Modern
Clean ruled form
A crisp, plain form that photocopies well and is easy to read in the aisle.
Download PDFSwitch Lists in Three Styles
These are the forms Torus Train Ops prints, left blank for you to fill in by hand. Each one has 24 numbered lines for the car, its type, contents, where it comes from and where it goes, with pick up and set out columns.
Heritage
1940s–1960s railroad form
Laid out like the typed and ruled forms railroads used in the steam and early diesel years, on tan stock.
Download PDF
Office Printout
1970s–1990s green-bar
The green-bar computer paper that came off the yard office printer, banded for easy reading across the line.
Download PDFCar Cards and Waybills
The waybills are sized to ride in the car card pocket, with the destination showing at the top.
Car Cards
6 per sheet · 2.5 × 5 in
One card per car: owner, reporting marks and number, car type, color and where it goes when empty. The lower half is marked for the waybill pocket.
Download PDF
Waybills & Empty Car Bills
9 per sheet · 2 × 3 in · 2 pages
Page one is waybills: where the load is going, who receives it, the commodity and who shipped it. Page two is empty car bills, for sending cars home again.
Download PDF
Four-Cycle Waybills
6 per sheet · 2.25 × 3.25 in · two-sided
Four trips on one bill. Cycles 1 and 2 print on the front and cycles 3 and 4 on the back, so a car keeps moving for four sessions before you write a new bill.
Download PDFHow Car Cards, Waybills and Switch Lists Work Together
Most model railroad operating sessions run on one of two kinds of paperwork, and plenty of railroads use both.
Car cards and waybills
Every car on the railroad gets a car card that stays with it. When the car has somewhere to go, a waybill goes in the card’s pocket, showing the station, the industry receiving it and what it carries. The crew sorts the cards for their train, does the work, and leaves each card at the car’s new location. When the trip is done, the waybill comes out, or an empty car bill sends the car home.
Four-cycle waybills
A four-cycle waybill holds four trips. Only the cycle at the top shows above the pocket. Between sessions, turn the bill end for end to bring up the next cycle, then flip it over for cycles 3 and 4. One bill keeps a car moving for four sessions.
Switch lists
A switch list puts a train’s whole job on one sheet, in the order the work is done: which cars to pick up, where each one goes, and whether it is loaded or empty. It is quick to read in the aisle and easy to check off as you go.
Printing Tips
- Print at Actual size or 100%. “Fit to page” shrinks the cards so they no longer match the stated size.
- Use cardstock for car cards and waybills. 65 to 110 lb cardstock holds up to handling much better than plain paper. Switch lists are fine on plain paper.
- Cut on the crop marks. The short lines in the gutters mark each card’s edges. A paper cutter makes quick work of a sheet.
- Print four-cycle waybills two-sided. Page 2 is the back. Flip on the long edge; the layout is centred, so the backs line up either way.
- Make the pocket 2.25 inches wide inside. Every waybill here fits, and the destination stays visible above it.
Tired of Writing Them Out by Hand?
Filling in waybills and switch lists for every car, every session, is the part of operations most of us would rather skip.
Torus Train Ops does it for you. You set up your industries and what they ship and receive; Torus creates the car orders, assigns cars to trains, and prints a switch list and a full set of waybills for each job, already filled in.
The switch lists on this page are Torus’s own forms, and its printed waybills are the same 2 × 3 inch card as the template here, so they drop into the same car card pockets. Crews who prefer a screen can work from their phones instead.
Questions
Are these templates really free?
Yes. Download, print and copy them as often as you like for your own railroad and your operating crew. There is no signup and no email required.
What size are the car cards and waybills?
Car cards are 2.5 by 5 inches, six to a sheet. Waybills and empty car bills are 2 by 3 inches, nine to a sheet. Four-cycle waybills are 2.25 by 3.25 inches, six to a sheet. All of them fit a car card pocket 2.25 inches wide.
What paper should I print them on?
Plain paper works for switch lists. Car cards and waybills hold up better on 65 to 110 lb cardstock. Print at Actual size or 100%, not Fit to page, so the cards come out at their stated size.
How do four-cycle waybills work?
Each bill carries four trips. Only the cycle at the top shows above the car card pocket. Turn the bill end for end to show the next cycle, then flip it over for cycles 3 and 4, so one bill keeps a car moving for four sessions.
Should I use switch lists or car cards and waybills?
Either works. A switch list puts a train’s whole job on one sheet. Car cards and waybills travel with each car, which makes it easy to hand a job from one crew to the next. Many railroads use both.
Can software fill these out for me?
Yes. Torus Train Ops creates the car orders from your industries and prints switch lists and waybills for each train, already filled in. Its printed waybills are the same 2 by 3 inch size as the template here.