BY KENT IVERSON
This year's NMRA national convention, the Anaheim Special, being held July 13-19 at the Anaheim Marriott in Anaheim, California will include Operations sessions organized throughout the Los Angeles and Southern California region. As in past conventions, we have organized operations sessions for Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights.
Since some layouts are located as far south as San Diego and as far north as Santa Barbara, we have setup a different session arrangement for these outlying areas. For Santa Barbara, we have organized two ways to attend operations sessions. First, for those who can organize their first travel stop to be Santa Barbara, we have organized an all day operations session the Saturday prior to the convention (7/12) featuring layouts from James Donlon, Walter Naumann, and Gary Siegel. Second, also new this year, a special evening only session will be held at these same layouts in conjunction with the LDSIG Santa Barbara layout tour on Thursday 7/17.
For San Diego, for those who would like to end the convention with a trip south, we have similarly organized an all day session on the last day of the convention, Saturday 7/19, featuring layouts from Dick Roberts, Dick Trotter, the North County MRC, and the La Mesa MRC. In addition the La Mesa MRC will be continuing their session, hosting a second day of operations on Sunday, 7/20 for those who can't get enough. Please note that these hosts will not be open for operations during the convention.
Remember that all travel to sessions is provided by the attendee. If you have transportation that you can share, please consider volunteering to drive to a session. Contact me (email: nmra@witches-brew.com, phone: 310-376-7400) in advance of the convention and advise me of your capacity. If all else fails, please drop by the OPSiG table in the SIG room at the convention to let us know you can provide a ride. If you are considering driving, volunteering to drive others will help with Los Angeles traffic since you will be qualified for car pool access where available.
For sessions during the convention, plan to arrive at the OPSIG table in the SIG room of the convention no later than 4:00pm the day of the session. Note that some tours and clinics may finish fairly late. We will be handing out driving directions and making sure drivers and passengers are matched up. Once you have your driving directions and passengers, you will be expected to drive to the layout location, picking up dinner along the way. Expect to arrive at 7:00pm at the latest unless otherwise directed. Since traffic can be unpredictable and extremely heavy, it is best to plan to eat nearby the layout location.
Many of our hosts have been gracious enough to be flexible as to the night(s) they will be open for operations during the convention. In order to maximize and optimize the matching of operators with their desired layout sessions, we will be determining the operations nights for hosts (where flexible) based on the received registration data as of April 30. That data will be posted to the OPSiG and NMRA convention web pages as it becomes available.
As always, please keep in mind that stuff happens and the layouts and sessions are subject to change. Thank you for your participation and patience. Most of all, have fun!
OpSIG#1 Catapano
HO, TT/TO/CC/WB, DCC CVP - EasyDCC
Paul Catapano's double deck 25' X 51' HO scale Littlerock Subdivision of the Atlantic Inland Railway is a freelanced eastern railroad set in July of 1952 in western West Virginia. The modeled portion of the road has a coal hauling base with industrial switching . Four coal branches coming out of staging drive coal traffic. A direct eastern interchange with the Western Maryland and a southern interchange via a secondary line to CRR, VGN, N&W, and INT provides a high level of interchange bridge traffic. Built with a primary focus on operations, the layout is largely without scenery and uses TT/TO traffic control and CC/WB car forwarding. A Dispatcher is located outside the
layout room with a local Agent Operator in the layout room receiving and delivering train orders. Along with yardmaster, road crew and dedicated switching positions, there is a helper service crew for the grade between decks. Control is via wired and wireless CVP DCC throttles.
