robert.admin – Robert Raymond’s Blogtorium

May 29, 2026

OpsLog – LM&O – 5/27/2026

n the Tuscarora, my micro-layout, you can climb aboard the cab of an eastbound coal train. You’ll rattle out of Westly, cross Tenmile Creek, enter the Tuscarora interlocking plant, whistle at the signpost, look for orders at the tower, cross Morgan Street, loop through the long curve between Inner and Outer industrials, clear town and enter Easton. That’s your run. You will probably pass a freight train in Tuscarora, same engine, same consist (perhaps progressively shorter) each time. The run takes maybe 30 seconds. On the Lehigh, Monongahela and Ohio, you’ll board a coal train at Carbon Hill. After doing […]

May 24, 2026

OpsLog – LM&O (Saturday Session) – 5/23/2026

ell, it was a week full of sucking, specifically inlaws sucking cash and me siphoning water from a blown washing machine (which will also suck cash). And eyeball surgery, which made my vision a bit “off”, which sucks, too. And then there was the sucky second-guessing conversation about when, specifically, in the PM this session would take place. So I wasn’t sure if I was going to come or just sit at home and try to read anime subtitles. But I got three offers for rides out (since my driving kinda sucks right now, too) and accepted Terry B’s gracious […]

May 24, 2026

The Shattered Skies (Review)

his is the second in the series following The Cruel Stars, by John Birmingham (and make sure you follow this link for the details – I have another book of that name in my library, one of the Ark Royal books). Yeah, so anyway, this is a middling book in a set so most of the action (while interesting and fun) just pretty much works through its plots. We have the aging Scottish Admiral (who is something of a Highlander, being 700 years old) and his sarcastic floating super computer. And the Captain of the Defiant, pretty much the last ship facing the […]

May 18, 2026

OpsLog – WAZU – 5/17/2026 (Guest Blog)

his time, I’m letting the owner blog his own piece for his own layout. Really, it was a nice write-up and I didn’t have anything to go with (other than being the “bad cop” in the debrief when everyone was blowing sunshine up Doc’s ass). But I liked it, asked him, and he said I could quote him. So, here’s what Doc had to say. Thanks to the Krewe of WAZU for making our little re-boot a fun and enjoyable event. Special Thanks goes to “Shoeless” Bob for making the sacrifice to work his shift even though he was dealing […]

May 14, 2026

OpsLog – PB&NE – 5/13/2026

t was the sort of club night you join a train club to enjoy. Sure, there was a little politicking and back-biting going in. But hey, had a nice dinner with friends and then headed over. It was an open night – no carding, no MOW, just hanging out. And since I’m not sure what my attendance will be in the coming days, I decided to run a furnace job in ops. Now, one thing you gotta understand – the ops committee is trying to tighten up requirements on what can run in the mill. We’ve assembled over the last […]

May 10, 2026

OpsLog – WVN – 5/9/2026

OLLISION AHEAD 22 MILES. RIGHT TWO LANES BLOCKED. I didn’t like the looks of this electric sign while driving I-4 to the Komars’ West Virginia Northern session. Maybe they’d clean it up before I got there. Maybe. Was wondering if I should just get off Warpath One and let my funky GPS work me around it. Sipped my mocha and considered. Came over that ridge where you see open expanse to the west, with two bridges soaring over the highway. First thing I saw – a couple of CSX engines blowing along, general freight – MT hoppers, loaded ballast, some intermodals, couple […]

May 10, 2026

Livesuit (Review)

he novella Livesuit is one of those James S. A. Corey things, a way to keep the fires burning between novels in a set. In this case, it’s following the starter for the set (presumably three), The Captive’s War, reviewed by me a year or so back. They did this same thing in their long-running series, The Expanse, with short stories coming out online to endrun the publishing field and keep their property warm until the next book was penned. So, they market better than I even did with this flea-bite of a blog site. So, yes, Livesuit. The first book involves an interplanetary […]

May 3, 2026

OpsLog – LM&O (TT&TO) – 5/2/2026

alking across the weedy gravel of Bound Brook yard, stepping over rails and making my way to my waiting train. My brakeman is up on the nose running board, hanging out the X271 number board, slotting in the white flags. We’ve got a fast extra freight to Cincy. As I climb aboard with my no-orders clearance card, I gotta smile at the newby dispatcher -he cut me the order yet didn’t insult an old hogger like me by telling me to hold for 202 to arrive (which would have been a touch insulting). I’d have bet that a first-time DSer running […]

May 3, 2026

One Second After (Review)

bout forty years ago, I was still designing games for a living of sorts. One idea I had was a game about the fall of civilization and managing a community in the aftermath. Titled After the Fall, it was based off a little Atari game where Malthusian growth is gamed, with populating outstripping food. In mine, you had the added features of hordes from the fallen cities, failed crops and an early hot-seat multiplayer game. Alas, we never got it finished beyond play testing – couldn’t get the tech advancements to work. It’s a good thing I knocked off when […]

May 1, 2026

Both sides of the aisle (DOG EAR)

o I’m currently reading One Second After by William R. Forstchen. I was talking good books and nuclear war (of all things) with a couple of guys in the train club and my conservative counterpart loaned me this one. I don’t want to get too much into the novel since I still have a review to write (and, more importantly, I haven’t finished yet). But there are things that bother me. First off, a forward by Newt Gingrich – not one of my favorite servants of the American King. So I skipped that and got into the story. Interesting premise but, […]