Getting Real Column - 7
everyone seemed busy without being rushed. And, other
than a local crew that waited in Waterbury for a meet, no one
spent a lot of time sitting around.
I might be able to add one or two other operators when we
try running the passenger trains, but seven or eight folks can
certainly operate the railroad, especially now that they know
where things are.
We also had numerous issues with the DCC system – especially
the radio throttles. Frankly my biggest concern was the radio
throttles, since I had no way to test a number of them running
all at once with several people in the basement.
6. An operator shelf and associated car card boxes were
installed at each town prior to the operating session.
These are a great way to encourage operators to keep
paperwork and uncoupling tools OFF the layout.
Author used Micro-Mark car cards but made his own
"basic" waybills. Eventually prototype based waybills will
be used
,
but all in good time.
6
I’m happy to report that the balky throttle didn't need to be
sent back. We were able to trouble shoot and fix the problem.
Yes, we ran an assortment of paint schemes on the locomo-
tives - based on engines I could get my hands on that had func-
tional decoders. And yes, we need more cars – some of the
through freights were only eight cars long. But hey, the thing
works, and that was the point of the session.
One of my operators told me the "acid test" for any layout was
"Would I come back." To a person, they all said they would. So,
all-in-all, I consider the session a great success.
7a-7b. Timetable developed for the test session based
on prototype Central Vermont timetable but modified to
reflect the towns on the layout. (Zoom in to study closer.)
7a
MRH-Nov 2013
