Hosting an ops session is a good example of Murphy’s law.

I showed up at Docs a little early to set up the dispatcher’s office, eager to see his newest effort – a train-cam which an engineer would use to run the train from a cab-level-view from the dispatcher’s office. It’s been a subject of model railroad conjecture for years now.

So it’s run for two weeks – Doc’s even got a video of an earlier test run. And now it’s showtime and the camera fails. Nothing. I can see he’s disappointed and I feel for him. I can remember setting up for sessions and coming home to find the AC broken, a critical toggle switch failing, or the road out front being tarred. Happens.

When you think about it, getting through any session without crisis is a long shot. A model railroad relys on hundreds of thousands of components, from the engines to the turnouts to the miles of wiring to the digital control stations, and even perhaps a computer and printer. All that has to work or the session shuts down.

For Doc, it was a disappointment but not a show stopper. As it turns out, he had a great session – he was packed with people (including several visitors) and we ran just about everything. And this time, the railroad was clicking along on time. Good locals, good yard masters, good crews. Only had a couple of goofed instructions and no headlight-calls. Everyone walked out smiling.

So, overall, it worked.

Good job, Doc!