ay what you will about model train ops being stressful, frustrating, and unfun. Whatever.

I had to go to the club today to meet an AC repair guy and since Ian is going to blow away our Wednesday night club ops, I had nothing better to do. So I figured I’d run a Monday afternoon session on the Tuscarora Branch Line with just myself. My friend Greg wants to get better at the interlocking position so he agreed to come as well. So after the AC guy recharged our system and dumped a bill on us, we started the clock (i.e. we flipped the time number board to midnight) and started the great game.

It was really fun. I haven’t run my SW-7 in some time and it ran perfect. As there was no coal traffic, I could do the scheduled train position and dispatch at the same time. I let the tower man call the shots. Also, we started using our new clearance cards in conjunction wit the the train orders. And it worked well – Greg was very careful not to get a “shame card” (i.e. a no-order clearance card used for incorrectly halted trains at the train order board). We just ran my train and chatted, with me calling my moves so he could line the routes. Best yet, the engine needed one tap in a two hour session and we didn’t derail a single car.

Really, the Tuscarora ran as designed. Truthfully, I’d have agreed to an immediate second session if we hadn’t had a dinner date with the missus.

We sat at the outdoor table in the pre-hurricane evening, relaxing while sipping beers, just basking in the glow of a flawless session.

Yes, that’s what operations can be. Sometimes it is not a huge layout with a dozen guys, but rather two old friends moving a handful of cars about a 2×4 foot layout.

Still smiling.

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P.S. This area is now sceniced. I really need newer photos!