Operations
Making an MOW scene
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Yard Switcher Protocol
OK you guys with knowledge of real trains, help me out with some yard switcher protocol. I'm modeling the transition period from steam to diesel with an occasional GP38-2 thrown in. My first question is: would a road switcher (GP7) returning from a local run with just a few cars be allowed to spot them to yard tracks or would regulations/contracts insist the RS leave them on the A/D track and let the yard switcher (H-10-44 or NW2) move them to other yard tracks?
First Op Session using Car Orders
I have track down for about 25% of my eventual layout. I want to do some basic ops before I move forward to test out what I have built so far. I have decided to use the Car Orders system vs. Car Cards or some form of computerized system.
ATSF Train #73 Mixed Freight Operations Parts 1 & 2
Usually, I like to run Santa Fe passenger trains, however, this time I will be running a mixed freight train. The train’s number (#73, Westbound) and type (Mixed Way Freight) were borrowed from Chuck Hitchcock’s previous Argentine Division since I had gotten a lot of inspiration from that particular layout in building the N-Scale ATSF Paradigm Division. I did not have any issues when rehearsing this operation but, of course when doing it for record, several things go wrong so most of the bloopers and laughs are left in the video along with using the big hand for uncoupling duties.
PART 1
Opinions on operations sequence
As I develop my operations plan, a recent discussion brought some new considerations to light. I have two yards. one main and one secondary halfway across the layout. Recently a co-operator told me he disliked running trains out from the main yard to a town or district, switching, and returning to the same yard. He felt it more interesting to switch along the way ending up in another yard.
Admiral Farragut would be proud . . .
A few weeks back, July 15 to be exact, I held my first operating session since January 23, 2020. Given how long it had been since I've had others operating on the Valley Line, it was intended to be a "shake down" session to see how the railroad has fared over such a long period of inactivity. As such, I should have checked my expectations at the top of the basement stairs. If I had, I probably would have had more fun.
What's on Your Workbench - August 2021
Here we are in another month! Let's see your current workbench and layout projects!
Eric
Eric Hansmann
Contributing Editor, Model Railroad Hobbyist
Follow along with my railroad modeling:
http://designbuildop.hansmanns.org/
IAIS's 4th Sub - UP acquires the RI after all?
As I've mentioned in other posts, I'd been struggling a lot since our move over whether to backdate to the early 1980s or continue with the IAIS, and I've reached a decision that would allow me to potentially do both if the pull to backdate becomes too strong at some point. Since this rural line saw very few changes between the 1980 loss of the RI and my May 2005 era, I can move back-and-forth between eras by doing little more than swapping out equipment and vehicles. However, since I'm much more of a fan of the UP than I am of the RI, I decided that a sligh
IAIS's 4th Sub - Trackwork begins
Exactly 8 months after moving to our new home, I was finally able to start trackwork on the IAIS's 4th Sub, so I thought it might be time for a new post devoted to that topic. My plan is to cover each prototype scene in a bit more detail as I go for comparison to the corresponding portion of the layout. Each layout scene is a track-for-track representation of the prototype, so the overall design was relatively easy as layouts go.
As a guide to help orient things as we go, here's the layout plan again:
My freelance NS and CSX railroad.
Welcome to the Schmidt Division of CSX and the Berry Division of NS in HO Scale.
The name of Schmidt for the CSX division is named after my late grandfather who worked for the railroad for 50 years. The name of Berry for the NS division is named after a close friend of mine who honestly got me back into train both model and prototypes.
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