSTrjob no. 7
DMIR transfer run, Red
CNWtransfernin-RedTS••-•••••=••uper'or, Wis.. Mist cars LSTT lob no. 7 code
GLENWOOD INDUSTRY CAR
Wlo
Wll
,=W20
VV21
GRANVILLE, Team track
M14
GRANVILLE, Anderson Farm Service
Any"N"TIBScarsat GLENWOODYARD (Black)
Any "P" TIBS cars at GLENWOOD,YARD
M20
. CEDAR FALLS. Blandin Paper
M21
CEDAR FALLS, Team track
M22
CEDAR FALLS
M23
CEDAR FALLS ·
M24
CEDAR FALLS
M30
GRANVILLE, Nationwide Canning Co.
M31
GRANVILLE, Soo Line interchange
Note:
Set out any "N" or "P" cars at Cedar Falls
COLOR
CODE,
33823
X
LlOthrough L30
N14
N20 through N50
MlOthrough M31
P10 through P14
L10through L41
81 through 84
Where to set ouU
Pickup routing
To Petersburg
Setout
in yard
(for 33815)
and 33823)
Set out in yard
(for 33815)
Spot according to waybl
Set out in yard
(for 157/X33)
To Ada and Ham#ton
To
Cedar Falls
Black
To Granvule and Cedar Fa#s
To Cedar FaNs
Set out in yard
(for 33815)
Set out in yard
Brown
(for 157/X33)
Note:
157, 33815, and 33823 please pick up cars so that cars with tile same symbol are
blocked together, 1.e., 81s, 829, 83$, etc., or Ll Os, Ll ls, L12s, etc., and not scattered throughout your train
hang onto their M10-M13 cars while they
switch Anderson first. Any cars picked up
there can be placed back on the train;
then the engine can pull out the west end
of the pass with the M10-M13 cars and
shove back in on the south side to switch
those industries. When done there, the 10cal pulls back west, doubles back onto the
train, and heads for Cedar Falls.
Notice that there are still two Granville cars next to the caboose, for M30
and M31. These destinations are on facing point switches for a westbound,
meaning that the engine would have to
run around the train to push the cars to
their spots, then run around again before continuing west. Since 823 is a turn
and will be coming back east (see Bill
Neale's article preceeding this one), the
crew just keeps these cars in the train
until the return trip from Cedar Falls.
If the train were a one-way local, the
runarounds would have to be made and
the M30 and M31 cars delivered on the
westbound trip. Either way, TIBS puts
the cars at the right place in the train for
efficient switching.
Industrial switcher runs working out of
major yards, as on the Belt Line, are handled just like way freights. Each run has
its own alpha code, each industry has its
own numeric code, and the numbers are
assigndd so that numerical order blocks
the cars for the most efficient switching.
Transfer runs, interchange movements
taking cars from one railroad to another
at major terminals, are treated a little differently. Each road that we interchange
to at Glenwood is assigned a TIBS symbol
taken from its repotting marks, such as
"DWP" for the Duluth, Winnipeg & ·Pacific. Interchanges at intermediate towns,
however, are given TIBS symbols in the
same sequence as the industries. The M31
car we saw in local 823 was bound for the
Soo Line interchange in Granville.
BLOCKING CHARTS
The piece of paper that makes TIBS
understandable is the blocking chart.
Blocking charts are posted at all towns,
yards, staging areas, and industrial areas. They include listings of all trains
which may pick up and set out at each
town. Blocking charts at major yards are
the yardmasters' rule books.
Figure 6 is the blocking chart for
Glenwood Yard, showing the trains to be
made up there and their TIBS symbols. It
also shows which trains may handle
"short" cars like those M2Os we saw on
127, and in what cases this is allowed.
The town blocking chart for St. Anne is
shown in fig. 7. Note that as 823 passes
through St. Anne on the way to Granville, there may be cars left there for it by
set-out trains or local 815. The chart tells
the crew to pick up any cars destined to
points with alpha codes of N, M, or P. N
and P cars go to connecting locals at Cedar Falls, while the M cars are for industries located at Granville or Cedar Falls.
The blocking charts for Cedar Falls
are shown in fig. 8. The instructions
here show the crew of the day switch engine at Cedar Falls how to block the way
freights that turn at Cedar Falls and
also show which trains may set out and
pick up at Cedar Falls. Should the
I
...:Il .:.:lilI'·7ri-,L.-
BLOCKING CHART FOR WAY FREIGHTS
TO APPLY CHART:
Find "Train Number." and •'Set Out'- or "Pick Up•
Cars in the "TIBS Symbols ' column have a TIBS symbol. butdo not have a colorcode
Cars in the '·Color Codes column have both a TIBS symbol and a color code
When picking up or setting out cars in the -'TIES Symbols" column, apply only the TIBS
symbol. When working with cars in the ' Color Codes•• column, apply only the color code
OUT OF CEDAR FALLS YARD
DESTINATION
STIBS
SYMBOL
TRAIN NUMBER 33851
Nlo
Nll
N12
N13
N14
N15 ·
N16
N17
N18
N20
N30
N40
N50
ELKCREEK, Team track
ELK CREEK, Elevator
ELK
Freighthouse
ELK CREEK,
CREEK, Concrete
block plant .ELKCREEK, DMIR interchange
ELK CREEK, Farmers' Propane
ELK CREEK, Seebold & Sons
ELKCREEK,*Associated Co-op Power
ELKCREEK
Calumet. Minn.
Kelly Lake. Minn.
Hibbing, Minn.
Virginia, Minn.
COLORf
CODEt
Westbound
CEDAR FALLS
TRAIN
NO.
