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Preparing for an Operating Session PDF Print E-mail
Written by qmodeller   
Monday, 13 April 2009 22:58
I thought I would put together some hints and tips about how to prepare for a successful operating session. I’ve both hosted and attended op sessions, and I hope these points will help anyone considering setting one up.

Some items are specific to my layout, particularly the control system I use (Digitrax) and the car forwarding method (four-cycle car card & waybill). But these might have parallel with other systems.

As with most things in life, much of it is common sense!

General stuff (in order of priority)
    Clean the rails thoroughly! If nothing else, do this. There is nothing worse than having trains stall due to loss of power. The ultimate goal is zero stalls. This will never happen, but it's a worthy target.

    Clean locomotive wheels. Even if the wheels look shiny, clean them anyway. It is surprising how dirty clean looking wheels can be.

    Run each locomotive individually to ensure it is set up as you want. With my Digitrax system, sometimes a loco will revert to 28 speed steps, rather than 128. Also run each loco through some points to check whether the wheels are still in gauge. Some of my locos have gone out of gauge between op sessions!

    Hoover the track. I always find bits of sawdust and the like stuck in point flangeways.

    Clean all rolling stock and structures where appropriate. I usually use a ¼” paint brush with soft bristles to gently go over the tops of my rolling stock. Building roofs tend to be big dust traps too.

    Tidy the layout room. This is perhaps a personal preference, but I like to hoover the carpet and do a general tidy before the day.

    Lastly, stock-up on coffee. Driving trains is thirsty work!

Layout specific
On my layout, Springfield, I route cars using the time-honoured four-cycle car card and waybill system. There are other systems in use, but the following is an example of what’s needed for my system:

    Prepare train list/timetable.

    Prepare sheet showing what locomotive will work which train (and what the DCC address is). Also show who will work which train if appropriate. If I have just one or two guest operators, I usually allocate a “Call Board” showing who does what.

    Set up locomotive consists and addresses. Once done drive the consist to make sure they are all running together the right way.

    Set up trains in staging, with engines on and ready to go.

    Sort out the waybills and check all freight cars have a waybill pointing them in the right direction.
    Once the waybills are done, check to see if the train meets the consist rules. The engineer wouldn’t want loaded tank cars right behind the engines now would he?

    Sort out loads for open/flat cars.


Most of these tasks will be done during the days leading up to the op session. However, it is important to get everything powered up and running before the crews start to arrive on the day.

I think these points capture most of the things I do before an op session. I welcome any suggestions for improvements, especially from those of you that have operated my layout.

Cheers,

Mark