Rolling stock spreadsheet/database

[lock4244]

Ed, I use an excel spreadsheet to log the following information (many need no explaination):

Road Name
Reporing Mark
Car Class (broad description: Box Car, Covered Hopper, Passenger, etc...)
Car Type (more specific: 3 Bay PS-2, Cylindrical, etc...)
Car Description (particular info to a car: 4750 cuft, Single Sliding Door, FMC 5283 cuft, etc...)
Road Number
Paint Scheme (color or scheme: Black, Script, Noodle, etc...)
Mfg.
Assigned Service (if there is a particular service the car is in: grain, newsprint, steel slab, etc...)
1968 (in service in this year, helps to define the era/reas the car operated in, answer is either Yes or No)
1978 (same as above)
1988 (same as above)
1998 (same as above)
2008 (same as above)
Today (is it in service on todays date?)
Notes (general notes on the car - proto or model)

This does not print well as it is too much even for landscape. However, it's not exactly meant for printing since hardcopy doesn't repond too well to searches or sorting by different fields. I only print out the "idiot list" when I'm planning on a trip to the LHS to avoid duplicate numbers on impulse purchases.

[asciibaron]

why would you need to know things beyond the road name, road number, aar car type, length, and manufacturer? 

[wm3798]

I keep general notes on maintenance, repaints, and the whereabouts of any equipment that might be off-line.  I note coupler type so I can see if there's any trends about problems.  I've started assigning approximate cash value so that if I kick the bucket, my wife will have some idea what it's all worth.

For ops, though, you're right.  You don't need much more than the basics.

Here's a related question... How many of you are fanatical about renumbering duplicate cars like I am?

Lee

[sirenwerks]

You might want to include a place for upgrades, such as detailing and weathering. Oh, and what Chulvis said.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

There's a few WP cars, somewhere in "the stacks".

And thanks for the info guys.

I'm not sure what format it's going to end up, but excel sheets tend to be pretty portable, and I don't need internet access to add to them.

And I think my goal with this is to use it both to track "hard info" like wheels, weathering, etc... and the "soft" info like "car will appear in SEPY/PYSE" or "assigned to PH Glatfelter plant paper service"

[asciibaron]

and the "soft" info like "car will appear in SEPY/PYSE" or "assigned to PH Glatfelter plant paper service"

i'm not sure why you would put train details in - are you not planning on using a car cards system? 

[John]

I am using Dave Husmans car card program .. it does all that, plus switchlists / car cards ..

[Ian MacMillan]

and the "soft" info like "car will appear in SEPY/PYSE" or "assigned to PH Glatfelter plant paper service"

i'm not sure why you would put train details in - are you not planning on using a car cards system?  

Because if you use a dispatcher with a car card system, the dispatcher may still not know where he cars are...the database does that for you. Thats how I do it anyway.

Here is one I started working on for my HO switching layout based on the B&M Portsmouth Branch industrial trackage in Manchester, NH.  This is the front end where anyone can view were the cars are, and what trains they are supposed to be on, or picked up by.
http://amoskeagnorthern.com/cartrack/

[bbussey]

Missing fields that I have (off the top of my head):

ALL EQUIPMENT
Plastic or Brass?
Prototypical Height over Rail?
Body-Mount Couplers?
Manufacturer of Trucks
Truck Type
Manufacturer of Wheels
Manufacturer of Coupler
Stock Item / Limited Run Item / Kitbashed / Scratchbuilt
Last Maintenance Date
General Lettering Colors
General Herald Colors

FREIGHT SPECIFIC
Leasing Railroad (if applicable)
Built Date
New/Service Date
AAR Type
Wheel Diameter


PASSENGER SPECIFIC
Car Name
Interior Configuration
General Type
Heavyweight / Smoothside / Fluted

MOTIVE POWER SPECIFIC
Steam / Diesel / Electric
Powered / Unpowered
Wheel Arrangement
Encoder Installed?
Encoder Type
Encoder Address
Consist Address

[asciibaron]

Because if you use a dispatcher with a car card system, the dispatcher may still not know where he cars are...the database does that for you. Thats how I do it anyway.

i don't understand what you are saying - a dispatcher, in my understanding and application, manages the trains on the railroad.  he does not concern himself with where the cars are along the railroad, that's the job of the train crew to manage during the session.  the local crew works the various sidings, picking up and dropping off cars per the car cards.  the dispatcher controls the movement and sequencing of the trains on the railroad.

how do your sessions work?