OpSIG#2 Cure
HO, CC/WB, DCC NCE
Jon Cure's HO scale, 37' X 25' Southern Pacific Inyo Subdivision layout occupies the larger part of a four car garage at his home located conveniently next to the UP/Metrolink (former SP) Coastline trackage. The railroad models modern day traffic in California's Mojave Desert and Owens Valley as well as an Eastern Sierra branch and some Nevada desert. Major industries include carbon black, copper smelting, tungsten and talc mining, cement, lumber and paper mills, and military installations as well as assorted industrial/commercial businesses such as lumber, fuel, scrap, etc. In addition there is an interchange with the Trona Railway. Typical trains are SP, WP, and ATSF. Trains are run from staging as extra's and car forwarding is controlled by car cards and waybills. Jobs typically include yard masters, local switching crews, and manifest trains with scheduled work. The layout scenery is approximately 60% complete. Train control is NCE DCC with some sound equipped motive power. In addition to the Inyo Subdivision, the crew lounge is home to the T&NO Beaumont Industrial RR, an around the walls HO scale DC switching layout to keep crews busy while on the call board for the next train out.
http://www.pbase.com:80/rbarnes11/jcure
OpSIG#3 Los Angeles Model Railroad Society
HO, CC/WB, DCC Digitrax
The Los Angeles Model Railroad Society (LAMRS) has been in operation for more than 25 years and is the and is the proud operator of the proto-freelance HO Scale Great Lakes & Western (GL&W) Railroad set in the steam-diesel transition era (1945-1960). The GL&W has many interesting scenes that could be found along it's route. Most all scenes and structures are based on actual prototypes. The railroad runs in an East- West direction from the Great Lakes to the west side of the Continental Divide parallel to other major name railroads and assists those railroads in relieving congestion during times of heavy traffic by issuing trackage right to these railroads. The major railroads haul loads destined to locations on the GL&W as well a provide motive power and crews to switch to the local industries in return for the through trackage rights, Traffic that results includes freight from several different roads working the GL&W as well as name passenger trains stopping at the local stations. The railroad features over 800 feet of mainline and two major yards. Traffic includes local switching, interchange, unit trains and scheduled passenger service. Industries served include refinery, intermodal (port), grain, an ore terminal, sugar beet loading, lumber and citrus with icing facilities. Yards include both diesel and steam service facilities. Operation positions include yard masters, local switching and road crews. The club is integrating computer control into its operations facilitating dispatcher assigned computer controlled routing although local routing control is also supported. Switchlists are used for yard switching while car cards and waybills (see http://tinyurl.com/ywyjja) are used for individual and block car movements. The club uses Digitrax DCC for train control and communications are via radio headset.
Visit www.lamrs.org
OpSIG#4 Meyer
HO, CC/WB & Track Warrants, DCC CVP - EasyDCC
Bill Meyer has carefully crafted a 19'X 25' HO Scale model of the ATSF Western Region Big Creek Subdivision, a freelanced railroad based on the traffic and industries of Fullerton, CA and North Orange County set in the late pre-BSNF merger 1990's era. The railroad scenery is about 85% complete and has 95' of mainline with double ended staging supporting a total of 17 trains run in a 3-4 hour session. Traffic includes manifests from east/west ATSF traffic and 20+ local industries switched by the DB & AJ Railroad. In addition, there is interchange traffic with the SP and the DB & AJ Railroad. The dispatcher, yardmaster, road crews and SP local crew operate the railroad using CVP EasyDCC wireless throttles. Car forwarding is managed using car cards and waybills. Traffic control is managed via track warrant dispatching using radios.
OpSIG#5 Siegel
HO/G, CC/WB, DCC CVP - EasyDCC
Gary Siegel's L&N Eastern Kentucky division is a well known operations oriented railroad in the Los Angeles region. The railroad was featured in the April 1996 issue of Model Railroader. At the time of the article the layout modeled the fictitious Ashlan subdivision of the L&N extending from Dent, KY, to Ashlan, VA interchanging with the Clinchfield. The layout has since expanded considerably and the area now models from Hazard, KY to Ashlan with interchanges with the Norfolk & Western through Norton, VA, the Kentucky Northern at Harlan Junction, KY and the Chesapeake and Ohio, at Deane, KY and Corbin, KY. The 1971 era railroad focuses on coal traffic both on and off the line with mines and coal processing industries distributed in the mountainous Appalachian scenery. The 1500 sq ft HO scale layout is fully scenicked. Crews staff yards at Ashlan, Fowler, Dent, and Hazard. Road crews are responsible for mine runs, empty and full coal trains, hot freights, forwarders, local freights and an occasional passenger train. Communication to the dispatcher is via 5-channel radios. A 3:1 fast clock moves the action along. Car cards and waybills are used to direct car forwarding. Control is DCC using CVP EasyDCC wireless and wired throttles. In addition to the HO layout, Gary has been working on a G-gauge layout in his back yard. Also designed for operation, the layout is still under construction but has over 600 feet of operable track.
