Little presumptuous to come here, make 12 posts, and then call a goodly number of the regulars here who like realistic operation “losers,” isn’t it?
To Tomikawa,Redgrey and Midnite, If you would read my post instead of going off half cocked, you will notice I said ‘‘there were arguments over couplers, roadnames and loco numbering’’ NO WHERE did I say a word about any ‘‘regulars’’, it clearly refers to the idiots in the club I left, I never said anyone on this forum was a loser, you merely ASSUMED that, for what reason, we can only guess. If you would read BEFORE you type you could save yourself considerable embarassment. Fun IS subjective, I know guys who love to super detail, I don’t get that far into it, I know guys who love to put complete building interiors in, I don’t do that either. I also know guys who are so caught up in ‘‘prototypical’’ that
pbjw:
I should hope so. It’s a model railroad forum. adjusts pocket protector
Lest we forget, “Nerd” is a badge of honor. See:FOO. See also:TMRC.
Model railroaders aren’t the only ones who like playing dispatcher. My brother had a very unusual “flight simulator” game. You weren’t the pilot, you were the air traffic controller. Very fast-paced and very absorbing game.
I have never seen that happen here.
I have, however, seen people come to this forum, insult others, accuse them of “going off half-cocked,” and then express surprise that such posts are not welcome.
Several years back I saw a video of a commencement exercise at a college graduation. The speaker spent the better part of 45 minutes covering 10 specific “points to consider” on how to survive in life, both with a career and socially. His last point (#1) was this, “NEVER EVER MAKE FUN OF THE NERDS YOU MEET IN LIFE, BECAUSE SOMEDAY I MAY BE SIGNING YOUR PAYCHECK”
That speaker was Bill Gates of microsoft fame (and fortune)…
food for thought!!!
Well midnite if you haven’t seen the abuse put out by some of members on this forum you need your eyes checked!! Did you even read my other posts? I didn’t think so, i want you to show me where I insulted anyone…c’mon show all of us! I get the feeling I struck a nerve with you, and you decided to go off half cocked and embarass yourself in front of everyone…why? Last time I checked this is still a free country and we still have 1st Amendment rights…so why do you and your buddies feel the need to deride and make fun of others??
I liked Your “take” on this subject.When operating on a large double deck layout with 6 or 7 other operators that you can’t even see it helps to have a radio (headsets would nice!) so everone does’nt have to HOLLER. You need to know what siding to wait in just like the real Roads. I admit it was kinda corny at first but I got used to it! I guess my point is the same as Yours don’t knock it "til You try it. Let’s all just gettalongggggggggggg. randy
HMM. I went back and re-read the entire thread to see if anyone actually could be accused of abusing you and I saw no evidence of said abuse. OTOH, it does appear that you seem to be rather prickly when people disagree with you and take the disagreement as abuse. Seems to me people were rather polite.
BTW, accusing people who enjoy operation as being mostly “rivet counters” coupled with accusing them of forgetting what fun is could be construed as insulting people. It just so happens I enjoy operation. It’s fun. In fact it’s just ONE of the things that makes the hobby interesting. Model railroading is the only hobby where you can not only physically reproduce the equipment and the infrastructure of the real thing, you can actually simulate the operational aspects of the real thing as well. In fact, if you wanted to go that far, you could simulate the business of railroading too (i.e. the “bean counter” stuff).
You can build model airplanes, but you can’t reproduce the operation of an airline. You can build model ships, but you can’t reproduce the operation of, say an oil tanker company like Frontline ( http://www.frontline.bm/ ). You can build model buses, but I’ve yet to see anyone operate his/her buses in a “prototypical” manner.
The “Lament of a Dispatcher”
[#oops] MY JOB
I’m not allowed to run the train
The whistle I can’t blow
I’m not allowed to say how fast
The railroad train can go
I’m not allowed to shoot off steam
Nor even clang the bell
But let the damned train jump the track
And see who catches hell !!!
[quote user=“andrechapelon”]
HMM. I went back and re-read the entire thread to see if anyone actually could be accused of abusing you and I saw no evidence of said abuse. OTOH, it does appear that you seem to be rather prickly when people disagree with you and take the disagreement as abuse. Seems to me people were rather polite.
BTW, accusing people who enjoy operation as being mostly “rivet counters” coupled with accusing them of forgetting what fun is could be construed as insulting people. It just so happens I enjoy operation. It’s fun. In fact it’s just ONE of the things that makes the hobby interesting. Model railroading is the only hobby where you can not only physically reproduce the equipment and the infrastructure of the real thing, you can actually simulate the operational aspects of the real thing as well. In fact, if you wanted to go that far, you could simulate the business of railroading too (i.e. the “bean counter” stuff).
