Index of Available Issues for the Dispatcher's
Office 2002-Present
Go to Index for 1990-2001
The following issues of the Dispatcher's Office are still available. 1990 (40 pages) $5; 1991 (64 pages) $7; 1992 (30 pages) $5; January 1997 - July 2007 $4/each; October 2007 - current $5/each (plus postage - see form). Make check (US funds only please) payable to "Operations SIG, Inc.". To order issues please use the back issue order form (PDF).
Operations SIG
PO Box 67
Wood Dale, IL 60191-0067
Membership@OPSIG.org
(Please include "OPSIG" in the subject line)
| Issue Date/ Article Title |
Source | Description | ||
| Go to Index for 1990-2001 | ||||
| January 2002 | ||||
| OpSig Plans for 2002 Convention | Florida events in July 2002 | |||
| HOTBOX! Why, When and Where of Overheated Journals | ||||
| Confessions of a Visiting Yard Person | Seth Neumann | What you need to know | ||
| Monon Operations | Bob Warren | Scheduling a session | ||
| Another Operations Method | Bill Williams | Running a big C&O layout | ||
| Ops Shop Merchandise | Sig offers aprons, cards | |||
| Annual Callboard Layout Listing | Where to go to operate | |||
| April 2002 | ||||
| Less is More: Modeling LCL Traffic | Bill Jewett | Significant steam-era activity | ||
| OpSig Plans for July Convention | Orlando & Ft Lauderdale | |||
| Wheat Rush on the Santa Fe | Lloyd Stagner | Extras and overtime in Kansas | ||
| Seasonal Operations | Roger Kujawa | Peoria Postcript | ||
| Seasonal Traffic for your RR | Birney Summers | What moved in which cars when | ||
| Local Industry Yards | Operating support yards | |||
| Computer Carcards | Charlie Vlk | Planning for operations | ||
| CallBoard Update | More operating layouts | |||
| July 2002 | ||||
| Highballing with Flimsies | Frederick Gamst | Using train orders on SP | ||
| Reciprocal Switching | Bill Jewett | Serving industries on other roads | ||
| Where It Comes From... | Peter Kerr | 1999 freight commodities, states and car types | ||
| By the Weigh: Track Scales | Ron Tuff | Scales and test cars enhance ops | ||
| Car Dwell Time at Industries | Mike McLaughlin | Varying loading/unloading times | ||
| Louisiana Rail Run | Bill Williams | Southern pikes host visiting ops | ||
| October 2002 | ||||
| Billboard Reefers | Bill Jewett | What happened to them? | ||
| Highballing with Flimsies | Fred Gamst | Train orders on the SP - Part 2 | ||
| CSX Yard Performance | Birnie Summers | Measuring against goals | ||
| I Finally Did It! | Morrie Fleishman | Operated, not just run trains | ||
| The Rock Around the Clock | Roger Kujawa | Switching 24/7 | ||
| Freight Car Carding | Norbert Shacklette | A forgotten art | ||
| January 2003 | ||||
| Regional Operation Meets | Highlights of CO, UT, IL events | |||
| Coming Events | Sessions planned in CA, MA, MI | |||
| Operations Game Rediscovered | 1983 package of ops-in-a-box | |||
| Job Descriptions | Roger Kujawa | Each crew's unique responsibilities | ||
| 2003 CallBoard | Tom Turner | 91 layouts that welcome operators | ||
| Highballing with Flimsies | Frederick Gamst | Train orders on SP Coast Line | ||
| Plans for Toronto Convention | Op sessions for July NMRA meet | |||
| April 2003 | ||||
| Boomer Dispatcher on the SC&E | Bill Jewett | Starting TT&TO operations | ||
| Operations Forms | Roger Kujawa | Train and yard paperwork | ||
| Plans for Toronto Convention | Signing up for operations | |||
| Highballing with Flimsies | Frederick Gamst | Wrapping up SP TT&TO | ||
| Boxcar Histories Illustrate Travels | Bill Jewett | Interchange records of 3 cars | ||
| Riding the Rails with the Fast Freight | Evan Wylie | 2,000 miles with a boxcar | ||