Visit http://www.pbase.com/rbarnes11/lnekdiv
OpSIG#6 Fols
N, routing tabs, DC - MRC
Lou Fols has modeled the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines, Camden to Millville branch in the late steam, early diesel era in an intimate N scale multi-deck layout in a 12 X 16 garage. The fully sceniced railroad includes yards at Camden, a hump yard at Millville, and a staging yard at Bridgeton. The layout was featured in N-Scale magazine in March/April 1990 and more recently in July/August 2000. The layout has two decks in an around the room configuration with a peninsula. Operation consists mostly of switching using a "tab on car" marking system used by John Allen. The tabs are small brass "H" sections marked with destinations on both sides carried on top of the cars, essentially emulating waybills. There is no dispatcher so crews must negotiate mainline rights and meets. Control is via DC walk around throttles from MRC using block control. Some motive power has sound installed. Featured in March/April 1990 and July/August 2000 N Scale Magazine.
OpSIG#7 Osborne
HO, CC/WB, DCC NCE
With 29 years experience with the SP and UP as a brakeman, conductor, and footboard yardmaster by day, Mike Osborne has carefully crafted a multi-deck version of the Southern Pacific he would have liked to have worked on. His 20' X 20', 1979 era version of the Utah/Colorado geography serviced by SP includes auto parts, grain milling and brewery industries with plenty of switching action. Scenery on the railroad is 99% complete. Car forwarding is managed with car cards and waybills. Mike uses NCC DCC throttles and some motive power is sound equipped. If you ever wanted to operate with a real railroader, this is the time with large scale size industries, realistic paperwork along with conventional carcards. Featured in Rail Model Journal, December 2007.
OpSIG#8 Williams
HO, CC/WB, DCC NCE
Ken Williams has modeled a "what-if" division of the Southern Pacific running from Hesperia to Salt Lake City, paralleling the Union Pacific in the California and Nevada desert. The railroad is set in 1994 with modern equipment and intermodal traffic just beginning to take off. Many existing prototype industries are modeled with service provided by SP rather than UP along with interchanges. The railroad is a three-level design housed in a 32' x 9?' tandem garage. The track plan features point-to-point operation with a helix, return loops and a staging yard. The very realistic desert scenery is about 60% complete and features examples of real structures from the area plus exact replica billboard signage. Operations are DCC NCE controlled with car forwarding managed by car cards and waybills.
OpSIG#9 Wexler
HO, Switch List, DCC Digitrax
Dan Wexler's HO scale Hamlin & Valley Central is a freelance industrial short line railroad with a citrus shipment focus set somewhere in California during the summer of 1964. The fully scenicked railroad measures 18 X 20 feet overall and is housed in a finished two car garage. While a talented staff maintains steam profitably for main line operations, yard jobs and the secondary mountainous Ore Grande Branch are serviced by Alco diesels acquired from operating partner ATSF. The railroad features a point to loop configuration. Traffic control is via Time Table with switch list car forwarding by Rail-OPs. Digitrax DCC wired and wireless throttles are used for control.
