Current Work Area(s)

Operations have been ongoing now for almost a year. As usual, things have turned out a bit different from the original plan. There are 24 trains on the timetable and there are an additional 5 trains that are run as yard jobs (operating within yard limits). There are 40 locomotives and 300 cars on the railroad. In a four hour session we move between 400 and 500 cars (some move more than once). With several sessions under our belts we now know that in its current state the railroad will support an operations crew of about 12 - 14 as follows:

The morning/evening passenger trains are scheduled to meet in Santa Rosa. They are timed to provide commuter service for the snooty folks that live in River Oaks. No switching has been implemented for the passenger trains at this time. The through freights will exchange blocks of cars in Castle Rock and Galveston. The milk train carries fresh milk and dairy products from Santa Rosa, New Mexico and points south, to Rebecca's Sunny Brook Farms Creamery in Galveston, Texas picking up cars along the way as necessary. The mail train departs Galveston early in the morning, collects mail along the way and terminates in Castle Rock staging. Both the milk and mail trains run back to their origins in the late evening. The local freights will switch the industries between the end points of their respective runs. The early coal train carries empty hoppers from Castle Rock to the mine at Carbon where significant switching takes place. The second coal train carries loaded hoppers to points along the line with the majority of the cargo being delivered to Galveston for the Island Power Plant. The cattle trains supply the packing plant in Castle Rock with livestock from across the railroad and the meat trains serve to distribute the meat products generated by the packing plant. The yard jobs will service the industries of Castle Rock and Galveston that lie within the respective yard limits. The Dispatcher runs the railroad. The Yard Masters are responsible for all activities within their yard limits and the Yard Engineers do the bidding of their respective Yard Master.