Tag: operating

Boomer Operator 2

A B&O mallet storms from a tunnel on the B&O West End.

While I have not started a new home project layout this past year, I have been able to operate on a number of interesting model railroads. One of these layouts is inspired by a stretch of the Baltimore & Ohio in West Virginia, and not far from where I lived in Morgantown, W. Va. Thomas Eckhardt has been building his HO scale B&O West End layout for a couple of decades. The main line is running, nearly all track is complete, and much of the scenery has been installed. On occasional weekends, a crew gathers to operate the West End.

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Fun diversions

Carrollton depot on John’s older layout.

With the holidays over and winter settling in, I’ve been organizing the spare room to set up a workbench and test track. It’s a tough puzzle as five boxes need to move before I can move some other boxes into the space the five boxes were sitting. If I move too many boxes, then I have a hard time weaving through the narrow openings to the door. I’ve already moved a couple of the boxes out to the storage barn, but the space is tight. I received a couple of emails to offer a welcome break from the unending movement of boxes. My friend John in Ohio is wrapping up room prep on his new 12×22 foot layout space and wanted suggestions for the area. I enjoy a trackplanning challenge! The image above was taken on his old layout.

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Discovering a new tool

Action on the mainline.

　REPOST: From late October 2011.

Before I departed Cleveland I participated in an operating session on Jerry’s Penn Central layout. Two years ago I shared an experience on this layout. I’ve been lucky to have attended several sessions here and have grown to appreciate the jobs and crew.

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