nother nice day being boomers over on the Orlando Society of Model Railroader’s layout. It’s a pretty casual run and they are working out their warrant system. They also are finally getting some locals out on the line – they are using painters tape on cartops to get a rough idea where the cars go. Still, it’s not industry specific – more a take-a-boxcar, leave-a-boxcar sort of affair. And that’s okay. Baby steps.

When I heard there was going to be some switching, I started to say “Hey, I’d be inter…” and then someone coshed me. Woke up on the floor to see Kyle accepting the local job. Man, shady business on the call board. I ended up with 301, Coal MT’s West, and that’s fine. It’s a nice run over most of the layout (you miss a tiny stretch into West Staging, so it’s a pretty long job.

The layout had a couple of DCC problems before we started. Odd that I wasn’t one of the guys running about, screaming for hydro-spanners and flipping out. No, I just stayed out of the way until the control system came up. Not my yob, right? Anyway, session started and I had a bit of a wait for papers until Dispatcher Tom could take me. When he did give me a warrant, I went over to the yard to find the yardlet sorting outbounds, placing a Hooker tank car right in front of me just as I was pumping up the air. I kidded him a bit and he expedited the line clear (i.e, he picked it up and put it onto another track (the railroad way)). Gave two blats of the horn and rolled out of limits, hitting the high rail.

Leaning in and dumping air as I make the final curve into the mine area.

Not much about the run. It was smooth. I met a train or two on the way. Very fun in a slow-roll way. Observed all the crossings and tried to be all prototypical. Given that it had been a couple of weeks since the last session, it was a nice job. Took me about an hour and change to get back to the mine to stage the MTs. Kinda funny – the DS was a bit casual about my operations to get the cut off the high iron. “You can switch off the main” or words the that effect. I wasn’t really protected in any way. So the plan was to push the MTs to the tipple with the caboose on the main, then run out and grab it before the final roll in. I was about midway through this when the dispatcher came over and told me I had vanish on the way. And that’s kinda why I wanted protecting paper. Since I had flags out (I’d decided – ballast bunnies don’t like to work my job; lots of running), I set the turnouts to the siding held the main. Mentioned it to the oncoming passenger train and exchanged pleasantries as he went by. Then I pushed under the loaders and everything (for once) stayed on.

Since I’d gotten a late start and had a long slow run, that was really all I could do since the session was winding down. Anyway, a nice run on a sceniced layout – what more can an operator ask for?

Thanks to Tom and his gang for having Kyle, Shemp and myself out.

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PHOTOS CREDITED TO THE AUTHOR.

Nice and easy handling as I put the toys away.