After we got the issues of the Bruces settled (a true “Bruce on first” moment), and after some of the slowpokes got in (you can tell railroaders by how they get somewhere on time), we got down to running trains. Superintendent JW has made a number of solid improvements to his layout: better lighting, some progression of scenery, and even squirrel damage repair. All to the good.
But like any host, it’s never good enough.
I wasn’t really noticing how the layout ran. I was rattling along in my favorite run, the Sand and Lumber train, a movement I personally wove into his timetable and one that’s got a nice bit of running and some good switching at either end. You meet a lot of trains and are active pretty much through the entire session. It’s the bomb to run.
I might have had a problem or two but I fixed them – real railroaders do. Anything I can’t fix, I note for later (I’ll let the host know before I go home). But I guess he was getting a barrage of issues – engines conking out, turnouts malfing, just the usual layout deals (especially in N).
And while I know about this, because a happy engineer might see one or two failures while the host sees them all, it’s another thing to reflect on while driving home.
At least JW had the balls to host. Me? I’m kinda at raisin levels these days.
I had good reasons last year for not running. The passing of my father. The reduction of our work force (30% of the team jumped ship). My moving up the ladder and assuming a role with far more complexity and responsibility than my old one. And then the ISO audit, which took two months to get ready for.
And now I’ve got the corporate 5k to train for. But that’s not really an excuse. I’ve run out of excuses. I think I’m just worried about hosting again.
Insert chicken noises here.
I need to get off my ass on this and get a session in. After all, JW did. It’s high time I do as well.
Consider yourself warned.