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Transcon Four

Operating Instructions

 

The System Rambler

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The Ore Train Shuffle

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The Burlington Locals

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The Brighton Park Job

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The Windy City Suburban

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The Transcon Shuffle

 

The System Rambler

Jobs 30 – 35

                      

Job 30a   - The Westbound Chicago Turn                                                            

Pick your train up at Pitcairn Yard in Pittsburgh. You should have seven cars:

4 coil steel

2 freight cars with cartop waybills for PRR 117 and 119

1 PRR box car marked “LCL”

 

On your inbound trip you must stop at PRR119 and PRR117 industries and set out and pick up.

 

You must also make three stops to pu/so LCL at Ft Wayne, Hobart and West Pullman. Spot the LCL boxcar at the station/platform that is marked LCL. Pause 2 minutes at each stop.

 

Finally, you must stop at PRR110 (The Coble Stamping Plant at Ft. Wayne) to set out the four coil steel cars. Just shove them up the lead. Don’t do anything else at the stamping plant.

 

When your stop for LCL is completed at West Pullman, proceed into Pennsy’s 59th Street Yard. Take your power to the house. And go to job #31.

 

Job#31  The Stamping Plant Job

The yard crew at 59th Street Yard should have your train (5 cars) made up with a caboose on it. If not, stand next to him and wait for it. Make sure you keep bugging him about it.

When your train is ready, retrieve the power you took to the house and get on your train. Depart for the stamping plant only after you’ve checked with the tower operator and dispatcher. MAKE SURE you have received the switch list of the 5 cars you’re taking from the yard.  The yard crew had it to make your train up.

Leave the other four coil cars on the lead when you’re finished switching the stamping plant. DO NOT take these four cars back to Chicago. The Chicago turn will pick these up on its eastbound trip back to Pittsburgh.

You should be returning to 59th Street Yard with 5 cars and a hack.

Yard your train at 59th Street and look for your outbound (Eastbound) Chicago Turn train which is your next task.

 

Job 30b  Eastbound (Outbound) Chicago Turn

Take the power you brought in on the stamping plant job and get on your three-car Chicago turn. Your train should have:

1 LCL car

2 Freight cars billed to Pittsburgh

• Stop at LCL points again.

• Stop at the stamping plant and pick up thefour coil cars you left on the lead. You should have seven cars now.

• Return to Pittsburgh

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Job 32  Scale Car Job

You will be both the crew and Fairbanks Morse scale test supervisor on this job.

Get scale car train from Pitcairn Yard in Pittsburgh and run to 59th Street Yard.

Take your power to the house.

Badger the yard crew about running the scale car up on the scale to make the mandatory test and don’t let up till they do it.

After pausing two minutes on the scale, ask the yard crew to block the scale car to transfer to Clearing Yard West on the BROC where you’ll repeat the badgering of that crew till they move the scale car to their scale.

Afterwards, repeat the same sequence to Cicero Yard and do the same thing.

When the car has tested the scale at Cicero, you’re finished with the job. (The scale car remains in Cicero to the end of the op session.)

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Job 33 Hi-Wide Job

Hi-Wide Movement  -  10 MPH Train

There should be power on this train already down at Pitcairn. If not, retrieve power you took to the house at 59th Street Yard and run lite (remember, you need permission from tower and DS) back to Pittsburgh (Pitcairn Yard).

Get on Hi-Wide Movement (two-car train with caboose; center depressed flat and boxcar).

Run from Pitcairn to Will’s Junction.

Run around your train and get your caboose. Return engine and caboose to 59th Street Yard.

Badger the crew at Cicero to get a Burlington caboose on your train which is still sitting at Will’s Junction.

Taxi over to Cicero Yard and get one Burlington locomotive and get on the Hi-Wide train that now should have a caboose. If it does not have a caboose, badger the Burlington yard crew even more and then go rat on them to Aurora Tower whose track you’re blocking and is going absolutely bananas.

When ready, run to St. Paul. Leave everything there.

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Job #34 Sperry Rail Test Car

10 MPH train.

Run out of Pitcairn Yard all the way to St. Paul testing the mail line.

Running through Chicago, you may use either the freight or passenger main.

Leave the SRC in St. Paul in either diesel facility.

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Job #35 Burlington Inspection Special

Get train (1 E-unit and 1 President’s car) at St. Paul and run to Chicago to Union Station (CUS). Making the following stops, all on the main line:

• Savanna Depot

• Ford Assembly plant (Pause on eastbound main)

• Aurora Commuter Station (Pause on eastbound main)

• Cicero Yard (across from tower on passenger main)

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Pause three minutes at each. You may pause more at CUS to go get donuts and coffee if you wish.

Then, make return trip to St. Paul, not stopping like before.

You’re all finished with the System Rambler!

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The Ore Train Shuffle

Jobs 23-24

The overall nature of this job is to run two ore trains – one in Pittsburgh and one in St. Paul – from one point to another. You will be exchanging trains, as such in Chicago’s Clearing Yard. The train now in St Paul will end up in Pittsburgh and the train now in Pittsburgh will end up in St. Paul.

 

These are all 25 MPH trains.

 

Job #23a  Inbound Burlington Ore Train X975

Get on your train at St Paul and run to Pennsy’s 59th Street Yard in Chicago (This is a “run through” train). Leave your train in that yard (NOT on the main). You may want to remind the switch crew at 59th Street Yard to put a Pennsy hack on it for its outbound trip to Pittsburgh. 

