Rock Island v.2.0 - Scale Operations + Weight Project

I was thinking more about scale operations the other day.  I remembered a friend had installed the electronic scale by Boulder Creek Engineering.  On his layout, he used it for weighing loaded coal trains while in motion.

So, I researched it some more.  This would be perfect for the ROCK at Ottawa Silica.  The gross weight on these hoppers are 263,000 lbs.  I could set the range on the Boulder Creek Engineer scale to display a range from 240,000 to 270,000 lbs.  Majority of the cars would fall under the max gross weight of 263,000, but occasionally (at random) one would display a weight above.  The crew would record the weights as the car is stopped on the scale (only one at a time vs weigh in motion).  Once the bell sounds, they can move the next car onto the scale.  At no point can the locomotive be on the scale so they would require a buffer car when weighing a cut of hoppers.  If the car is over tonnage, they will have to indicate that on their switch list, contact the Ottawa Silica plant manager and set the car off to have some of the load reduced.  Typically, they reduced the load wherever it was spotted.  You would find sand piles scattered throughout the yard where loads were reduced or hoppers were leaking.

This procedure would add some randomness to the operations.  Also, the crew would find themselves dealing with rejected cars for mechanical issues or various other reasons.  A sample of the scale form is below.

In other news, with my daughters' help, I completed adding weight to all the freight cars.  There are only a handful that can't be broken apart (mainly Exactrail).  Those will have to stay as is because I can't bring myself to part with those.