OpSIG#10 Santa Susana Railroad Historical Society
HO, Switch List, DCC Digitrax
The Santa Susana Railroad Historical Society operates a layout in the freight room of the recently restored Simi Valley Southern Pacific Railroad depot right next to the former SP right of way that is still in use. The railroad models the Southern Pacific Coast Line and pints north to Portland, Oregon in the early 1950's with a special emphasis on modeling Simi Valley, California and its environs. The HO scale layout is currently 70% sceniced (plans to be greater than 90%). Operations include a dispatcher, yardmasters, switching crews, local and road freights, and passenger operations. Control is DCC using Digitrax radio and wired throttles. Traffic control is via communication with the dispatcher on FRS radios and car forwarding is managed through car cards and waybills.
http://www.santasusannadepot.org
OpSIG#11 Hougesen
HO, CC/WB, DCC Digitrax
Ralph Hougesen's Amargosa Railroad is a free lanced railroad set in the post war through mid nineteen fifties era in the desert east of Death Valley between Beatty and Goldfield Nevada with connections and interchange with the SP, the UP and Santa Fe. Industries are mining and support for the mining community with plenty of traffic to keep the railroad busy. The 14 X 17 HO layout is in an around the room dog bone configuration with combination of very reliable handlaid code 55 and Atlas code 100 track. Switches are operated using hand throws. The operational focus is local industry switching using car cards and waybills. Car cards are not turned. There is no dispatcher so crews handle clearance and meet negotiation. Control is DCC using Digitrax wired and wireless throttles. Most motive power has sound installed. The layout scenery is 75% complete. It is a beautiful little layout that runs very well.
OpSIG#12 North County Model Railroad Society
HO, Switch Lists, DCC
North County Model Railroad Society has created an HO scale free-lance California themed layout in the steam/diesel transition era with a 350 foot main line designed for continuous running on public exhibition and point-to-point bridge line running for operating sessions, The layout scenery is approximately 70% completed. Most trains are pre-staged at both ends and at some local stations with local yardmasters making up trains during the session. One and two man operator road crews use tethered NCE throttles and fascia mounted tortoise turnout controls. Train Orders and switch lists direct all freights, which are run as extras. A dispatcher orally authorizes main line moves. Commuter service passenger trains are dispatched during some operational scenarios (weekdays.) Major rail-served industries include a refinery, mine, container yard, quarry, and a logging/lumber operation. Several industrial spurs service multiple small industries. Two branch lines facilitate some leisurely switching unimpeded by main line traffic. More than 50% of the motive power is sound equipped. The layout features four foot aisles and is handicap accessible. The fascia height is 40 to 56 inches from the floor.
http://www.ncmrs.org
OpSIG#13 Trotter
HO, Switch List,Rail Ops, DCC NCE
Dick Trotter's 500 square foot HO Scale Coyote Pass & Northern features the high desert southwest during the 1950's and 1960's with a few urban and some mountain scenes. Industries include coal loading with several small operations served by a dedicated mine run, and small industries of various types through the railroad such as manufacturing, plastics, meat packing, pulpwood loading, etc. The major traffic source is the coal loading operations. All other industries generate or receive one or two car movements per session. We work from 7 pre staged trains, each train will move between 15 and 20 cars during its run. The layout design has evolved from being expanded twice from its original form. Operations are run point to point, with 4 origin/destination points (fiddle yard). There are 6 routings usable without duplication. All trains operate as way freight extras. All freights handle their own switching as appropriate. While the layout has functioning signals, road crews are responsible for negotiating clearance at all meets. Car forwarding is controlled through Rail-Ops switch lists. All crews are switch crews witch are usually made up of an Engineer and Conductor for each job. The layout uses DCC NCE throttles.
OpSIG#14 Roberts
HO, Switch List, Rail Ops, DCC Digitrax
Dick Roberts HO scale standard gauge representation of the Nevada County Rail Road circa 1920 in a 21'X24' mushroom design layout with an automatic elevator. The railroad is all steam as befits the era ("hay burner to gas burner transition"). The layout was featured in the Sept/Oct 2006 NGSL Gazette and January 2001 MR Planning and scenery is about 60% complete. Car forwarding is by RailOp switch lists and control is Digitrax DCC. Operation positions include Yardmaster and assistant, and two person road crews. Most trains are freight with some mixed trains and passenger trains. Train control is managed by the on-site Superintendent.