You can build model airplanes, but you can’t reproduce the operation of an airline. You can build model ships, but you can’t reproduce the operation of, say an oil tanker company like Frontline ( http://www.frontline.bm/ ). You can build model buses, but I’ve yet to see anyone operate his/her buses in a "prot
[i]
Andre, when I referred to the ‘‘abuse’’ it wasn’t in this thread, it was in previous months on many other threads, by a few other members, and I was not the only target. I don’t mind disagreement, I DO mind misquotes, going off half cocked or the total inability to comprehend what is being posted. I call it ‘‘selective reading’’, someone assumes something, infers something or just totally doesn’t get it. I’m guilty of it as well, I’ve inserted foot-in-mouth numerous times in my life.[/i]
You did yourself a disservice by not mentioning the fact that you were not necessarily responding to something specifically in this thread when you used the language you did. How the heck are the rest of us supposed to know what’s behind the vehemence of your posts if you don’t make that clear? We’re not mind readers.
I might be jaded because of my dealings with the ‘‘bad seeds’’ in this hobby and their almost rabid worship of ‘‘prototypical’’, however, I expressed an opinion, and apparently some felt ‘‘insulted’’, oh well, if my reference to ‘‘rivet counters’’ is an insult, those ‘‘offended’’ parties must have very thin skin. I can only go by what I’ve experinced and what I know, I’m sure some out there love all that ‘‘prototypical’’ stuff, but, the idiots that I dealt with took it too far and drove people away with it, so yes, I expect I am jaded, but thats me, take it or leave it.
Yeah, I’ve met those types myself and I kind of put them in the same category of anyone whose attitude is “my way or the highway”. There are control freaks in all areas of life. I’m pretty big on prototype fidelity myself, although I’m more of a “3 foot rule” guy rather than a “if it’s a nanometer off, it’s crap” guy.
Andre
About prototypical operation…my feeling has always been, if that’s your thing, go for it. To me though, the idea of shuffling paper around doesn’t really appeal. I do that all day at work 
(I hope nobody thinks I’m slamming anyone after saying that.) With that said, I enjoy running trains more than sitting at at desk. That aspect doesn’t appear to me. However, I’m not going to blast someone if they enjoy it 
[#ditto] I like having fun too, but dispatching has it’s merits too. I wouldn’t ONLY want to dispatch, but it’s a nice change from operating.
Chip said:I’ve yet to qualify for a dispatcher’s job, but I’d love to try it. You really need to know both the layout and the operational scheme.
Indeed…At the club one needs to work his/her way up the ladder from main line engineer to yard master,then passenger terminal operator and once these jobs are mastered the member can request a DS apprenticeship.It takes around 4-6 months to become a apprentice dispatcher…
You are correct it is a thinking man’s job and there’s where many apprentice fails due to collapsing under the “suppose” pressure and they then volunteer for training as a DS on the branch line.
All one needs to do is plan his/her moves and work those moves while coordinating moves with both yardmasters,both passenger terminal operators and at times the engine terminal operators as well as the branch line dispatcher.Sounds overwheming but,once properly train its quite easy.
Stop yelling. Bold face type is too loud at this time of day!
You’re also straying from the topic. We heard you say that you don’t aspire to prototypical ops based on a bad experience at a club. 'nuff said. We’ve all been there.
And this forum is not “a free country.” It’s a privately run forum operated by a for-profit business. They make the rules.
Thank you for your input.
Lee
I meant to respond to the original post before we were sidetracked by Politeness Man and his Hanky of Steel…
I host operating sessions that are hardly formal, usually a 4-5 guys running trains based on a loose sequential schedule. The layout’s relatively small, so it’s silly to use radios or call out every station. There are two primary junction points, which is where most of the action is. In the perfect world, there would be a tower operator assigned to each junction, but frankly there’s not enough room in the aisles to handle that kind of crowd (While n scale trains are petite, most of their operators are decidedly NOT!)
I could set up a dispatcher’s panel in the next room, but I wouldn’t want to be holed up in there. Usually I’m doing the dispatcher’s job, but I’m doing it by walking around the layout, keeping an eye on things. It’s more fun for me that way. We don’t get into the host of paper shuffling and button pushing that some guys enjoy. It really is a “to each his own” process.
Lee
Yes.
Definitely no.
You need to hang with a different crowd. Its possible to both operate prototypically and have fun. All “prototypical” is is choosing the “rules of the game” that match something close to what the real railroads do.
That’s your choice but don’t smear everybody with the same broad brush just because you met a couple people you didn’t like.
Dave H.
I have met guys who have the dispatcher on another floor of the house or even in another city, with people fulfilling the position of “operator” copying orders at the layout and the crews OSing to the dispatcher.
A couple of weeks ago I operated at two layouts in the KC area, an HO one that used a “verbal” authority method and car cards & waybills, the other an N scale one with fully working CTC and car cards & waybills. One had the dispatcher in the crew lounge the other had the dispatcher in the layout room. Both were a great time and loads of fun.
Dave H.
To each his own. I use my experiences as a baseline, I’ll stick with the fun aspects of my hobby and leave the other stuff to whoever wants it.
Well…Maybe that is where the “TOASTER” is at?