[Ian MacMillan]

Because if you use a dispatcher with a car card system, the dispatcher may still not know where he cars are...the database does that for you. Thats how I do it anyway.

i don't understand what you are saying - a dispatcher, in my understanding and application, manages the trains on the railroad.  he does not concern himself with where the cars are along the railroad, that's the job of the train crew to manage during the session.  the local crew works the various sidings, picking up and dropping off cars per the car cards.  the dispatcher controls the movement and sequencing of the trains on the railroad.

how do your sessions work?

Maybe I should not have used the word Dispatcher and used the more proper term of Train Operations Manager or TOM. A TOM on a working railroad knows were every car on the railroad is at all times. That way if a customer calls the TOM inquiring where their car is, or how far along it is, or if they are requesting a specific type of empty car, he can easily pull it up and fulfill that request. The TOM can then also generate switch lists or cards for the local crews or send a request list to the yard manager for the local crews to pull certain cars.  As the car card only tells you were it is going next, it may not give routing information. A customer can call and say that they have filled XYZ hopper car, 1 day in advance (thus it may not be in the locals card list for that turn), and the TOM can pull up the car location and determine if a local or a through freight should make the pick up, add it to a train and route it to its next cycle. My car cards only specify type of car and destination so that the same cars do not keep showing up at an industry every 4 turns.

Model Railroaders have seriously dumbed down the roll of a dispatcher over the years, as managing movement and sequencing of trains is only a 10th of what they do.

Example - Local MED-1: Mostly assigned to NOK in Franklin
NOK requires 14 60' autoparts boxcars. MED-1 obtains 14 MTYs from the Meredith Yard, generates their train list and issues to the yard master and takes 14 of the car cards. Yard Master forwards the train list to the TOM who marks in the computer all the cars listed in MED-1 as on MED-1 and issues MED-1 their Form D track movement permit.

MED-1 arrives at NOK and spots the 14 cars per their card locations. MED-1 returns to Meredith Yard and turns over their completed switch list to the Yard Master. Yard Master forwards the list to the TOM and the TOM updates the cars locations.

NOK calls and states that cars are filled and ready for pick up. TOM issues MED-2 Form D track movement permit and MED-2 picks up and delivers the cards to Meredith yard per the Turn 2 on the card.

Turn 3, Cars depart Meredith Yard for Detroit wesbound on yadayada train. GM calls TOM and advises that 3 cars from NOK need to be routed to the Detroit assembly plant on a different train because of a time constraint and contain specific parts. TOM can pull up the 3 car numbers, CR 223080, CR 223336, CR 223454, and find they are on train yadayada, and knows exactly where that train is. TOM issues new Form D to train yadayada to drop those 3 cars off at the next meet point where a faster running train to Detroit can make the pick up and deliver.

Cars arrive and are spotted in Detroit.

Turn 4 they return. Repeat cycle

[asciibaron]

Model Railroaders have seriously dumbed down the roll of a dispatcher over the years, as managing movement and sequencing of trains is only a 10th of what they do.

i have to ask, what is the other 9/10ths?  i operate a layout with a real life railroad dispatcher - the layout is the railroad he dispatches for a living (albeit 40 years early).  i never asked him about the role of the model dispatcher vs. his day job.  i listen to plenty of dispatching on the radio on CSX (JCC had a talent that few can attempt to emulate) and i hear mainly the management of trains, track service windows, and assisting in getting crews called.

i have also heard a catfish sandwich hit the bottom of a trashcan (again, JCC).

[Packer]

Packer, you're doing it wrong.  You're supposed to doodle track plans during class.

Lee

I was doing that part starting in kindergarten and kept it up until my Sophmore year (I'm a junior) in college. Now back to track plans.

[pfs]

Bob is spot on, especially with DB design.

Not that anyone is going to gen too many records with Model Train inventory, then again there are some

[wm3798]

Well, to make my car cards, I take my XL database and use the label printing function.  I manipulate fonts and print colors as necessary, and make labels that look more or less like this:


The card is a blank 3x5 index card folded.  I now use a 4" x 1" label, so folding it around the sides makes the pocket without needing the staples.

Lee