| Over Tehachapi on an SP Beet Train | Frederick Gamst | Riding the head end | ||
| July 2003 | ||||
| Having Fun with Unexpected Situations | Larry Hickman | Tips from a working railroader | ||
| Working the Clover Leaf Locals | Don Daily | Switching on the former NKP | ||
| Peoria PS: Operate ASAP! | Roger Kujawa | Don't wait to operate | ||
| Documenting Wabash Operations | Bill Jewett | Paperwork for Ops Road Show | ||
| Locomotive Roster for the EV&W | Lloyd Miller | Developing a freelanced fleet | ||
| Louisiana RailRun/To Snack or Not | Bill Williams | Thoughts about treats | ||
| October 2003 | ||||
| Earning the Chief Dispatcher Certificate | Bruce Wilson | How to take the first step to MMR qualification | ||
| Operating System Used on the A&LS | Bruce Wilson | Documenting how the railroad runs Online copies of the article's diagrams |
||
| Dispatching the WP 4th Subdivision | Pat Flynn and Jim Providenza | Check your DS skills against the pros | ||
| Peoria PS: Operation by Observation | Roger Kujawa | Vacations are for collecting ops ideas | ||
| Toronto NMRA Convention Reports | Seth Neumann, Bruce Wilson and John Young | Good time had by all in Canada | ||
| Gift of a Miracle | Francis Wiener and Dennis Storzek | A spooky story for Halloween | ||
| Switching Lime Plants at Gibsonburg | Larry Hickman | A day in the life of a PRR outpost job | ||
| January 2004 | ||||
| Seattle Convention Plans | Bill Sornsin & Tom Enloe | Ops before, during & after | ||
| Air Brakes for Model Railroaders | Fred Carlson | Understanding how the real ones work | ||
| Peoria PS: Play Value | Roger Kujawa | Making the most of it | ||
| 2004 CallBoard Listing | Tom Turner | Layouts you can come operate | ||
| Trainorder Dispatching 101 | Dave Sprau | Checking the Register | ||
| Riding a GN Passenger Extra | Bill Jewett | Flimsies tell a tale | ||
| April 2004 | ||||
| Return Those Empties | Bill Jewett | Rules for empty return including SCO90 | ||
| Iron Mike Dispatches the SP | Robert Raymond | Computer TT&TO dispatching | ||
| CASO Operations in Ontario | John Mitchell | Busy layout showcases NYC, CP, C&O | ||
| The Meet | Robert Vrooman | Wabash Canadian crew hustles to avoid delay | ||
| Trainorder Dispatching 101 | Dave Sprau | #2 - Clearing times at meets | ||
| More About LCL | Waybills illustrate NKP small shipment handling | |||
| July 2004 | ||||
| Labeling Carcards Holders | Bill Jewett | Plus: operating small yards | ||
| Preparing to Operate | Drake Omstead | Setting up ops paperwork | ||
| Waybill Variations on the NYO&W | Drake Omstead | Routes, LCL, milk & more | ||
| NYO&W Employee timetable | Drake Omstead | How to's for newbies | ||
| Trainorder Dispatching 101 | Dave Sprau | Part 3: Right over vs meet | ||
| Ferguson in the 40s | R. L. Warren | Wabash hot spot near St Louis | ||
| October 2004 | ||||
| A Day on Local J-743 | Fred Henize | Working rail describes CSX job | ||
| A Day with the San Jac Local | Chris Butts | Local crew on ATSF | ||
| Flagging Instructions | Ed King | How N&W coal branch worked | ||
| Trainorder Dispatching 101 | Dave Sprau | Lesson 4: Run Extra Orders | ||
| Soo Line Passenger Orders | Dennis Storzek | Orders for a complete trip | ||
| CPR London Div Operations | Tony Borek | Contemporary Canadian ops | ||
| Ops at the End of the Line | Lloyd Miller | A freelanced terminal district | ||
| Perpetual Waybills on GN | Bill Jewett | Keep switching without restaging | ||
| Copper River & Yukon Orders | Bill Jewett | Neat paperwork for ore line | ||
| January 2005 | ||||
| Fast Mail & Express | Bill Jewett | Head-end traffic moved coast to coast | ||
