minimum of five train crews are needed. Crews pick up a mani-
fest/switch list for their train from a stack in the crew lounge.
There is a good mix of through and local passenger trains (all
with at least some head-end switching), coal drags, through
freight, and local freight trains, so everyone will operate some
interesting trains in each session. The locals work best with
two-person crews. Crews keep in contact with the dispatcher
using radios which simulate the prototype’s “trainphone”
induction radio system that was used in the 1950s.
As the designer and builder of the Pennsylvania & Western, it
is very rewarding to see the layout come alive with the coor-
dinated movements of the various operators. As the “walk-
around superintendent” during operating sessions, I enjoy
being a railfan seeing several simultaneous train movements at
once. I also enjoy being able to share the layout with a group of
friends, which is part of what this hobby is all about. It must be
fun for the operators as well, since I never have trouble assem-
bling an operating crew of 12.
I haven’t seen much written on the subject of how prototypical
operating sessions can add to the social aspect of the model
railroading hobby. I’ve made close friends of operators on my
layout, and also of operators that I’ve met while operating on
other layouts in town.
In fact, I currently host sessions for three mostly different
groups of operators. There is my regular monthly crew for
sessions held on Saturday afternoons. This group has been
operating here since September 2004. I’m also part of a group
of retired guys from the Cincinnati/Dayton area who oper-
ate every Wednesday morning. There are 18 in the group,
and we have eight layouts that we operate round-robin style.
This group has existed for many years; in fact a few of the
