- In September 2003 I decided to change the theoretical prototype location of my layout from the MoPac's Webb City Branch (Joplin) to the Springfield branch for a better industrial base and (hopefully) more interesting OPS.
- After that decision was made I was dared into inviting friends for an OPS session, I chose to do so with a date set for Nov. 15th.
- My family leaves town for the weekend giving me about 48 hours to prepare the layout for the session then host the session (my layout is in the family room). "To-do" list for the first 36 hours included: structure building, track wiring, and painting. As well as cleaning the house of all traces of such work.
It was 7AM on the day of the Operating Session (OPS), I had not slept much in 2 days and I still needed to prepare the layout for the session. That means I needed to stage the layout, write up switchlists, prepare the crew sheets so everyone would know what they are expected to do, and try and get some sleep. To add to the drama of the moment it was the day of the annual train show in Ft. Worth and I had visions of making it there to check out the booths and purchase some new stuff for the layout before the session began at 6:00PM.
For those who have merely attended OPS and never actually hosted one, let me try and explain some of the process that goes into such a thing.....
First, years ago a friend of mine who worked as a real crew-man for the BN in Portland, OR turned me on to the idea of hand written switchlists at a session at his place. Not only could I directly effect the movement of cars, the lists also added a prototype element that I found missing when I used car cards. Besides, my layout is small, There is a TOTAL of around 25 cars to be moved. If I had a larger layout I may re-consider the use of car cards. But
for now I had switchlists to make.
First I had to figure out what trains would do what work. I had done some switching on the layout as I re-built it, so I had a pretty good idea of what work needed to be done. So, with graph-paper in hand I planned out a logical process of operating that would keep the two crews on separate blocks and allow movements to feel prototypical - at least that was my hope. Then I headed to the computer and typed up these moves in the form of a Yard Master's report.
Next thing I did was stage the layout with what I thought I wanted the layout to look like. Then I made notes of which cars were where. This was the rough drafts of the switchlists. From here it was a fairly simple matter of copying the lists onto the "official" forms I had made on my computer following real MP practices.
In writing this it all seems like it took hardly any time at all. In truth it took over 2 hours. Asleep by 10:30AM with the alarm set so I can get up, showered, and to the train show by 3:30 that afternoon. After a few too many snooze buttons I was out and at the train show around 4:10PM. 50 minutes to shop and then an hour to get back to the house for the session. At the show I ran into all three of the guys coming over later. We decided to enjoy a fast food dinner together. The heartburn this caused only helped to make the "itty-bitty" OPS feel more like the real thing.
- 6:15 The crew and I arrive back at my place. I allow them to take a look at the layout and then I run down how the blocks work, rules to follow, and we divide the work in half.
- 6:30 throttles are fired up, the BN transfer arrives to indicate the start of the session, and "operating" begins.
Comments throughout the session were all favorable. The crew all have space for HO scale layout, so they were quite impressed, and a little surprised that everything ran as well as it does in N scale. The ease of coupling and un-coupling was probably the most surprising, while the ability of the new generation of Atlas engines to creep along without the need for "nudging" was also a big plus. After moving around 25 cars for about 75 minutes we were finished. I took the time to ask about first impressions of the layout. A few suggestions were made, but over-all the planning I had done was a big success. By 8:20PM on Saturday night the session I had spent so much time and effort on was finally history. There is still a lot of scenery left to finish, cars to detail and weather, and a DCC system to save for. But for now, the layout is at peace.
For those of you with a layout, but have never hosted a session at your home, I highly recommend it. Even if things are less than "finished" you might be amazed at how much fun you can have. And for those invited to OPS that have never hosted one: next time take a moment to realize that the fun you are having has taken the host many hours of preparation to get everything to run as smoothly as possible, so be sure to thank him (or her) when all is said and done.
I'm glad it's over, but I'm already thinking about what to improve for the next one. Wonder when my family will be willing to leave for the weekend again?
~Donovan in Dallas
November 2003
