A new feature was added to ProTrak with this week's Update.  On the "manual train scheduling" window, there is a new button "Print as Jobs".  See, from the main menu, "Scheduling/Manual Scheduling - Running Times".

The "Print as Jobs" function divides each job into segments from "Yd yard to Yd yard", taking into account the train's dwell time at a Yd yard. If the dwell time (time from arriving to leaving) is greater than 1/2 hour, this function makes a new segment.   The idea is that each segment could be under the control of a separate conductor/engineer (C&E).

The printing is by Departure Time. 

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Some Explanation

As you know, the railroad here is three 500-ft divisions (actual feet).  That is can be a long haul and may be as far as a crew wishes to walk before sitting down.  Having jobs as segments gives crew a chance to hand-over the train to a new C&E crew.

The dwell time at Yd yard may be long, as the yard crews work the train.  If the work is more than a simple block-swap and/or there is some blocking to re-done (e.g. for dynamics) the waiting-around time may be more than a C&E crew is willing to wait - and it may put the yard-crew under some unnecessary time pressure.  Having train C&E crew swap out, between job segments will relieve the yard-crew from time pressure.

Having the train C&E crew "get down off their locomotive", handing the train-job off, clearly delineates between "train work" and "yard work".  This emphasizes to the train-crew that their paperwork is valid only for that one job-segment (to that yard) and that their train-consist is not yard-paperwork.

If you run your railroad, as I do, between 'formal' operating sessions, this print-out provides organization as to which trains to run where - in a manner that simulates the train-interactions of an actual operating session.  i.e. the printout tells me to run PMBAR to Baden Yd - then stop, as the train is worked there.  Then this schedule tells me to run BODT to St.J  and stop while it is worked there.   And so on.

The print-out shows the segment number for each job segment.  The most complicated train-jobs here have 5 segments.  In the example above I could run any of 6 other trains on their first segment, before I should run either PMBAR or BODT to their next segment.

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An added benefit is that this list more plainly shows which Yd yards are scheduled to handle a lot of trains at the same time - thus causing me to re-think the line-up.

And of course, you can ignore some of the job segments and just have the crew "run through".  The scheduled dwell time at each Yd is shown on the print-out.  A short dwell may mean "run through".  A long time dwell time may mean "job done"!

       Jim

P.S.  "Scheduling/Manual Scheduling - Running Times" is one of three methods for entering train schedules.  This may be the easiest method.