The railroad in this operating scheme is the Clinchfield Railroad, modeling the fictitious Dante branch, and a fictitious segment of the mainline.  All names (except for Blue Creek) are from actual locations on the Clinchfield, but none are representative of their namesakes.  Leased or off-road power rarely makes an appearance.

 

The locals are divided into "branch" and "main".  Both locals originate from and return to Dante Yard, represented by the staging tracks.  The "main" local runs along a stretch of single track mainline, switching out empties for loads, and swapping out cars at the Norfolk & Western interchange at St. Paul.  The "branch" local runs up a branchline, swapping out the appropriate cars, and shuffling around the piggyback cars.

 

Motive power for this operating scheme can be found here.

An option for this operating scheme is to include through train(s) running down the mainline.  They can be longer than the sidings and there could be as many as desired.  Due to the fact that there are only two staging sidings which are only so long, these extra trains will not fit into the regular staging tracks.  I could either build these trains by hand in the open layout (which isn't a problem), or I could use an interchange extension (see Track Plan) on which to build the trains, or a staging extension (see Track Plan) to properly stage them.

 

 

The rules in this scenario are:

1) No cars can be left behind at a siding on the mainline, because the mainline and passing sidings need to be kept clear for through trains.

2) Due to the high priority of the piggyback traffic, the branch local must switch the town of Blue Creek first, and piggyback service may have to be switched out more than once a day.

3) Other than during switching moves, the engine should keep the complete train and caboose with it at all times.