Conrail's Amoskeag Northern Line

Operations

Written by Ian MacMillan

Wednesday, 23 January 2008

How the Layout is Run

The layout is designed to operate very much like the full scale railroads do in New Hampshire. There are sections of major main line that are controlled via CTC by the Amoskeag dispatcher, and there is back woods trackage that requires crews to throw switches by hand and take Form D orders.

All crews run via NORAC rules, and are required to maintain contact with the Amoskeag Dispatcher depending on the line that they are running. All movements made in CTC territory are controlled by the Amoskeag Dispatcher, as well as all switch movements. Switches are thrown via the CTC board in the dispatchers office, and signals will properly display the required aspect. The signal system also interfacing with the CTC is made by Atlas and uses their Type G signals that were very comon on the Conrail system. As the HO version of Atlas' signal system continues to grow I am sure that they will come out with a signal that is more typical of the 3 tier searchlight that was used on the B&M.

Movements over branch lines are covered by a Form D that is issued by the dispatcher, while switch throwing is done by the conductor of the train crew. All conductors have a "switch key" that is made from a 1/8" TRS microphone jack . The conductor puts this key into the jack for the control panel at each town and this "unlocks" the switches by powering the toggle switches so that they can be thrown. While this provides no real safety, it helps to slow crews down to a more realistic pace.

Want to come run on the layout?

While large scale operations are pretty much far off at this point, I would like to start holding regular small operations sessions this winter (Winter '08-'09).

While there are none scheduled at this point, if you would like to be added to the list please feel free to send me an email and I will add you to the spare board. Feel free to check out some FAQ on coming over to run the layout.

FAQ - What will I need to run on the layout?

Digitrax throttle - I only have a limited amount, bring your own if you can.

Headset - Required to speak to the dispatcher and your engineer. I have some on hand but if you would like to bring your own, I operate using FRS radios.

Humor - I like to have a fun environment, so bring your humor with you.

Can I bring my own locos? - Yes, but they must have DCC decoders in them, and be of a 1:1 model manufactured between 1970 and October 1996. Anything after the later date WILL NOT be allowed to run on the layout. The only exception for locomotives is when the layout is back dated to 1954 one operating session every other month, and thus locos must have not been built after October 1954.

Can I bring my own cars? - Yes, but they must meet the same time frame as the locos do.

Couplers? I use Sargent Engineering Couplers as they are Proto:87 and look very realistic. I have had some luck getting them to hook up to Kadee #5 couplers, but I can not guarantee Kadee's will work flawlessly.

Do the cars have to have resistor wheel sets? - No.

Whats with the time frame restrictions, can't you just be fun and run whatever? - The layout is fun, and so is running on it, but I model a VERY SPECIFIC time frame because that is what I enjoy in the hobby, and that is what the layout was designed after. The layout is run just like the 1:1 railroads do as the layout represents a model of a transportation system...not a place for toy trains to go roundy round. While it is run prototypically, I'm not a hard ass and going to belittle you or take away privileges based on mistakes made while running on the layout. The point is, I'm kinda of a rivet counter, and not a "collector runner".

Can I come over an operate on a non operating session day? Yes you can. If you do not feel comfortable operating at the pace of the operating sessions and would like to work out your bugs in a very laid back atmosphere, you can come by and we can run the layout so you can get the hang of it, and where everything is. Just send me an email and I can schedule something with you.