Personally, Ops is one of my favorite aspects of the hobby.
For me it depends on the group. I have only had the chance to operate on a few layouts, one really BIG one. (Close to 2400 sqft room) and had a ball. But some of the folks I think take a bit to serious for me. if I wanted stress and drama. I would have stayed late at work. Way bills time tables… blah. I understand the prototype, and I understand the rules, but too harsh and its no fun. A good group, gooes smooth and its over before you know it.
One of the best stories occured one night when I was working a local switcher on a good sized layout of a gentle man who invited over. I was with out a doubt the youngin as I was easlit 25 year sunder the age average. (im 30) . I was basicaly stuck in this 5 foot section of a good sized garage layout. Well, toward the end of the night, things were slowing and there was a break while the main yard workd out a train. I hooked up a small string and took off out o f my neighboor hood and buzzed the whole layout. Includeing cruseing through the main yard. I was about half away around the room before someone finally figured and asked wha I was doing. I calmy replied that the conducter has had bad gas all nite and the engineer couldnt take it anymore and I was airing out the cab. … laughter broke out and I continued on my way back to my local area.
Can’t say. Never tried the “Way Frieght” experience. Even at the club - we are so busy building, we don’t often get a chance to “operate”. Most ofthetime we have some fun putting th train up and RUNNING them. We have promised ourselves an episode with "Ship It"in the not too distant future.
Which brings me to a question: Why do we always (so it seems) see articles on peddler5 freight movements. These are concentrated in yards and industrial districts: but how about movement OVER THE ROAD? Take a look at the May MR. The layout featured has a long main line, with limited way switching. It is single track, and a considerable amount of effort can be concentrated on the schedue and “meets”. Note that there are several passing sidings, and two live junctions to load the main line. Some trackplans facilitate this type of action - in particular John Armstrongs old White Pass & Yukon, and some of it’s conceptual decendents. Does anybody out there concentrate on the “Mainline Shuffle”?
R.B.C.
For me ops is the reason for the hobby. It’s my enjoyment to share the hobby with others, on my layout and theirs. I’ve got an ops session this Thursday and pretty much every month. If you’re going to be in SE Michigan and would like to try ops, let me know. Once hooked, you’ll not know how you lived without it.
Ops gives me a reason for all my sidings and industries - or is it the other way around?
Either way, it adds to the experience.
I’m in the take it easy camp on ops…
I’ve tried my hand at operations and it just didn’t do much for me. I’ve come to the realization that I’m in this hobby for the creative and artistic aspect. I enjoy designing, building, creating, weathering, running, and admiring other peoples work.
I like ‘operation’ - though it sometimes becomes too much ‘work’. In a post above, someone asked why the ‘way freight’ always gets the glory. I think most experienced operators like the mix of running and switching, usually at a slower pace. Working the lead on a yard job can be stressful, and just running the road trains is OK for a ‘newbie’ who is learing the ropes, but is sort of a mindless exercise for many experienced operators. Even though my layout was designed for ‘operation’, many times I will have a train just looping while I am doing something else…
Jim Bernier
I’m niether here nor there. Whem I was a club member the layout HO was 100x60 and two leveled. It was a pleasure to operate DCC multiple yards towns and industries,so yes in that case a stack of waybills was fun. In my home layout case I’ll operate it but i don’t have a massive storage yard or staging area. So informal operations with the two towns I have other than that I’ll do a timetable for the streetcar operations(gotta keep the passengers happy) so I guess I like to have the ckae and eat it too. Rob
Never tried it so I can’t say. My present layout is still at the loop stage.
Enjoy
Paul
When I stop construction to “play” a bit, I like to operate my railroad in a near realistic way by building consists, scheduling passenger runs, local freight and through freight schedules. Not go as far as having paper work…YET! So, yes I like operations. I do, however, understand the pleasure gained by simply watching the trains run and letting the imagination run wild.
REX [:)]
I’ve only been to 5 operating sessions and had a great time. It convinced me that I need a lot more industry on my layout.
Me just give me a nice layout with some siding so when i feel like adding or dropping a car off I can . If theres a good layout with a couple of reverse loops and auto stoping and starting I’m in heven
I’d be happy to have a complete loop.Right now I have to be satisfied with two parellel straight tracks connected by a crossover.At least I get to watch my trains run[8D].
If you connect a power supply to the rails and increase the voltage the engines actually move.
Operations is what you do once they move.
Dave H.
What will your eventual end-state be, espeefoamer? You know, not the END, 'cuz there are no layout ends, but what is your plan?
As for me, I voted content with a circle…for now. I have a 27’ main that is a funny shaped circle going through a very modest town, and over a couple of bridges and into a loooong tunnel under the mountain that takes up aboout 30% of my layout’s footprint. Also, I have a spur that crosses the face of the mountain and enters a tunnel to spiral up to my mine where it exits onto a stub trestle. Another spur goes past the pax and freight station, over and X crossing, and beyond to the Valley Cement site. Right now, that and a turntable and roundhouse give me enough pleasure and diversity. I am pretty sure that I’ll run out of enthusiasm within a few months, and will want to learn why ops are the next step. That’s just the way it goes, right?
While I build operations capability into my layouts, I build more so I can go on all those railfan trips I missed out on. So trains move on my layout mostly due to inclination and general traffic rules. Say I am running the Empire Builder West Bound, and Rick is running a hot shot freight east, I will call out to him to take the hole as he approaches the next siding between us because I have the senior train. But all those waybills, dispatching, and formality. That moves away from mixing up a daquiri, turning on the music, relaxing and watching the trains roll by.
However, If I were to to suddenly find my self in the middle of a group of people who wanted to organize a formal operating session, then my layout that I am planning will be built so formal operations can take place if eneugh people gather that they would like to try that.
I agree. I enjoy operating a lot, but car cards, waybills, ect. just suck the fun right out of it. I just like to run trains!
and after all that…you OP it…8-}
OP guy<<< desiging layout with OP in mind…
OP TIL YOU DROP!!!
If I can’t operate, I’m not interested, or at least, not for long. I find that just running a train to be boring, tedious and dull, especially after the first couple loops. I need a reason to be moving the cars…otherwise I may as well get out my old Tyco slot cars.
Canazar, if you just took off running though my club’s layout during an operation session like that and I was dispatcher, I’d think I’d have a apolexy or something. [:)] Man, that would freak me out, and I’d probably shut down the layout to find out what’s going on. I take pride in my operations and put a lot of work into it, and to have somebody go out of there way to mess me up would get an ear full. Not to say anything against you, but at least at my club, there’s a time for play (almost every day of the year) and a time to operate (limited to only about 6 times a year). To me, it would be like someone spending hours putting down hand made trees on the layout for an open house, then in the middle of the open house, a member goes along and snaps them all off to make an “after the hurricane” scene.
“Different strokes for different folks”, YMMV, and all that.
Paul A. Cutler III
Chairman, Operations Committee
South Shore Model Railway Club, Inc.
www.ssmrc.org