Train Blog
September 25, 2025
ig John strode towards his idling units, his boots crunching on the mix of cinders and coal, the tinny towers of Champion Mine thrusting into the narrow sliver of post-midnight stars. He clambered aboard his lead NS unit, checking brake pressure to the long cut of loaded hoppers strung behind his four road engines. As he pumped off the brakes, he could hear the cars behind him groan as they eased down the minor slope, bunching against his lashup. He ignored this as he worked his radio, getting a warrant from the dispatcher. Upslope, he could see the lights of […]
September 22, 2025
o even though we ran as guests on the Orlando Society of Model Railroad’s layout earlier that day, and even though we have Club ops next Wednesday, sure, let’s run a Saturday Night Special! We lucked out – Matthew was there to take West Side DS (and Zack backed him on East), Bob Xmas ran the full yard on his own, and Steve V-ball came out of nowhere to “coach” Calypso. We even tossed HO Tom into the furnace job (he ran stack 1) and pushed newbie Horacio onto SB2 (a great passenger run since (A) it’s early and (B) […]
September 21, 2025
o we got a second session out of the local HO club, who are currently trying to build up their own operations. Tom (their rep and Superintendent) asked us to come over and give it another go. I was very gratified that the boys were excited to get a second session at this very huge HO effort. (Seriously, those modern generation engines feel like bricks to my delicate N-Scale hands. I might have gotten a hernia lifting the power into place). So, not to beat a dead Superintendent but the first session was… well… a first session. Tom was doing […]
September 21, 2025
o after a nice drive to Tampa with Jeff C, and a cup of Burger King’s signature lukewarm coffee (ugh! Literally a stone-cold overnight pot-sitting blend) we arrived at Greg and Gail’s abode, had a great cup of piping-hot coffee and got down to the business of running trains up and down the wooded hills and tight hollers on the West Virginia Northern. So I spent all of my morning up at Harris, the high-point yard at the top of the Elkview grade. First I came in from Clifton Forge and swapped cars out. Then I picked up the Harris […]
September 12, 2025
o it was going to be a busy day – up at 7am. A run over to TRF Hobbies in Melbourne to pick up a gift card for the club Christmas Party. Lunch somewhere (McDonalds, it turned out, but nice anyway). And that evening, I’d have to open the club for the HO committee because nobody’s bothered to get a key (that will change). Turns out while I was there, I mopped, swapped out a dead overhead light and cleaned the toilet bowl (ugh. Some of you need to fit sights on your peters for better aiming). So with all […]
September 8, 2025
atience, or forbearance, is the ability to endure difficult or undesired long-term circumstances. Patience involves perseverance or tolerance in the face of delay, provocation, or stress without responding negatively, such as reacting with disrespect or anger. Patience is also used to refer to the character trait of being disciplined and steadfast. I had a bad session on the Tuscarora the other night. It was rainy and a couple of the guys didn’t show up. To be honest, the guy running the scheduled train lost interest in slow and steady train handling, watching for signals and (even when he saw they […]
September 7, 2025
kay, this one is a tough one to write. This was quite possibly the worst session on record. This one ties that “fault 16” session from years ago. Okay, without naming names: What went wrong? It was pouring rain (in buckets) so everyone was wet and uncomfortable to start. The person we’d organized the session for didn’t make it. One person was a little lax in attention (sorry to call this out) and another faded near the end. The entire session seemed to crater. At the mid-afternoon point, I asked if they wanted to call it – the enthusiasm seemed […]
September 3, 2025
??? So, maybe it was the OpsLog title that cued you, Tusk Valley? Or the picture of Espee power working East Tuscarora with one of those signature brown boxcars sitting at door 1 of the freight house? Are you honestly saying that one of the world’s smallest layouts has a new ops location – again? So first there was Tuscarora (officially Tuscarora Branch Line). That was all Pennsy stuff for the first year we ran it. Then it did a cameo as Tusk Hill (an English Midland’s railroad). And then a college kid brought in Tusk Coast (which is the ACL line running down […]
August 29, 2025
here is a story I read years ago. Deathrow. On one side of the aisle, there is a brute of a man, stupid and blunt. On the other, “The Professor”, an intelligent yet ruthless killer. Tonight, the Professor is going to the chair. A priest stands clear of the bars between the cells, administering to the doomed man’s needs. But the Professor ignores him, facing the far wall, pushing against it, stopping, pushing, stopping. Ignored, the priest asks him why he is doing that. The Professor tells him that he cannot press through the wall because his molecules are colliding […]
August 25, 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. […]