| Trainorder Dispatching 101 | Dave Sprau | Lesson 5: Meets, engine # changes | ||
| 2005 CallBoard | Register of layouts you can operate on | |||
| OpSig at Cincinnati Limited | Bill Jewett | Activities at NMRA convention July 2005 | ||
| Three Rivers Ops Weekend | Ft Wayne IN to host op sessions | |||
| Modeling Freight Car Fleets | John Mitchell | Planning car fleet from prototype data | ||
| Managing Pool/Assigned Cars | John Thompson | Special-equipped car assignments | ||
| April 2005 | ||||
| Operations at the Decker Meat Plant | Doug Harding | Busy switching activities | ||
| The Meat Business | The hows, whens and wheres | |||
| Trainorder Dispatching 101 | Dave Sprau | Lesson 6: Reading the timetable | ||
| BVR has the Best of Both | Dil Huey | Combining carcards and switchlists | ||
| Tips on Clips | Bill Jewett | Handy gadgets for operations | ||
| Jargon for Railroaders | Terms of the trade explained | |||
| July 2005 | ||||
| Hostlers in the Engine Terminal | J. D. Santucci | Getting power serviced and ready | ||
| The Enginehouse Foreman | Keeping 'em running in the age of steam | |||
| Terminal Operating Procedures | Ian Wilson | Inspection, classification and more | ||
| Trainorder Dispatching 101 | Dave Sprau | Lesson 7: Run ahead | ||
| Livestock Shipping | Bill Jewett | Moving cattle to market and slaughte | ||
| Three Rivers OpSig Roaring Success | First-time hosts get it right | |||
| October 2005 | ||||
| Operations at NP Missoula Yard | 1968 hump classification procedures | |||
| Solutions for Choked Class Yards | Staying fluid when yards get plugged | |||
| Hot Times on the High Iron | J. D. Santucci | We couple and pull and swing and shove | ||
| Switch Crews in East LA | Dave Crammer | UP industry and yard jobs | ||
| Stuck in Woodsriver | Bob Warren | Unscrambling a TT&O standoff | ||
| Trainorder Dispatching 101 | Dave Sprau | Lesson 8: Scheduled trains | ||
| Track Warrants | David Butts | CSX method very suitable for model use | ||
| January 2006 | ||||
| OpSIG CallBoard and Operations Events Now Listed on Internet | Bill Jewett | |||
| Capacity Problems at Dolkos Yard | Dick Flock | Adjusting trackage for improve capacity | ||
| Trainorder Dispatching 101 | Dave Sprau | Lesson 9: "Run Lates" and "Waits" | ||
| Boxcar of Munitions Sent to Peanut Plant | ||||
| Independence Junction 2006 | Jim Dalberg | Operations SIG Operating Sessions | ||
| Waybilling Minnesota Iron Ore Traffic | Robert S. Hanmer | Detailed paperwork based on the prototype | ||
| SE Michigan Proto Operators Ops Weekend 2006 | ||||
| Confounding the Experts | Mike McLaughlin | "right over each other"?! | ||
| On Sheet: How Dispatchers Record Movements | Mark Amfahr | Variations in prototype paperwork | ||
| Condensed Track Warrant Form | Bill Jewett | Less time, more understanding | ||
| Solutions for Choked Class Yards | Peter Bryan | Pre-made trains reduce pressure | ||
| So You Want to be the Super | What would you do with priority traffic? | |||
| Talking "Trainmasterese" | Don Daily | Prototype wording | ||
| Traffic Generation Using Computer Spreadsheets | Michael G. Weiss | Random car movements without tedious set-up | ||
| Managing Assigned Cabooses on the O&W | Drake E. Omstead | Be sure the crew gets the their own caboose | ||
| April 2006 | ||||
| OpSig Election Ballot | ||||
| Bay Area LDSIG/OpSig Regional Meet | ||||
| Train Order Dispatching 101 | Dave Sprau | Lession 10 - "Running Extra" | ||
| PCR Branc Line/DO/LDJ Article Report from the Bay Area Region | ||||
| Adding LCL Operations to an Existing Model Railroad | ||||
| All A-Board | ||||
| OpSig Bylaws | Revision of Article 11 - Amendment of Bylaws | |||
