05-15-2010, 09:58 AM
The way bill & car card functions like the paper work the prototype would use in some cases. They would put all of the information into the computer and have a single manifest for each car. Then they would print out the manifests with a switch list for the train which the conductor would have to decide where to pick up or set out cars. With the way bill and car card, you don't need to type up a fresh manifest for every operating session. The car card describes the car including it's number & reporting marks. The way bill describes the commodity.
When you put the way bill with the car card and assign an industry, you have a manifest. This is pretty basic and maybe obvious to everyone, but I suspect it is worth mentioning. You can use dice or paying cards or even take one leave one systems, but when you go to a way bill and car card system, you actually simulate moving freight from one location to another instead of just doing a switching puzzle.
When you put the way bill with the car card and assign an industry, you have a manifest. This is pretty basic and maybe obvious to everyone, but I suspect it is worth mentioning. You can use dice or paying cards or even take one leave one systems, but when you go to a way bill and car card system, you actually simulate moving freight from one location to another instead of just doing a switching puzzle.