Communication for Safety and Traffic Flow 
Clear and concise communications via a chain of command are critical on a real railroad. While no one will get killed by a model train as the result of a communications error, good communications will eliminate problems when trying to run multiple trains, just as it does on the prototype. Regardless, our goal is to simulate a real railroad; thus implementing communication schemes are a major
An Order is a written superseding instruction from a superior (often in regards to the Timetable, but sometimes also the Rulebook).
~ Because its contents may override previously printed documents, an Order must be explicitly written out, and all affected employees must affirm that they have accurately received [EXPLANATION] the superseding instruction (separate copies are not required on a model railroad if all the affected layout users can access a single posted copy). Stations (e.g., any location, including freight/passenger depots and towers, manned by a Station Operator [EXPLANATION]) are sometimes equipped with a physical "Order Board" [EXPLANATION], which indicates to a passing train crew if there is a critical Order waiting for them that they must affirm with their signature.
A Rulebook (sometimes euphemized in other businesses as an "employee manual") is simply a collection of standing Orders that have been organized (typically into numbered verses called "rules") and bound. It is the
A model railroads Rulebook (singular) is the place where not only standing instructions for our simulated train crews are kept, but also instructions aimed at the layout users (such as what to do in a fire). While most real railroads have standardized their rule numbering between railroads on a national level over the decades, this has mainly been to facilitate ease in re-training employees coming from a competitors railroad. It is more practical for 3rail modelers to impose their own rule numbering scheme (as well as other communication schemes used on the model railroad). Every model railroad should have Rulebook, and at the very least it need only contain one sentence:
"Turn off the Main Power when you have finished using the layout.".
*** Modelers who only operate trains in a non-opposing in-line manner can safely run their railroad using nothing more than the instructions written in the modelers Rulebook!
Between Rulebook printings, written superseding changes/addendums to rules printed in the Rulebook are made by a superior using an Order known as a Bulletin Order [EXPLANATION]. On our model railroad the Bulletin Orders should be kept in a location (such as for example the train room entrance) where layout users can review them (and sign that they have read them) before they start running any trains.
If you have ever ridden a bus or flown on a plane, you have been exposed to a slimmed-down Public Timetable. An Employee Timetable is where information about all of the days planned train movements are listed (as well as other details, such as unique information about a specific spur). The Employee Timetable is closely linked with the railroads standard clock [EXPLANATION], and displays snapshots of both When and Where a scheduled train is supposed to be. As such, a scheduled train must never leave ahead of its schedule.
*** Any modeler who may face an opposing or passing train situation needs to, for accident prevention, implement a Timetable!
The Timetable works in conjunction with the Rulebook, and the Rulebook must specify train Precedence. Precedence (a non-physical form of "staff and ticket" [EXPLANATION] control) determines which train has priority to use a segment of track, and is determined first by Class (e.g., which type of train has superiority over another), and then by Direction (e.g., which bearing the train is moving down a track).
Most model railroaders can employ a very simplified Timetable that looks more like a Public Timetable. They theoretically don't even need to tie the Timetable to a specific clock time, and can simply list the round-robin order in which the trains are to reach designated points.
Timetables may be modified by an authorized authority, such as a Dispatcher [EXPLANATION], throughout an operating day (for example adding non-scheduled Extra trains into the days timetable), by the issuance of Train Orders. Train Orders are a time limited form of a Bulletin Order, that affects only certain trains. For safety, all affected parties need to be informed of the Timetable change before they are scheduled to occur. Depending upon the danger they may incur, Train Orders will be of a type that can either be just be verbally acknowledged (and logged), or of a type that requires a written signature. On a model railroad a verbal acknowledgement (or the posting of a written note if extra assurance is necessary) is sufficient. Shrewd modelers could even go so far as to give their operators digital displays into which Orders (and other data such as Switch Lists) can be posted.
A Warrant is a written permission slip from a superior, most commonly used for managing traffic flow in areas lacking controlled trackside signal lights.
~ In the past Warrants were written out, but nowadays most (Track Usage Warrants in particular) can be transmitted directly via radio (the sender must still log that they gave permission however). A "flag" to tell a passenger train that there is a passenger to pickup is treated as a Warrant rather than an Order.
*** Warrants were devised only to make the running of a railroad more efficient (and thus able to handle additional traffic). A modeler who implements a Timetable can forego issuing Warrants, and still move all of their regular trains in a safe manner.
Signals are nothing more than a way for railroad employees to indirectly communicate in real-time. You yourself for example receive signals on roadways in the form of traffic lights and road construction signs. Railroad signals can come in many forms, such as for example a posted blue flag indicating "Men at Work" a locomotive whistle indicating a flagman should return, or a hand signal [EXPLANATION] given to an engineer by a conductor. The most commonly encountered signal is the trackside signal light (such as a green light indicating clear to proceed), which functions as an electrical Track Warrant (that doesn't have to be signed for). Signal types and meanings are railroad specific, and are thus described in that railroads Rulebook (in the same manner as each States unique roadway signals are described in the States DMV Rulebook).
The electronics in modern O-scale locomotives allows modelers to utilize signaling features that were not easily implemented in the past. You can ring the bell as a warning when backing, blow the whistle as an alert when crossing a road at grade, and most importantly, you can display meaningful timetable train marker lights [EXPLANATION] (a crucial safety feature, as all cars do not have to be coupled together to be a part of the same train).
Real railroads send their employees to class in order to learn the railroads unique signals. With our model we usually don't want to go to that extreme, so it is best that all signals used on the layout (and between operators) be kept SIMPLE and to a MINIMUM.
TIP: Even if you do not model a working trackside signal system, because larger prototype railroads will have them, you should give serious consideration to logically placing dummy trackside signal equipment on the layout for scenery purposes (and then importantly write in your Rulebook that they are just scenery objects to be ignored by operators).
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