Bill- There is an excellent organization that focuses on all aspects of operations. It is called the Operations Special Interest Group or OPSIG for short. They have an excellent website www.opsig.org. On their website there is a host of information about operations including a section called OPS 101 which is an excellent primer on the subject. There are also articles on using car cards, staging, creating and using switchlists and the use of a dispatcher. Membership in OPSIG is just $20 a year and that includes a really outstanding 40 page full-color magazine that is published 6 times a year. Interestingly, the OPSIG magazine is called THE DISPATCHER'S OFFICE, not to be confused with our own beloved NASG DISPATCH. You do not have to be a member of the NMRA to join OPSIG.
An article on the operating system I use on my Buffalo Creek & Gauley (printed switch lists with integrated timetable and train meet data)appeared in the December 2009 issue of MODEL RAILROADER. It is also described in more detail in my new book featured on www.buffalocreekandgauley.com. It works well for a small or moderate sized layout but is not appropriate for a large one. There are as many approaches to operations as there are layout designers. And like many aspects of our hobby, the best way to understand the subject (and decide which of the many approaches is best for you and your layout)is to operate on others' layouts. I would encourage anyone who is considering adding operations to his layout, or designing a new layout for operations, to find someone who has a layout that is currently 'operating' and participate. Everyone I've met who has an 'operating' layout is thrilled to have a new person participate in a session and learn. Operators are like ministers...they like to 'spread the religion'. But you cannot learn by observing, you have to participate. In fact, most hosts won't accommodate observers as they tend to get in the way of the operating crews. When you find a layout, you will for sure be integrated into a whole network of layouts that 'operate' and you'll become familiar with a whole range of operating schemes. You can find operating layouts in your area by joining OPSIG, attending NMRA meetings in your area or asking at your local hobby store (assuming you still have one around). It will also give you a chance to promote "S" because most of the layouts you'll find will likely be N or HO. Prototypical operations adds a wonderful new dimension to our hobby! I hope these leads are of some help. Good luck! Brooks Stover --- In [email protected], "shabbona_rr" <user141771@...> wrote: > > Bill: > > I have described my "system" previously, but generally it is a "switch by > sight" method. Like that trombone salesman in "The Music Man", ya' gotta know > the territory. > > Since Mooar Yard and environs represent Keokuk, IA, in better times, this > means knowing what railroads ran into (ROCK ISLAND [SHABBONA], CB&Q, WABASH, > TP&W) or near (SANTA FE) Keokuk, plus what roads they connected with at their > opposite ends. > > Generally speaking, SHABBONA runs North by Northwest out of Keokuk, CB&Q runs > North, South and West, TP&W, East via Peoria, and Wabash, Southeast. All > interchange enters and leaves via the KUD (KEOKUK UNION DEPOT) interchange, > and is the originating and terminating point for most Eastern road rolling > stock, which represents bridge traffic. > > The Humongous Company corn processing facility uses cars from all the Keokuk > area railroads, plus "foreign" cars they can load that would otherwise return > to their home roads as empties. All "open top" cars have removable loads so > they can run loaded one way and empty the opposite. > > Using the PRR double bay hopper that runs on SHABBONA as an example, it > appears on the KUD interchange as a load of anthracite coal from PRR via TP&W > at Logansport, IN. An unnamed foundry in central Iowa uses the anthracite in > its manufacturing process, so the PRR car leaves Mooar Yard in a Westbound > train. > > At Terminal District, I remove the load of "anthracite" and the car returns > to Mooar Yard and ultimately KUD as an empty. There, I put the load back in > it, and it is again ready to reappear as a westbound load of anthracite, > consigned to that unnamed foundry. > > There are other cars and even trains that follow certain rituals, but always > on a "by sight" process (I HATE paperwork). I have used this system long > enough to know it works for me, and it continues to evolve as new traffic > opportunities and movements manifest themselves. > > I perform "yard checks" (inventories) the same way. Hope this helps. > > Bob Nicholson _____________________________________________ > > --- In [email protected], "Willam Fraley" <wjfraley@> wrote: > > > > > > If you run operations on your model pike, what do you use? > > > > Perhaps you made up an operating system just for your model railroad, (model > > railroad solitaire?) tell us about it. > > > > "S"incerely, > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
