What makes satisfying Lone Wolf Operation?

I’ve got a 2’x12’ switching layout, a U-shaped 3 track ‘staging yard’ and some other temporary track around the basement walls to represent another town. The switching layout and ‘staging yard’ are FreeMo modules, the other temporary track is on a (more or less) permanent shelf. I like switching the industries and have operated it using different methods…this keeps things interesting (doing research and then implementing the different methods).

Currently, I shuffle a deck of modified playing cards to determine the makeup of a train and then I deliver those cars…it’s prob not prototypical, but I like the randomness of it so each operating session is different.

Of course each time I operate I see, or think of, something that ‘needs’ to be done. Also, since I’m alone I can really ‘get into’ the layout…focusing on where the rest of my ho scale crew is (whether they’re riding a cut of cars or walking to the next turnout…etc) and imagining what is going on at the various industries to warrant the required switching (a lack of cars means production is down for some reason, etc).

Try turning the room lighting down to run in the dark and see how that affects things, run slow and use all the correct sounds (bell, whistle/horn, etc) or sit back and watch your models roll and think about if your track arrangement needs any tweaking (is your runaround or passing siding a half a car too short, or maybe there’s too much track and not enough scenery, etc).

Some days I’m just not really feeling it and running the railroad seems more like work, other days my ops sessions can’t be long enough. Don’t force it and go with the flow. In this hobby there is always something to do…it never gets stagnant for me. Belonging to a freemo group also keeps things fresh (I only take my U-shaped modules, not the switching layout because they don’t all fit in my small car at once…I need to get a full sized van or maybe a small

Shut out the outside world and immerse yourself into the miniature world you created. Step back in time to when you were younger, or into a era in which you were not yet born.

Forget about the real world, forget about your problems.

Same with playing guitar. [8D]

That nails it for me. I like a quiet evening alone in the train room, preferably with no one else home to bother me with requests. Let the sun be gone so I can dim the lights and turn on the structure lighting and streetlamps. I’ll probably click on Pandora and play some era-appropriate music. Then I’ll sit on my lone wolf barstool with a chilled bar glass of a nice hoppy India Pale Ale and just run some trains.

There is an inner serenity that comes with watching the crossing gates come down as a freight slowly makes its way through town.

Well, golly, Mr. B., if you are gonna conduct yourself that way, how 'bout I come over about 8PM tonight and pop a brewsky with you. [B][Y]

Rich

Sure, but my railroad, my rules.

I’ve got 4 throttles, but only one bar stool.

I am lonewolfing it, too. Operation and construction/modification are a hand-in-hand sort of thing here. I have many hobbies and I work MR in spurts. Each spurt in MR is an adventure all over again. I tend to like doing things in my own way, from operation to construction.

Unlike most narrow gaugers, (too serious for me), I play rather fast and loose on what many might look at as “failure to adhere”.

I figure, if you can’t do it your way, why be involved at all. (part of the lone wolf’s creed, I guess)

I have a simple folded dogbone mainline, with one long stub (single end) siding off the mainline. That is partly because I experienced some issues with voltage drop across the Kato turnouts over time.

I just enjoy running trains and “railfanning” my own trains. I put together a consist I like and put an engine on that I want to watch, and simply sit back and watch the train go around and around.

My day job as a consulting civil engineer can be challenging, as can dealing with my kids, so watching a train run around in relative circles late at night before bed can be very relaxing.

That’s what I do.

Hello all,

I’m a lone wolf by geographic isolation not by choice.

Eventhough I am an NMRA member the nearest club is 89-miles away (almost a 2-hour drive). My closest opportunity to volunteer is the same distance and time in the opposite direction.

I am also in the minority by using the Dynamis DCC system for control of my Digitrax, TCS and Bachmann decoder equipped motive power and rolling stock.

My re-introduction to the hobby was reading Linn Westcott’s book; Model Railroading with John Allen, about the famous Gorre & Daphetid Railroad. Shortly there after I bought a D/C starter set with single cab control.

