Andy – Page 2 – Robert Raymond’s Blogtorium

July 22, 2024

OpsLog – WAZU – 7/21/2024

nother day on the Wazu. Came in and the host was a bit freaked – worried that we wouldn’t have enough people (it’s vacation season and a lot of people are traveling) (and Doc always freaks, anyway). But there was the discord network teletyping calls for crews and we got about two or three guys in that way. We weren’t at full staff but close enough to make it work. The session started off in the usual shit-show. I was manning the desk in the back, hunched over my train board and ignoring my monitors (I don’t want to see […]

February 24, 2025

OpsLog – WAZU – 2/23/2025

o what to say? Andy did his best to set up a better session, an improved session. His remote cameras are clearer than before, that horizontal interference gone. And his radios – big change there. With the ear pieces (not buds), you can now comfortably follow the conversation on the line. Where once it was a scratchy, crackling hell (with some family jamming us with their domestic trivialities) we now actually had comfortable, solid communications. While there was still a little stepping-on action, it wasn’t too bad. It was more like watching a railroad video with the dispatcher soundtrack added. […]

March 24, 2025

OpsLog – WAZU – 3/23/2025

came into this session with determination. The day before we’d operated over at the Virginia Southwestern. Some of the operators were new, some timid, and some.. well, “some”. At one point we had four L&N trains in the CTC-controlled shared trackage, and two more snippy Southern trains trying to get through. Since I controlled the turnouts from the panel, I set up a pretty neat lap siding pass for two long coal trains to get around Kyle’s mine shifter. But the two crews were timid – even with warrants all the way to Atlanta staging, even with all turnouts set, […]

June 23, 2025

OpsLog – WAZU – 6/22/2025

o I’m sitting at my favorite table in my favorite coffee spot, watching the vehicular frustration at 17-92 and Lake Highland. Odd start for a blog. As most of you know from my long conversations around the clubhouse, my home has some termite infestations. With the bug men coming on Tuesday, I needed to clear the last of the heavy furniture from the baseboards. For that, I’d need my brother. But of course, he couldn’t come out any other time than Sunday noonish sometime sorta. Which is, as you all know, WAZU-time. When I contacted Doc and told him my […]

July 28, 2025

OpsLog – WAZU – 7/27/2025

ne of the rockier sessions on the WAZU, still mostly on time but with rage and thunder to get us there. I still had fun, as did most of the other operators. Andy always puts on a good show and great lunch – I eat better than at home. I had the dispatcher’s seat (third time in a week) and the session started out well. Trains were rolling on their times and making their stops. Andy’s new system of posted turnout IDs made it easy to get the remote trains across the line (still, I was only diverging them when […]

August 25, 2025

OpsLog – WAZU – 8/24/2025

o we had a wonderful rainy-day run on the WAZU in the Pacific Northwest. It started off with Doc Andy attempting to one-up Bob Gross’s legendary lunches with his own personal Chef, Philippe “Bon-bon” Klauck, who provided us with a pulled-pork lunch with all the fixing, and homemade ice cream for the debrief. Used to be that I’d toss out a couple of sacks of oreos. Now, on the Tuscarora, I point to the club galley area and remind operators that everything’s a dollar. So yes, that culinary performance upstaged everything. Hard to think how we could top lunch. […]