Michael,

What you are doing should be covered by using a "car float" and "active staging".

The car float is enabled in Administration->Spot Format And Special Spots".
If I recall correctly ProTrak will route cars to and from the float based on the connection points for the float.
Search the Ops forum for "float" and you will get several post concerning float operations that may help.

You will probably need a fictional train to take the cars from the float to the desired staging track.
Easy to do but you may need a fictional yard to allow proper routing
(I have 2 fictional trains that take cars from 2 interchanges and move them to off layout storage and return when normal unloading is done).

The active staging allows removal of cars from  staging and is setup in Administration->Active Staging Options.
It will also need to be turned on for each desired staging track.
Active staging is discussed in the PTBM App L entry M.15

Hope this helps,

John Valle
Freelanced GN Rachel Branch in '68

Hi,

Sorry if I was not clear. Yes the car float would run from the on layout terminal to a "fictitious" terminal off layout. A "fictitious" train would then take the cars from the float at a "fictitious" float terminal to a "fictitious" staging track which could use active staging to allow removal of the cars from the layout for a number of sessions. The cars could physically stay on the float or be moved to a drawer as desired. Hopefully John M can assist with the specific mechanics of float ops.
ProTrak should route cars destined for the "fictitious" staging via the float and the "fictitious" train to staging.
Depending on any limits on floats I would expect you could have multiple floats (or float routes) serve multiple "fictitious" staging tracks.

From my own experience "fictitious" trains are pretty easy. I have 2 interchanges with logging railroads. For Each I created a Yd yard and 2 customers (a freight house and a log loading). At the end of each session I run one "fictitious" train for each logging railroad that takes cars from the interchange and delivers them to the "fictitious" customers and returns cars from the "fictitious" customers to the interchange. I crated the "fictitious" Yd yard because it made it easier for the "fictitious" train to route the cars properly. Each logging railroad has 2 stations: the actual  station where its interchange track is and the "fictitious" station where its yard and 2 customers are.
Physically when I run the "fictitious" trains I manually remove the affected cars from the interchange tracks putting them in off layout storage and take the desired cars from the off layout storage placing them on the interchange tracks.

Hope this is a better explanation,

John Valle
Freelanced GN Rachel Branch in '68

Cowboy,

The only method in ProTrak to remove cars from and later return cars to the layout is "Active Staging". There fore you need to get the cars to staging, either actual or "fictitious".

The biggest question I see is how many car float loads arrive an depart per day/session.

- If only once each way and preferably inbound first and outbound later, designating the float as a staging track and running an actual train that takes cars from your "Yd" yard to staging (the float) should work fine except ProTrak will think the loco is on the float (since it is in Staging) even if it actually returns to your engine terminal. Graphically:

station A ---------- sta B ------------Yd yard ----------- Sta C-------- Sta D     (or however your physical layout is setup)
                                                /        \
                   train to staging (float)        train to staging (float)
                                              /            \
                                 Staging (physically your float) - use active staging to remove to and return cars from storage

- If the float has multiple runs or you have multiple floats or multiple other end terminals for the float.
Set up your physical float terminal as one end for multiple floats. Create a "fictitious" terminal, "Yd" yard and staging track for the other end of each float route (the yard and staging and possibly the terminal will be a different railroad {RRA} - not your PGE). Setup "fictitious" RRA trains to move cars to/from your float from/to the "fictitious" RRA Yd yard and a second pair of "fictitious" RRA trains to/from the RRA Yd yard from/to the "fictitious" RRA staging (you may be able to combine these into one pair of trains).
If you have multiple runs of the float between the same terminals then add a second "fictitious" staging track for RRA and a second set of "fictitious" trains to handle the cars.
If you have multiple off layout terminals for the float(s) create multiple sets of "fictitious" terminals, "Yd" yards and staging tracks for RRB, RRC, etc. Graphically:

station A ---------- sta B ------------Yd yard ----------- Sta C-------- Sta D     (or however your physical layout is setup)
                                                    \  
                                             Float Terminal (on Layout)
                                               \           \
                                                \        Float route to RRA terminal
                                                 \           \
                                                  \        RRA float Terminal ("fictitious") --- RRA Yd yard ("fictitious")--- RRA Staging 1 ("fictitious")
                                                   \                                                                                      _____ RRA Staging 2 ("fictitious")
                                                    \
                                                    Float route to RRB terminal
                                                       \
                                                        RRB float Terminal ("fictitious") --- RRB Yd yard ("fictitious") ----- RRB Staging 1 ("fictitious")
                                            .                                                                   .                            _____ RRB Staging 2 ("fictitious")

You would run all the "fictitious" trains between your sessions using active staging to remove and return cars form the layout as desired. If you have multiple physical floats you 'dock' on your layout they can all be preloaded and put in place when the float is due to arrive. If not you will have to place the appropriate cars on the float using the float's switchlist form ProTrakbefore you report the floats arrival at you on layout terminal.

ProTrak should route cars to your float for each staging destination based on your waybills/carorders and overhead traffic setup. At the appropriate time you would run the carfloat (i believe similar to running a train) and take your float off the layout (or unload it manually if only 1 float with multiple runs) before placing the next arriving float in place (or loading it from the next float waybill).

Note: you can use the ("fictitious") RRA setup even if there is only 1 float run per day as it would probably be more realistic paperwork wise than the float as staging approach. You would only need to handle cars between sessions in that case.

I am basing my suggestions on remembering old discussions that the float acted like a connecting 'train' between its 2 terminals. The specifics of how it is loaded and unloaded are not familiar to me, but i do not recall hearing of any issues. Based on my own experience I can not envision any issues over use of fictitious trains, stations, yards, staging and float terminals, but you do need to print the waybills to make sure you get the cars to the correct locations. The same should be true for active staging.

Best,

John Valle
Freelanced GN Rachel Branch in '68

i'm cursed!!!

I logged in, wrote a long reply and i mean long, minimized the app to check something in PT and found that I was logged out by the app and lost all my wonderful insights (!) to setting up the car float and virtual yards, industries, etc

Cowboy, John V. and Joe, if you give me your emails, i promise to replicate it for your info.  Joe, it could be the start of an addition to the Manual.  

Curses, double curses!

John Mitchell

mitchel2 at Rogers.com