| What Does the Layout Owner Do? | ||||
| Pacific Harbor Line - Badger Bridge Operations | ||||
| OpSig Regional: NC Rail Run 2006 | ||||
| July 2006 | ||||
| Santa Cruz Northern Mountain Dispatcher - Part 1 | Dave Clemens | |||
| Grip | Craig Bisgeier | |||
| Santa Cruz Northern Mountain Dispatcher - Part 2 | Dave Clemens | |||
| A Little Love for the Yard | Byron Henderson | |||
| Forget the Fast Clock | Byron Henderson | |||
| Car Card System on Rob Richardson's Georgia Railroad | David Butts | |||
| LA Rail Run | Louis H. Schultz | |||
| Rocky Op in Southern Colorado | Greg Long | |||
| Box of Munitions Sent to Peanut Plant | Larry W. Grant | |||
| D.O. NYOW Caboose Assignment | Drake Omstead | |||
| Model Rail Services Ops Fun for One | Byron Henderson | |||
| Model Rail Services Operations Planning | Byron Henderson | |||
| Model Rail Services Three Keys to Successful Opeerations | ||||
| Super Detailed Operatins | Craig Bisgeier | |||
| October 2006 | ||||
| Philadelphia OPSIG Operation Observations | Phil Monat | |||
| Closing Comments | Jim Dalberg | |||
| Nominations | ||||
| Note from the Editor | ||||
| Fun With Operations | Peter Bryan | |||
| Operations SIG Callboard Program | ||||
| A Horse Tail | Robert McCabe | |||
| Turnover Report from the President | Phil Monat | |||
| January 2007 | ||||
| NMRA 2007 OPSIG Information | John DePauw | |||
| Three Rivers OPSIG | ||||
| Special Instructions for Operating Positions | Jim Providenza | |||
| Santa Cruz Northern R.R. West End Agent Operator Supplemental Instructions | Jim Providenza | |||
| Santa Crus Northern R.R. Special Instructions Agent/Operator | Jim Providenza | |||
| The Great Southern Lines and Time Table Operations | David Butts | |||
| A Waybill Based Operating "System" | Ray Fisher | Online Resources in Color | ||
| Turnover Report | Phil Monat | |||
| April 2007 Vol XIII No 2 | ||||
| Tower Operators on the NYO&W | Drake Omstead | Adding tower operators to increase realism | ||
| Interchange Operations | Jeff Warner | Coordinating efforts between connecting railroads | ||
| Framework For Realistic Operations: Chief Dispatcher AP Certificate | David Butts | Learning how to evaluate your own layout for operations | ||
| Continuing discussion Prompted by Ray Fisher's Waybill Article | ||||
| OPSIG Candidate Statements | ||||
| Turnover Report | Phil Monat | |||
| July 2007 Vol XIII No 3 | ||||
| The Tragic Meet at Mooers | Andrew Clermont | The story of a meet that ended in the death of a trainman | ||
| Variations On A Waybill Theme | Byron Henderson | A variation on multi-cycle waybills | ||
| Freight Car Management | Bruce Heald | The New Haven provides the backdrop for intense operations | ||
| Fusee At BigBurg | Gary Evans | A fusee marker enhances switching operations | ||
| How To Model a Working Fusee | Craig Bisgier | It doesn't involve open flame anywhere near your layout! | ||
| Building a Working Fusee Circuit | John Smith | Developing a circuit that flickers and burns | ||
| ProTrak: What It Is, What It Can Do | Jim Duncan | Comprehensive software that can enhance your layout's operations | ||
| Turnover Report | Phil Monat | |||
| October 2007 Vol XIII No 4 | ||||
| History Of Operations In Large Scale | Ric Golding & Doug Matheson | Bringing prototype operating practice to the garden | ||
| MOSS: Manually Operated Signal System | Allen Frasch | An inexpensive alternative to a full CTC installation | ||
| The Hours of Service Act: Part 1 | David Busher & Jeff Leaman | History of this important and critical law and how it affects operations | ||
| Thirty Years Ago On The Rock Island | Daniel Sabin | How the King Of Rock n' Roll delayed Train 39 | ||