127
128
• No
code
Black
Black
Black
Black
SET
OUT
X
X
1
X
;
PICK
UP
-
X34
TRAIN NUMBER 33860
•i-
'1• •EF·.
Co. (storage yard)
::de
X
X35
-
X
BEDFORD
P14
Yellow
Note: 33860 may al60 handle cars for TIBS symbols:
Yellow
Cass Lake, Minn.
A1
A2 . • Bemidli, Minn. ________L---•
Eastbound
•...... ---.---I---I------TRAIN NUMBER 33823 - Cedar Falls Turn
M31 - ' GRANVILLE, Soo Line interchange
GRAN\4LLE. Nationwide Canning Co.
No
M30
GRANVILLE, Anderson Farm Service
M14
code
M13 · GRANVILLE, Team track
GRANVILLE, Globe Lumber
M12
GRANVILLE. Farmers Co-op Elevator
M11
GRANVILLE, Mid Valley Fruit
Mlo
Brown
L10-L41 - Setout cars for ST. ANNE
Setcut cars for ST. ANNE
81-84
Vi' and '•T'
Note:
33523 may also handle cars for TIBS symbols
(or color codes Red and Green) on rear of train.
YARD AND TOWN BLOCKING
Fig. 8 CHARTS AT CEDAR FALLS
' TRAIN
1 NO.
j
SET
OUT
33823
X
:
33851
DETAIL AND CAPACITY
By now you- may be asking yourself
why we go to the trouble of all this alphanumeric stuff when color codes could
be used instead. We have tried using
color stripes on waybills to show a general direction. One drawback of color
codes is the fairly small number of useful colors, which limits their effectiveness for sophisticated train blocking.
On the other hand, the number of codes
available for TIBS symbols is enormous,
allowing detailed train blocking that is
very much like the prototype's. Also, the
alphanumeric order of TIBS symbols is
easy to understand and remember. A, B,
C and 1, 2, 3 are obvious, but what's the
right order for red, green, and brown?
Color codes can be useful in combination with TIBS. Mismatched colors in a
deck of car cards make it easy to spot d
misrouted car, though you'd still need to
All L, W,
and T
cars
All M cars except
M20 through M29
W,T,
and
P cars
X
N20 through N50
33860
X
1
All L,
W, T,
and N
X
Black
Red
Green
Brown
Black
Pl O through P14
1 Al through AS
,check the TIBS symbols to see that correctly routed cars are blocked in sequence.
VERSATILITY
One possibility I haven't tried yet is to
use TIBS for blocking trains in staging
yards. I'd suggest using a two-letter code
and placing it in the upper left corner of
the waybill, so both location and symbol
type would distinguish staging yard symbols from their layout counterparts. Staging yard symbols would let you stage cars
to reappear on the layout from locations
you chose and blocked in the order you
desired. TIBS would be the staging operator's logic for assembling trains.
TIBS lets operators try a variety ofjobs
with confidence that they'll be able to tell
what to do. Also, with TIBS it isn't necessary to assign a permanent name to each
industry location. Towns on the Midwest
Railroad Modelers' layout all have schematics like the one in fig. 5, showing industry locations by TIBS symbol. These
let way-freight conductors see what needs
to be done even though the industry
names change from session to session.
We do lose some association with the
COLOR
CODES
Black
Yellow
Red
Green
Brown
Yellow
Green
Brown
13- -Ii;Sthrough-Nir
Cedar Falls day switch engine job handles way •
freight setouts, pickups, and blocking. and spots L_
M20 through M29 cars according to waybills
switch crew conductor determine that he
has a pickup for X35, all he has to do is
tell the dispatcher that the next X35
should pick up, and on what yard track
the cars will be.
TIBS SYMBOL
M20through M29
NlOthrough N18
PlOthrough P14
Wheretosetout/
1 CODES •131131•1,
Yellow
WAY FREIGE.TS
PICK
UP
X
l
M20 through M29
M20 through M29
M20 through M29
Nl O through N18
Pl O through P14
All L, W,
and T
cars
M20 through M29
N10 through N18
PlOthrough P14
X
Westbo(Ind
THROUGH FREIGHTS
COLOR
TIBS SYMBOL
Black
Red
Green
Brown
Black
Yellow
Set out in yard
Set out in yard
Set out in yard
To Glenwood
To Glenwood
To Glenwood
Set out in yard
Set out in yard
Set out in yard
To Su#ivan
Where to set out/
Pickup routing
Set out in yard
Set out in yard
Set out in yard
To Sullivan
To St. Anne
To Glenwood
To St. Anne
To
Granville
Set
Out
in
yard
To Eik Creek
To Unden
Set
Out
in
yard
To Bedford
To Su#ivan
*
1
prototype by thinking in terms of codes
like Al instead of real destinations like
Cass Lake, Minn. We can still check the
waybills to appreciate the specifics of
shippers and towns, but realism is diluted
for those who don't look beyond the codes.
On the other hand, TIBS lets everybody
appreciate the overall operation without
getting bogged down in the details of a
railroad or region they don't understand.
TIBS also reduces the prototype's copious
"bookwork" to something manageable in
the model world. That's why it's a good
way to bring prototypical operating procedures to any layout, large or small.
We've been using TIBS for more than 3
years, and it has reduced the number of
questions about what to do with trains or
cars by more than 90 percent during an
average session. Most of our pre-TIBS sessions suffered from too many cars and too
many problems, but with TIBS our operations are so smooth that club members
are asking me to add more cars so they'll
have more to do during lulls. Now I'm the
one with the problem: how to build
enough equipment to keep these operation-crazy club members happy. 0
MODEL RAILROADER
95