I built a 4’x8’ table top pike; a freelanced coal themed pike, set in the 1980’s with a 3% elevation gain/loss.

This first itineration was a D/C layout with dual cab control with 16 control blocks.

Along with the coal branch mainline there is also a coal loading/unloading raised platform. I also incorporated a time saver into the pike.

Some op sessions are focused on making and setting out cars and/or cuts for servicing the mine with mixed trains. Others are focused on mileage over the mainline for the coal trains. While other sessions are focused on the loading/unloading ops of the coal train.

Because of the historic spiral trestile an “Olde Tyme” excursion train; made up of a 0-6-0 steam engine with Vanderbuilt tender and two passenger cars with a bobber caboose share the line on special run days.

All of this allows me the flexibility of deciding what I want to do at any op session.

Yes, I miss out on the camaraderie of including fellow modelers in my op sessions. On the other hand I can do what I want, when I want, at any time I choose without explanation, frustration and/or confusion.

Eventually I would like to let go of the lone wolf monicker, but for now it suits my situation and purposes.

Hope this helps.

Have been a lone wolf since 1970: HO for some years, then N scale. My interest never flags and being retired, I spend hours on my current (since 1992) layout of the Union Pacific overland. I construct most buildings of cardstock and freelance grain elevators, coal operations, towns and yards. Years back, I developed my own card system which detailed train #, commodity, tonnage and estination. Then I began keeping records with monthly summaries and annual reports.

My goal is to approximate train movements and commodity ratios of the Union Pacific. Am running over 100 locos and 650 cars, often with 15-17 trains on the layout at any given time. These vary in length up to 65 cars with a five loco consist. Since I run practically every day, tracks seldom need cleaning. As others have noted, there is always something to improve or add. I use the old standard DC set up with a number of control stations and avoidcomplex switching. 200 ft mainline, a dozen or so cities and even several National Forests. Point to point, not much of a spectator sport, but keeps me busy and enthusiastic.

I have to agree with Richard.

Not having room for a proper operations orientated layout, or even room for crew members, I tried doing the “display” type railroads with continous running. I thought, incorrectly, that building structures and rolling stock would be enough.

When it came time to redesign the layout and start over, the Micro Layout web site run by the late Carl Carendt was inspirational. Carl’s assertion that even the smallest layouts can be operated informed all of my planning. At that time, Tony Koester was publishing a series of essays about the joys of operations.

Even though I am a lone wolf operator, I am extremely happy that I took their advice.

Kevin

As others have said or implied, I like to replicate realistic train movements. For me, one train at a time with five trains in a scale week trundling over the countryside and swapping out cars along the way. One scale week of ops takes about 2 hours.

I don’t go to the layout room every day, sometimes not for a few weeks, but that length of operating session keeps me entertained.

A more robust layout with more trains and more ops, schedules, etc. would seem overwhelming to me and would probably not be so enjoyable to manage.

For me its switching cars in a yard or at industries in a prototypical manner while observing basic operation and safety rules.

If all I did was build and then tear it out I would have quit the hobby decades ago.

Besides I want to enjoy my locomotive and car investment by using them.

I agree. Trains (and guitars) are a lot more fun to play with than a coin collection. lol

I too am a lone wolf. I do belong to a round robbin group here in town. We all have our own layouts, but we meet once a month and “tour” selected layouts during each of those meets.

I have a small switching layout that is DC operated, point-to-point, HO scale, 20 feet long, with two throttles. That gives me the option of operating by myself or giving a friend the opportunity to do the switching chores on the other end of the layout. Presently I can run trains, the track is all wired and the controls are all in place, but it is not fully operational yet. I have a couple of spurs that need to be completed and some mock-ups of some of the new planned structures to build before I can actually have any kind of an op session. I have found that, even with a small layout such as this one, there’s plenty that can be done. I don’t really think I’ll actually get bored with it.