| Switching a Trailing Point Siding | Vincent Lee | There's more than meets the eye for this set-out | ||
| Batteries And Wireless Throttles | Phil Monat | Here's how to ensure you get the most life our of your batteries | ||
| Dispatcher's Submission Guide | ||||
| OPSIG Dues Update | ||||
| OPSIG Clothing Announcement | ||||
| Turnover Report | Phil Monat | |||
| January 2008 Vol XIV No 1 Special All Staging Issue | ||||
| Mole Staging On The Housatonic | Craig Bisgeier | Simulating car float traffic on an 1890's-era New England railroad | ||
| Staging. . Or Lack Thereof? | Jim Providenza | Staging the Santa Crux Northern in a challenging space | ||
| Operations Without Staging | Bill Kaufman | An intriguing way to operate without visible staging | ||
| The Rest Of The World On The UCW | Lee Nicholas | Active mole staging keeps this busy bridge route fluid | ||
| Staging Operations On The PRR | Jeff Warner | Complex terminal staging on a multiple-interchange railroad | ||
| Adding Staging Yards To The R&IT | Otto Vondrak | Adding hidden staging improved operating potential for this small club | ||
| Vertical Staging On The Port Sebago | Al Oneto | Vertical staging used to good effect on this New England line | ||
| Staging Yards On The GM&O | Jim Duncan | Active staging in the crew lounge enhances operation | ||
| Lessons Learned On The D&S | Phil Monat | Trials and tribulations with hidden terminal staging | ||
| April 2008 Vol XIV, No 2 | ||||
| TT&TO Operations Part 1: Timetables and Form | Dave Sprau | Explaining basic forms that are the foundation of operations | ||
| Train Order Ops on the 'Dutch Line' | David S. Bucher | Train order operations on the Western Maryland in the 1970's | ||
| Simplifying TT&TO Operations | Bob Foltz | Breaking down train orders to their essential functions | ||
| Dispatcher's panel for the Klondike Lines | Brian Pate | Simple software helps make TT&TO operations easier | ||
| Going To Plan 'B | Eric Lundberg | What to do when you can't get the required number of operators | ||
| The Hours of Service Act: Part 2 | Jeff Leaman & David Bucher | Continued examination of this important Federal law | ||
| Programming Soundtraxx Tsunamis for Awesome Sound Performance | Bob Collett | Getting the most from your steam locomotive sound decoders | ||
| OPSIG Contacts | ||||
| OPSIG Anaheim NMRA Convention | ||||
| OPSIG Activities: Simplified Financial Statement 2007 | ||||
| OPSIG Elections: Candidate Statements & Ballot | ||||
| Bill Jewett Memorial Award Nominations | ||||
| Turnover Report | Phil Monat | |||
| July 2008 Vol XIV, No 3 | ||||
| TT&TO Operations Part 2: Train Orders | Dave Sprau | An overview of Train Orders as they could apply to model railroading | ||
| Hauling Coal On The Reading | Jim Hertzog | Careful scheduling is required to service multiple loading points | ||
| Operations On A Small Layout | Jon Dandridge | Adapting New Haven operations at Framingham to a model railroad | ||
| ShipIt! On The Sandric | Eric Lundberg | Innovative computer software put to work on this Western road | ||
| Spur Design For Efficient Switching | David Butts | A modern industrial bakery along the NS is our model | ||
| Car Cars For Passenger Operations | Allen Frasch | This system enhances modern passenger train operations | ||
| Allegheny & Western, Inspired by CASS | Bill Moore | A small club overcomes the limitations of space | ||
| CIRROPS 2008 Review | Seth Neumann | |||
| North Carolina RailRun 2008 preview | ||||
| OPSIG DO Submission Guide | ||||
| OPSIG Emblem Clothing Line Additions | ||||
| Turnover Report | Phil Monat | |||