By Donovan in Dallas
After the Operating Session I took the time to write out the events as they happened. The following was written in 2003 just after that session......
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To all who are interested,
Last evening I finally had my first "group" OPS session on my smalllayout. Three guests and myself managed to run 2 trains and a transfer job in about an hour and a half. This was the first session I have run with two throttles, and there were no major glitches in the system to mess up the operations.
For those who are not familiar with my layout it is about 8'x9' "shelf" layout in N scale set in the early 80's along the MoPac.
Originally I had set it in Joplin, MO. But the closer to "completion" the layout became the more concerned I was that there simply wasn't enough industry to support a small group ofguests for more than 10 minutes. So, after more research I settled on Springfield, MO. instead. A few adjustments in the track plan and some major changes in industry and I was successfully able to capture the flavor of Springfield. Though I have "freelanced" much of the arrangement of industry to better suit my space.
The re-design came after a friend of mine returned from a trip to Chicago. On his way back to Texas he drove through Springfield and took a dozen or so photo's of the area. This was significant because prior to the photo's I had not seen anything about the area
other than the MP's old ZTS maps. The ZTS maps showed a lot of industries, but I could not believe the scale of the area was such that I could hope to model it in my small space. What is the actual truth, however, is that in Springfield the industries are many, they are crammed into tight areas, and they are relatively small. This can all be seen in the Dec. '03 Trains magazine which covers the same area I am modeling but from the 50's when the Frisco was king of the area. Anyway, once it was settled that I could reasonably fit a fair amount of Springfield's flavor into my small space it was clear that this was the perfect layout I had been searching for all along.
In September I began the re-construction process. This caused some of my friends to go into near convulsions as it had appeared to them that I am never going to hold an OPS session. It seemed to them that I can't even get a layout finished because I can never settle on one layout theme, era, or even scale. But nothing could be further from the truth. The simple, and to them un-believable,
truth is that what I have been searching for all along is what I have found in Springfield.
I have always wanted a place where I could have the MP and the BN (I grew up in Seattle watching the BN); where the "theme" included a lot of industrial switching; and some overhead mainline traffic for me to get my kicks modeling SD40-2's and long trains. I had looked to Kansas City, but felt the scope of the prototype was too large for my small space. I had considered Pueblo, but didn't feel the industry was appropriate to my space. Joplin was too small, and Chicago was just too huge to even begin researching. As stated, it wasn't until I saw the photo's that I began to realize clearly just how "perfect" Springfield would be.
So after some predictable, but gentle "razzing" from some of the guys, I was put on the spot, "So, now that you are tearing things up again; when are you going to ever have an OPS session?" Pressed, I made my mind up that I would have it on the 15th of Novemember - that should give me plenty of time, I reasoned. Plus my wife had plans for being out of town with our five year old son. The 15th it was. Notices were sent out to those invited, and plans were made. Problem was: I had just torn up my layout!
Without too much detail, let me tell you that my layout is in the family room, and there is no way I am going to be allowed to do much work on it when my wife is home. This arrangement worked out fine in years past as she would regularly head out to her parents home for a weekend now and then. But now that my son is in school, the time for those trips has been significantly reduced. I had not considered this when scheduling for the session. So less than a week before the OPS session to be, I had yet to finish any of the new industries, test the track plan, write up an OPS plan, or even get the layout wired for two throttles. It was decided that my wife would take advantage of her vacation by leaving Thursday after our sons school was over. Thus, I had about 48 hours to "complete" the layout enough so that the OPS could go off as planned......
Click HERE to see part 2
Click HERE to see part 3
