Yard switching times vs. mainline running times

Here's the shocking fact: It takes at least 30 minutes of real time to break down a 15 car train in my HO layout's main yard, Interbay (Balmer). That's assuming there's only one person doing the switching. In theory, it would be faster if there were two people, one working each end of the yard. In practice, they would have to spend time coordinating their moves and keeping track of what goes where, so it's hard to say how much real time would be "saved." I put the word "saved" in quotes, to question whether saving time is the purpose of the "work," when model railroading is supposed to be about play, right?

I discovered this (obvious fact) accidentally by filming and editing a video on "how to break down an incoming train". I was thinking I could do it in 15 minutes, working by myself, but it took 30. If there had been another incoming train during that time, it would have taken much longer.

At one of my favorite op sessions in memory, everything was going great, and the yardmaster at Everett (the next town to the north of Interbay) asked me "is it true there is no train length limit on trains between Everett and Seattle?" To which I said "yes." So he sent a transfer run to Interbay with a cut of 40 (unblocked) cars. Since the longest siding in Interbay holds about 25 cars, this incoming monster filled the only remaining track in Interbay and blocked the north yard throat and both main tracks, preventing any further train moves out of Interbay to or from the north (which is most of the layout).

I don't remember what happened next. I think the Interbay yardmaster broke the train in two, but the only available track to put the second cut on was the mainline. Now both the yard and the mainline were plugged. There was still a lot of switching going on around the layout, so I think what happened is we ran down the clock and let the session come to an end, without unplugging the railroad. It took me hours of (very enjoyable) switching to get everything straightened out, during the following days. But I learned my lesson - maximum train length 25 cars. No exceptions, except for unit trains that don't require yard switching.

But today I'm thinking about another lesson. If it takes over 30 minutes to break down even a moderate length train, how many merchandise trains is it feasible to run in an entire op session? It only takes 2 to 5 minutes to run the 1 or 2 scale miles between my staging yards and the first yard they come to, or between yards. If we are going to have fun with a dispatcher and trains passing each other on the mainline, it's going to have to happen with unit trains and passenger trains.

My operating sessions are based on a condensed version of the actual prototype trains that ran during a typical day in 1973 in the greater Seattle region (BN, MILW & UP). I started out trying to do that in a single op session of about 7 hours. (3 hours before lunch, 4 hours after lunch). We never came close to finishing it, so I moved to having 14 hours of op session, over two days, with a 2:1 fast clock. And we never finish that either. What I'm thinking now is, forget the fast clock, just don't run more than one merchandise train in from staging in each direction (N, S & W) until the yardmasters are caught up. Regardless of how long that takes. There is plenty of work going on with all the locals and unit trains to keep everyone busy, without clogging up the yards too much by excessive adherence to prototype merchandise train schedules. 10 or 12 operators is not enough to simulate hundreds of prototype railroad employees.