RE: (erielack) Tools for calculating yard sizes (sorta EL related, at least to me ;)

["Henry W Jarusik" <hwjpa_@_fastem.com>]

Brilliant!



On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 00:16:18 -0500, "Tom Schmieder"
<dlw_fan_@_hotmail.com> said:
> Hey Paul,
> 
> Why don't you just model how many tracks were at Croxton in real life? 
> OK, 
> maybe that won't fit in the basement.  Bob Bahrs was right about having
> the 
> right number of sorting tracks to match destinations on the layout, but
> then 
> add the number of arrival tracks you could anticipate filling with
> inbound 
> trains before your yard crews have time to shuffle out the train they're 
> working on.  Also, plan on having a working lead as long as the longest
> yard 
> track.  Oh, and don't forget the caboose track.  If you have Track
> Planning 
> for Realistic Operation (Kalmback, I believe), there are actually some
> very 
> good tips on yard planning.  OK, for your engineering types, I came up
> with 
> this formula:
> 
> Where
> 
> m = total number of tracks
> x = number of classification tracks
> r = number of different destinations like Greenwood lake branch, Boonton 
> line, etc.
> a = number of arrival tracks
> e = time it takes to sort out an arrived train in minutes
> y = frequency of inbound trains in a session
> s = average number of cars in a train
> 
> Then...
> 
> m=e(r+r)y-X/m+a/s
> 
> Get it?
> 
> Tom
> 
> Happy Holidays!
> 
> >From: "Tupaczewski, Paul R (Paul)" <paultup_@_lucent.com> Reply-To: 
> >"Tupaczewski, Paul R (Paul)" <paultup_@_lucent.com> To: 
> >erielack_@_lists.railfan.net Subject: (erielack) Tools for calculating yard 
> >sizes (sorta EL related, at least to me ;) Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 15:45:16 
> >-0500
> >
> >Hi folks,
> >
> >In doing my every-so-often layout planning, I was thinking ahead to 
> >operations. I plan on modeling, as many of you already know, the Boonton 
> >Line, from Croxton to Port Morris. West of Port Morris is represented by a 
> >staging yard, but the east end "is" the staging yard. Trains would 
> >terminate at Croxton where two crews would go about breaking down trains 
> >and making new ones to be sent out (for example, road freights would 
> >arrive, crews would break up the trains into locals, which would then go 
> >out and disperse the cars, then return with cars to go out, Croxton would 
> >arrange these into westbound road trains, and repeat).
> >
> >My question is, has anyone ever done any sort of calculating to figure out 
> >how many yard tracks you'd need for a typical operating session? I 
> >originally envisioned Croxton as a 12- or 13-track yard (how's THAT for 
> >selective compression!), with 15-20 foot tracks. Then my analytical mind 
> >started going, and I began to wonder about the following variables:
> >
> >* Accounting for trains coming in off the "Erie side" (staging) * 
> >Accounting for traffic fluctuation (7 car trains one day, 23 car trains 
> >another) * "Bottleneck" times - when many road freights arrive in 
> >rapid-fire fashion, will there be enough yard room?
> >
> >I was contemplating doing some Excel spreadsheets to figure out what's 
> >happening in the yard, but then the variable and other factors made this a 
> >non-trivial task, so I was going to write a database-driven application to 
> >simulate a "day of operation." It would show the yard at different times of 
> >the day to see how clogged/capable it is in terms of handling the traffic. 
> >I can also do "what if" scenarios to see how elastic the yard's capability 
> >is. The database would contain the trains, train arrival times (for road 
> >freights), train time "out on the road" (for locals), and eventual car 
> >destinations (down to the local train level, not town). The program would 
> >then be able to easily flag if the yard would be able to handle the traffic 
> >desired for the session. If not, I could modify the number of yard tracks, 
> >length of tracks, or number of trains. Would anyone be interested in this? 
> >(freeware, if I actually complete it)
> >
> >Yes, it's tangentially EL-related, but to me, it's completely EL-related, 
> >so any advice anyone can offer is greatly appreciated.
> >
> >- Paul
> >
> >
> >Paul R. Tupaczewski_______________________ Lucent Technologies Mobility 
> >Solutions                              Phone: 973-386-4966 MASD IMS/CDMA 
> >Trials and                 Fax: 973-386-4147 Demonstrations Group 67 
> >Whippany Road, Room 15D-116 Whippany, NJ 07981 
> >_______________________________________________
> >
> >
> >
> 
> 
- -- 
  Henry W Jarusik
  hwjpa_@_fastem.com

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