| TT & TO - Time Table and Train Order, a method of governing
train movement whereby a dispatcher communicates with station operators to deliver train
orders to train crews. |
Class - class designates the importance of a train.
Passenger trains are typically first or second class, and scheduled freights are typically
second or third class. |
| OS - On Station or Operator Sighting. Use with TT &
TO operations. Simulates the station operator sending or calling the dispatcher to
inform him that a train has passed the operators station. |
Train Order or TO - A written (or verbal on some model
railroads) movement instruction from the dispatcher to the station agent,who in turn
passes the order to the train crew. |
| Rights - Permission to proceed against another train based on
timetable, direction of movement, or train order. |
Superior Direction - trains moving north or east are superior
to trains moving south or west, except as authorized by timetable. |
| Main Track or Main Line- track used for normal speed train
movement. |
Timetable - A listing of train schedules and operating rules
for a
particular railroad or portion of a railroad. |
| Superior Train - Train that has rights (right of way) over
another train usually running in an opposing direction. |
Station - a location on the railroad listed in the
timetable. A station may or may not have a building and an operator, and may be
simply a sign post with the station name. |
| Order Board - A signal located at stations indicating if a
train order is to be handed up to a train crew. |
Side Track or Siding - Track used to hold an inferior train
during a meet with a superior train. |
| Turnout - Track switch and frog used to change from one track
to another. |
Switch - The moveable portion of a turnout. |
| Normal Turnout Position - When turnout is aligned for main
track or for normal direction of movement. |
Reverse Turnout Position - When turnout is aligned for side
track or un-normal direction of travel. |
| Depot - A building used to house passengers and package
freight. |
Form 19 - The paper form on which a train order is written. |
| Clearance Form A - a paper form authorizing the departure of a
scheduled or extra train from its initial terminal. |
Team Track - A track used to unload or load cars from trucks or
wagons. |
| Car Cards - Used in model railroading to hold a waybill.
Each car has a unique car card & a waybill. |
Waybill - a card with load condition or description and a
destination for a particular car. |
| Extra - An extra train is a train that is not scheduled and not
listed in a timetable. Extra trains have no superiority over any scheduled train
unless such superiority it temporarily granted by train order. Extras have no superiority
over other extras because of direction. |
Facing
point turnout—a turnout that is oriented the so that the engine can move
forward into the siding. A facing point siding requires a runaround track for the
locomotive to set out cars and to place pick-ups into the train. |
| Decoder - An electronic device used to decode a coded signal
being sent through the tracks to a specific locomotive. |
Consist - Two or more locomotives connected together for
greater pulling power. |
| Runaround
- a siding with turnouts at both ends that allows the locomotive the
“run around” the train to get to the caboose end. |
Trailing
point turnout - a turnout oriented so that the locomotive can access a siding to
pick up or set out cars by simply backing into it. |
- DCC (Digital Command Control) - A method of controlling a single or consisted
locomotives without interfering with other locomotives on the layout.
|
Clearance
limit - the farthest point a train has permission to travel to. A clearance
point might be issued verbally, via train order or by Time Table. |
| Saw-by
- a method of allowing trains that are too long for a passing siding to pass each other.
A single saw-by is used when one train is too long and a double saw-bye is used
when both trains are too long. |
Rule Book
- a printed document containing all the operating rules of the railroad. Many rule
books also contain maps, diagrams, train instructions and other information. |
Spot - a specific door,
loading ramp or location where a car is set out. Spots are usually found in a large
industry with multiple points where cars may be set out or picked up. |
Consist: Cars which make up a train; also a list of those cars.
Locomotive consist is a group of engines put together to pull a train.
|
Free-lance: Modeling that does not closely
follow a real (prototype) railroad. |
Block - an electrically insulated zone of track. |
| Command Control: A way of controlling trains by sending
electronic messages through the rails. Each locomotive has a decoder or receiver which
only responds to the messages specifically directed to it. Engines can be controlled
independently anywhere on a layout. Also known as Digital Command Control (DCC). |
Helix: A rising curve which turns around an axis like a
corkscrew. Used on multilevel model railroad layouts to allow trains to move from one
level to another. |
| Main line: is the primary track that defines the railway and
which connects the railway's most important destinations. It does not include spurs,
branch lines, yards, sidings, or passing tracks. lcl - less than carload.
Used in reference to railroad operated freight loading facilities where small
shipments were accumulated into a full car load.
pinpuller - person responsible for lifting the uncoupling lever so that
cars could be "kicked" or uncoupled. The reference to pin comes from the
fact that when the lever was lifted the pin in the center of the knuckle coupler was
lifted and thus allowed the couple knuckle face to open and cars to separate
kicking or kicking a cut - switching cars "on the fly"
without going into the track, stopping, uncoupling, and then reversing the locomotive back
onto the lead for the next move. The purpose of kicking was to allow a string of
cars being sorted or classified to be sent in ones, twos, threes down a series of
classifications tracks on the same lead without the need to stop, back up, and then go
forward again.
on the fly - switching cars without having the locomotive come to a
complete stop after each move. This was done to speed the process. A good crew
could switch a "cut" of 10 to 12 cars along a multi-track lead without the
locomotive ever coming to a complete stop.
cut - a number of cars pulled from a whole train or simply a longer block
of cars
drag - similar to a "cut". This term is very similar to
"cut" but was generally used to mean a completed, sorted block of cars to go
into a train. It was also used in reference to one or more cars and a caboose being
transferred from RI, Armourdale to another railroad in the Kansas City area.
hobo crew, sweeper crew - locomotive and crew assigned to do the
odd jobs, find lost cars, spot the house track or rip track. Every shift had at
least one crew that had no specific job assignment and were assigned odds and ends by the
yardmaster.
house track - the track (and sometimes more than one) associated with the
railroad operated freight house. Trucks brought freight for rail shipment and/or
picked up goods arriving by rail. Some of this freight was "lcl".
rip track - repair in place. Cars needing minor repairs were
"spotted on the "rip track" for those repairs.
doubling over - working an 8 hour shift or "turn" and being
assigned another turn immediately. For example, on many occasions I worked an 8 am
to 4 pm turn and would be notified by radio before the turn ended that I was going to work
a 4 pm to midnight turn.
hog law - nickname for federal regulation limiting operation crews to a
maximum of 16 consecutive hours of work. This law was done to prevent crew members
from working so many hours that their fatigue contributed to accidents and injuries.
After 16 hours you stopped working regardless of where you might be. |
Operations: Running trains on a model railroad layout in a way
that simulates real railroad activity.
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