 

Then, return to Cicero with your power and caboose. Take your power to the house.

 

Job #24a  Inbound Pennsylvania Ore Train X8703

Get on your train at Pittsburgh and run to Burlington’s Cicero Yard in Chicago (This is a “run through” train). Leave your train in that yard (NOT on the main). You may want to remind the switch crew at Cicero Yard to put a “Q” hack on it for its outbound trip to St. Paul. 

 

Then, return to 59th Street Yard with your power and caboose. Take your power to the house.

 

Job #23b Outbound Burlington Ore Train X244

Get the same power set from the house that you brought in and take your train to St. Paul.

 

Job #24b Outbound Pennsylvania Ore Train X8703

Get the same power set from the house that you brought in and take your train to Pittsburgh.

 

You’re all finished with the Ore Trains!

 

Burlington Locals

Jobs 47 & 48

Job #47 The Savanna Turn

All your cars in your train coming out of Cicero are for Savanna.

 

Run to Savanna, perform your work, and return to Cicero with your inbound Chicago cars you picked-up at Savanna.

 

You should have 6 cars and a hack coming back to Cicero.

 

Take your power to the house.

 

Job 48 The Twin City Local

All your cars in your train coming out of Cicero are for three points (four industries) between Aurora and Rochelle.

 

Perform your work and run to Savanna to run around your train for the inbound trip back to Cicero. Return to Cicero with your inbound Chicago cars you picked-up at the industries.

 

You should have 8 cars and a hack coming back to Cicero.

 

Take your power to the house.

 

 

The Brighton Park Job

Jobs 43-46 (You will not have a TIC for #43)

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Job 43 The Brighton Park Switching Job – opening moves

This job opens with cars already in place at 59th Street Yard to be switched into Brighton Park’s industrial area. As soon as these cars are switched (estimated time: 1 hour), a crew will have to take the outbound cars on its respective train to its destination*.

*Note here…the Brighton Park Job is intended to be a never-ending round-robin task, so you may start with the PRR, Monon or C&GW train at 59th Street Yard. Simply go to 59th Street Yard to begin the session and work your way through the rest of the trains. Furthermore, the Brighton Park Job is intended to work exclusively of all other operation. All three trains listed above carry only cars for Brighton Park – either Campbell Soup or Continental Can Companies.

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Job 44a – 46b

Bring the other two trains into 59th Street Yard as needed (but not at the same time) and start switching again.

 

The Windy City Suburban

Jobs 36-41 (Note: all commuters are “Push-Pull”)

You will find the N&W, Milwaukee Road and PRR commuter trains in the Brighton Park Commuter Yard

Job 36 The Burlington Commuter (“Dinky”)

The Burlington commuter runs inbound from Aurora to CUS and back, stopping for two minutes each at:

Downers Grove

Cicero

CUS

 

Then, after pausing two minutes at CUS, run a reverse movement again pausing at all stations. Once you’re back in Aurora, this train terminates.

 

Job 37 The Pennsylvania Commuter “The Valpo”

The Pennsylvania commuter runs outbound to Ft Wayne making two minute stops at:

West Pullman

Hobart

Ft Wayne

 

Then, after pausing two minutes at Ft Wayne, run a reverse movement (BE SURE to get permission from the DS as to which track he wants you to run westbound) again pausing at all stations. Once you’re back in Chicago, this train terminates.

 

Job 38 The Milwaukee Road Commuter

The Mil Rd commuter runs outbound from CUS and back, stopping for two minutes each at:

Cicero

Downers Grove

Aurora

 

Then, after pausing two minutes at Aurora, run a reverse movement again pausing at all stations. Once you’re back in Chicago, this train terminates.

 

Job 39 The Norfolk and Western Commuter (Same schedule as the Pennsy)

The N&W commuter runs outbound to Ft Wayne making two minute stops at:

West Pullman

Hobart

Ft Wayne

 

Then, after pausing two minutes at Ft Wayne, run a reverse movement (BE SURE to get permission from the DS as to which track he wants you to run westbound) again pausing at all stations. Once you’re back in Chicago, this train terminates.

 

Job 40 The Railfan Special

Leave Savanna after getting permission from the DS to enter the main line. This is a 30 MPH train.

 

Run to CUS and then wye your train through West Pullman Tower. After doing this run to Savanna and leave your train in the same track.

 

Job 41 The D&WR Caboose Hop

Very easy job. Have the yard crew put the two D&WR caboose onto the rear of the locomotive consist already assembled at Clearing Yard. Then, with permission, travel all the way to Savanna – (main line) where you will remove the entire consist from the layout.

 

You’re all through with the Windy City Suburban.

 

 

The Transcon Shuffle

Jobs 19-20

Job 20a (Yeah, I know. These is out of order but run ‘em just like this)

First, inbound AT&SF X1347 from Savanna and run into Clearing Yard. Take your power to the house.

 

Job 19a (Yeah, I know. This is out of order also)

Next, inbound C&O X 8293 from Ft Wayne staging and run into Clearing Yard. Take your power to the house.

 

Job19b

Then, after the Clearing yard job has swapped cabeese, take the C&O power and run what was the AT&SF train back to Ft Wayne staging – same track.

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Job 20b

Finally, at Clearing, and after the Clearing yard job has swapped cabeese, take the AT&SF power and run what was the C&O train back to Savanna – same track.

 

You’re all through with the Transcon Shuffle.

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