September 2019 33Most of my passenger cars are kit-
bashed Athearn models. I also have a
few ready-to-run Soo Line cars made
by Walthers.
Operation
I’ve always been intrigued by proto-
typical model railroad operation. Even
as a little boy, I thought just running
trains around a loop was boring.
When I was older, I gained some
experience learning how a real railroad
worked. While in college, I spent two
summers working for the Soo Line as
a switchman and a yard clerk. I got to
see firsthand how a major railroad divi-
sion point operated. [You can read about
Bob’s experiences on the Soo in the July
and August 2017 issues of Tra i n s maga-
zine. – Ed.]
As I planned my current layout, I read
Bruce Chubb’s How to Operate Your
Model Railroad (Kalmbach Publishing
Co., out of print). You can still find the
book on the secondary market, and
I recommend it to anyone looking to
incorporate prototype operating prac-
tices into their layout.
I’d tried car-card routing systems on
previous layouts, but had mixed results.
By the time I started building my cur-
rent RLD&M in the 1990s, personal
computers had become more common-
place, so I started searching for some
model railroad operations software.
I found and started using SHIPIT! by
Albion Software in 1998. The software is
very close to how I remember clerking
on the Soo Line back in the 1970s.
The SHIPIT! software also eliminated
the need for writing out switch lists and
train orders. I wanted to spend my time
running trains, not filling out a lot
of paperwork.
I’ve made some modifications to the
SHIPIT! software, including adding
embedded messages at several locations.
I also break up some trains into first and
second sections. The first section carries
through freight and the second section
handles any en route switching. This
method has helped alleviate many traffic
bottlenecks. During an operating ses-
sion, my crews and I can usually run
nearly 30 trains.
A typical operating session lasts
3½ hours. Since the SHIPIT! software
requires a 24-hour day, we follow a 7.25:1
fast clock.
Jobs on the RLD&M include three
yardmasters, one each at Minneapolis,
Duluth, and East Junction. The layout
could run with as few as two or three
train crews, but we usually have eight to
10 operators.
I don’t have a dispatcher. Instead I
rely on operators to follow the SHIPIT!
switchlists and trackside signals while
verbally communicating with each other
when necessary. My job is to act as chief
troubleshooter (and sometimes referee).There’s always room
At the time of this writing, the
RLD&M will have been dismantled for
several months. Because of my health
issues, my wife and I needed to sell our
home and downsize to a condo.
However, the condo has a basement with
room for my wife’s craft projects and,
perhaps, a small model railroad.
I’ve done some degree of model rail-
roading in every house, apartment,
condo, or trailer in which I’ve lived.
I never used lack of space as an excuse
for not being active in the hobby.
My railroad may be gone, but it’s not
forgotten. It lives on in video form.
I invite any readers to visit the layout
virtually by watching the many videos
on my YouTube channel.A National Model Railroad
Association Master Model
Railroader, Bob Wundrock has been
an active member of the South
Central Wisconsin Division of the
NMRA for more than 25 years. In
addition to model railroading, Bob
enjoys photography, videography,
genealogy, and maintaining a
Facebook page on the history of his
hometown of Grafton, Wis.
A retired
broadcast engi-
neer, Bob lives in
DeForest, Wis.,
with his wife,
Emily. They have
two adult chil-
dren and two
grandchildren.Meet Bob Wundrock
Find links to Bob’s videos of the Rice Lake, Dallas & Menomonie under Online Extras at http://www.ModelRailroader.com.
❻ A 4-6-2 Pacific type speeds train
No. 6 through the curve at Wheeler. The
far background buildings are on the
upper level in Barron, which is No. 6’s
next station stop.