Keep the yard fluid
Tracks are working space, not storage trophies. Always preserve a path for the next move.
FLAGSTAFF YARD OFFICE
First-Time Yardmaster Guide
The yardmaster keeps Flagstaff Yard useful. You are balancing classification, train makeup, arrivals, departures, and switching space while coordinating every mainline foul with Flagstaff Dispatcher.
Build useful trains
Block cars so the road crew receives a train that makes sense for the work ahead.
Protect the main
Yard work stops at the controlled-main boundary until Flagstaff Dispatcher authorizes otherwise.
TAKING THE JOB
Before the first cut moves
Build the mental picture before the physical one.
FIRST TEN MINUTES
Open Flagstaff Yard in order
Take the yard
Read the session packet, yardmaster notes, active bulletins, and the outbound job board. Join voice and answer as Flagstaff Yardmaster.
Inventory what is real
Use Railroader and the Yardmaster Desk to see what cars and power are physically available. Do not plan around cars that are only on paper.
Set priorities
Protect trains with the earliest call or most time-sensitive customer work first. Keep enough room to switch the next move instead of filling every track.
Build outbound cuts
Classify cars by job and practical switching order. Make the road crew’s first work easier when you can do so without tying up the yard.
Coordinate the main
Any move that will foul or enter controlled main track requires coordination with Flagstaff Dispatcher before the move begins.
Release clean trains
Before calling a train ready, verify power, intended cars, handbrakes, route out of the yard, and that the crew knows what they are taking.
CLASSIFICATION
Think in jobs, not individual cars
OUTBOUND
Block for the work ahead
Group cars by train and useful switching order when practical. Do not create extra switching in the yard just to make a cosmetically perfect train.
ARRIVALS
Leave somewhere to receive them
A yard with every track stuffed is no longer a yard. Preserve receiving and runaround capacity for trains returning with pickups.
PRIORITY
Sequence the railroad
Build the next useful departure first, then the one after it. Re-plan when customer work or road delays change the order.
MAINLINE COORDINATION
The handoff to Flagstaff Dispatcher
Flagstaff Yardmaster controls switching priorities inside the yard, but does not independently grant authority onto controlled main track.
Before fouling the main, tell Flagstaff Dispatcher what movement you need and wait for a clear response.
When a road train is ready, tell the dispatcher the train, crew, power, and whether the consist is physically ready to depart.
If a switching move is blocking a road train, say so early. The dispatcher can plan around a known delay much better than a surprise one.
If the yard picture becomes uncertain, stop and inventory. Do not keep shoving cars around while hoping the track you need appears.
CAR WORK & HANDOFFS
Receive staged cars with clear instructions
REMOVE AN ASSIGNMENT
A dispatcher changes who handles the car
At the Dispatcher Desk, expand an unfinished car and open Remove car from assignment. Enter the Dispatcher reason, confirm coordination with the crew, then choose Return car to unassigned work.
The game waybill stays open. The crew must report its actual location and agree who takes responsibility before the packet changes. Completed work and staged handoffs retain their history; use the staged backlog for accepted deferrals.
INDUSTRY FULL
Stage the car, then request acceptance
Ask dispatch for an available holding track. Move the car there in Railroader, secure it, and keep clearance points clear. In the Crew Tablet, expand the car and open Industry full — defer delivery. Enter the exact staging track and reason, confirm securement, and choose Report staged car.
Awaiting acceptance still belongs to the crew. A request alone does not resolve the move or complete the game waybill.
DISPATCHER ACCEPTANCE
Transfer responsibility explicitly
In Awaiting industry space, verify the physical location and securement, choose Accept staged car, enter a dispatcher note, confirm the check, and choose Save dispatcher decision.
Accepted work is deferred for the original crew and remains in the backlog. Rejected requests remain the crew’s responsibility.
SECUREMENT
Standing equipment stays put
FV&N handbrake standard
Standing cars not coupled to a locomotive require one handbrake for every six cars, rounded up, with additional securement whenever grade, conditions, or good judgment require it.
If the locomotive is not coupled, secure the cars before moving away.
Keep escape room. A yardmaster’s best tool is often an empty piece of track.
“Ready” should mean the cars, power, crew, and route out of the yard are actually available.
Once the train leaves the yard, the road crew and dispatcher own the movement. Prepare them well, then let them work.
Yard-limit and yard-lead boards identify your working territory. They do not grant authority to foul or enter the controlled main.
TIE-UP
Leave Flagstaff better than you found it
Before leaving the desk, confirm standing cuts are secured, yard tracks are understandable, unresolved cars are identified, and the next yardmaster or superintendent can tell what remains to be done.