Passenger traffic consisted primarily of commuter traffic between Hartford and Waterbury, with a daily roundtrip to Bridgeport, and another to Boston. Traffic increased starting in 1950, first with the reassignment of Comet, and then the Shoreliners. This was shortlived as passenger service suffered during and after the McGinnis administration. The station was torn down in 1956, and service discontinued less than a decade later.

Freight traffic, on the other hand, was in a steady decline until it temporarily increased due to the Korean conflict. The two major freight routes were Hartford-Maybrook and Cedar Hill-Holyoke and included LCL traffic from the freight depot at the Whiting Street Yard destined for the fast freight NE-1 known as Speed Witch. The Maybrook freights were discontinued in 1949 but reinstated in 1951.

 

Local (way) freights were minimal in New Britain. In some years where there are two daily round trips to Maybrook there is no local through New Britain. When traffic was reduced to one or no Maybrook freights, a local would stop on the way to and from New Hartford long enough to pick up and drop off cars at New Britain Yard. The switching itself was handled by the local switchers. In some years, the New Hartford local would terminate in New Britain or Plainville instead of Hartford.

While I've got a nearly complete collection of passenger, freight, and employee timetables for the era, due to the nature of the layout I will not be running timetable and train order operations against a fast clock. Instead, trains will be run sequentially to simulate the actual operating day, but without worrying about meeting a particular schedule.

The entire layout is within yard limits. As such, I won't need a dispatcher. Yard Limit rules are simple. 

All trains must operate at yard speed, that is prepared to stop.

First class trains on the mainline operate per posted speed limits. 

Any train can occupy any track without protection, but must clear the main 15 minutes before a first class (i.e. passenger) train is scheduled to leave the prior station. In my case this is Newington or Plainville. If they are not clear of the main at this time, then they must protect against the first class train.

So I plan on using a fast clock, probably set to something between 2:1 and 4:1. Operators will have the passenger schedules, but are really only concerned with those two stations.

I was planning on using brakeman figures for protection, but since that will be very unlikely I don't know if I'll need them.

Although I enjoy operating with Time Table and Train Orders, there will be very little operating paperwork needed.

Trains will have a Clearance Card. Many operation schemes use a train card or train sheet that includes the locomotive information, etc. A prototypical Clearance Card serves the same general purpose.

Most trains won't carry any more orders beyond that, although I could (should) supply Form 19 orders for the freight trains since they are technically extras.

Freight trains will have waybills and switch lists. I haven't determined whether I'll have all of the waybills for a through freight, or only those for New Britain.

One position that will be relatively unique on my layout is the Agent position. Filling in for the Station/Freight Agent and associated clerks, their job will be to organize the work of the two switch crews.

When a train drops cars off in New Britain, the waybills will be given to the Agent. As on the prototype, the Agent will manage the waybills and similar paperwork (Empty and Home Route Cards, etc.). They will write up switch lists for the switching crews.

As on the prototype, all of the bills will go to the Agent, and not to boxes at each industry. The Agent will also receive orders to pick up the cars, and empty orders from the industries. This was typically done either by phone, or by clerks who went to each industry.