OpSIG#15 La Mesa Model Railroad Club
HO, TO/TT, DCC
A showpiece of San Diego's Balboa Park Model Railroad Museum, the La Mesa Model Railroad Club's Tehachapi Pass exhibit depicts Southern Pacific's engineering marvel of Tehachapi Loop in the 1950's steam /diesel transition era with approximately 8200 scale feet of track over 7500 sq feet on two levels. The rail road was recently featured in the January 2004 Model Railroader. The railroad's joint Santa Fe/Southern Pacific operations are faithfully recreated in Time Table/Train Order sessions centered around the early 1950's. Sessions average 6-10 hours in length, and all positions are filled from a pool. Positions include OS, dispatch, yard jobs, and various hill pool positions for locals, freight and passenger. This showpiece club layout represents the joint Southern Pacific/Santa Fe railroad from Bakersfield to Mojave, California of the 1950's. The current layout consists of the area from the Southern Pacific Bakersfield Yard through the famous Tehachapi Loop. Operations sessions on the layout follow Train Order and Timetable procedures.
http://www.lamesaclub.com
http://opsontehachapi.com
OpSIG#16 Glendale Model Railroad Club
HO, CC/WB, DC Dedicated cab and block control
A late 1950's era 25x40 club layout in a municipal park building in Glendale California. The railroad is a fully sceniced freelance, East/West representation of Southern California railroading traversing three large yards representing Bakersfield, Mojave and Taylor yard and a representation of the Tehachapi loop. Operations using car cards and waybills include local freights and switching, yard operations, and through freights. On the 400' Mainline, control takes place from an elevated control room with a dispatcher and 5 cabs with either road or local switching control. Train crews usually include two person teams with the engineer at the cab and conductor/brakeman on the floor of the layout. Additonal positions on the floor include yard operations for Taylor, Mojave, and Bakersfield yards. Please visit www.gmrrc.org for more information.
OpSIG#17 Donlon
HO, CC/WB. DCC - MRC Prodigy
James Donlon's HO scale, three deck representation of the Southern Pacific Coastline route circa 1950 seeks to faithfully recreate the SP's Ventura Sub Division operations between Burbank Junction (roughly Glendale CA) and Sea Cliff (south Santa Barbara) with 600 feet of mainline in an around the room configuration. Using an original SP time table from the era, James dispatches trains based on the actual time table of the day using and 8:1 fast clock to cover a 24 hour period in 3 hours with an average of 16-20 trains operating. Trains include through and local freights as well as named passenger consists. Trains run as scheduled and extra's. Towns and landmarks along the route are captured in the layout including Santa Susana Pass, the yard at Oxnard and the "Y" for the Santa Paula branch line. The layout scenery is expected to be 30% complete. Car forwarding is handled via car cards and simplified waybills. Rolling stock and motive power are per the period and some power has sound. The layout configuration includes hidden staging at either end of the route and helixes to traverse decks. Operators include road crews, local switching jobs, and the Oxnard Yardmaster. MRC Prodigy DCC is used for train control. Entry to the layout requires navigating a "CRAWL under" so be prepared.
OpSIG#18 Naumann
N, CC/WB, DCC - Lenz
Walter Naumann's N Scale representation of the Union Pacific June 20, 1949 is a no compromise scale mile representation of an "S" curve at Sherman Hill (scale 200 inch minimum radius) with hand laid #10 and #20 turnouts, super elevated code 40 track, and a goal of 100 cars trains. Less detailed operating extensions include yards at Cheyenne, Green River, and North Platt in addition to local switching at destinations for coal, lumber, freight stations. Separate East and West nested-loop staging completes the layout. Car forwarding is by Car Cards/Waybills. Control is Lenz DCC using cordless phones for wireless throttles. It will have the m_RPS model Railroad Position System as shown at NACServicesInc.com. Operation positions include road crews, yardmasters, and dispatch. There will be 100 feet of double track main with center sidings, three 10 track main yards, and 16 staging tracks.