tom

January 10, 2020

OpsLog – P&WV- 1/9/2020

haven’t gotten a chance to run on the Pittsburgh and West Virginia much – it’s a retiree railroad, meaning it runs in the middle of the week. Not a problem (in future). This time, I got to come out as part of Protorails to run his heavy-industry line, sitting in the dispatchers desk (second time that day – my life is nothing but checkboxes, it seems). I really enjoy this one – its a great railroad that runs easy and slow – everyone muddling over their switching moves. The dispatcher’s panel is a pain-in-the-butt (I’m telling you, Tom – it’s […]
October 17, 2021

OpsLog – P&WV – 10/16/2021

y second session of the Plant City Convention took place over at the Pittsburgh & West Virginia. Like the L&N, I got in under boomer law – I was “assisting”. But unlike the other layout, this time there were no Meddling Cody’s to take my seat. This time I was dispatching. So the session went well. Tom’s layout is great to run (even with the East and West confusion that still lingers in the train names). We ran under warrants (I think Tom called this right – under TT&TO, we’d have been sunk by the newbies). As it came out, […]
January 8, 2022

OpsLog – PWV – 1/6/2022

or those coming through this blog’s homepage, you might notice that, yes, I had two sessions on the same day. This is all about Protorails, a popular convention in town that I never get to go to because the Deland Train Show is the same weekend and I’ve got to assist. But I guess my dispatching is okay since I had two layouts request me for the same day. And yes, I do love it. So after a roaring session at the Virginia SouthWestern, it was ten miles up the interstate to Tom Wilson’s Pittsburgh & West Virginia, a steel-making, […]
October 9, 2022

OpsLog – P&WV – 10/7/2022

‘m going to tread carefully on this blog post. So, like, What the fug? Tom Wilson opened up his layout for guests of the 2022 National Model Railroad Association Convention. He’d even contacted me a month before and asked if I could dispatch (don’t toss me in the briar patch, right?). With advanced signup and money on the barrel head (I forget how much I paid) we filled up the roster, a crew of nine. It was going to be a great time. I got there early, had a look at some of his new scenery, then went into the […]
January 10, 2023

OpsLog – P&WV – 1/5/2023

o the second half of Ops Day (which started on the VSW) resumed one hour of driving later, following a large Italian dinner graciously provided by our hosts. And the thing is, after a two hour trip over from their east-coast accommodations, four-five hours of heavy ops on Wilke’s coal line, another hour and a good meal, the crews were a bit loggy. Our ops were not the best. Everyone was just tired. I was tucked in the back room on the dispatcher panel, working through my warrants (I wrote eighty-ninety warrants overall that day across nine hours of ops). […]
March 24, 2023

OpsLog – P&WV – 3/24/2023

rom my Throne of Power (i.e. the P&WV dispatcher’s seat), I told Tom Wilson (when he turned on the layout video cameras), quote: “I don’t need such idle toys. A real dispatcher does not rely on them.” And when a visitor entered my keep just before the clock went hot and commented on the magnetic board for train markers, I laughed (“Moohahaha”) and said, “Puny engineer. I shall use the train sheet. A real dispatcher does not use such toys.” And then the session started and everything went to shit. I had two locals who went out to Avella and […]
December 7, 2023

OpsLog – PWV – 12/6/2023

t was good to get out to Tom’s place again for another running of the Pittsburgh and West Virginia. It wasn’t good to get out to Rt 27 and fight all that traffic but, oh well, good things come with costs. But anyway, yes, I got a chance to dispatch his line, always a pleasure. Using warrants, I went with his train sheet and ignored the magnetic board. A good slow pace which gave me a chance to really stay ahead of the railroad, lining up ideas for coming meets and moves. Had a bit of a problem with some […]
January 6, 2024

OpsLog – P&WV – 1/4/2024

his was my third ops session in the two days of protorails – I’d been invited in to round out the crews and provide dispatching. So, a long day, starting with an accident that had me sitting in traffic for over an hour, then a full day at the VSW, then a run over to Tom Wilson’s Pittsburgh & West Virginia (or is it “East Virginia”? Tom Wilson’s geographic directions are always so confusing). Then a heavy dinner (the Wilsons made sure we were fed). And after all that, I settled in the back room with my phone, my train […]