Operations Sessions Getting Underway for the Year

So earlier in the week, I was pottering around on the layout.  I add the 3mm styrene spacers under the narrow gauge rails at Park Road station.  I also ran about 8 trains around the layout to place them for the start time of the next Ops Session which was 14:20pm.  I have created a large To-Do list for the next few weeks.  I did some throttle surgery.  I tried to move a radio module from one of my CAB04s to a relatively new Powercab.  I prefer to use a Procab-R instead of any other type of throttle.  But I needed a 9pin JST plug (similar to what is on an NCE D13J decoder, but I did not have one.  So I hard wired the radio board to the throttle board.  I am still looking for some battery clips.  So this throttle is only usable plugged in at this point in time.

After years of testing, and doing other projects, and then cycling back to it, I finally installed ‘Shelton the Photographer’ on the layout at Lismore in the morning on Friday.  To top things off, I have also installed Clayton.  Some of our modelling group will understand the logic here.  These guys are twins and like taking photos of trains.  But my power supply (connected to the layout track bus) to power my Arduino was only putting out 3V.  So I made up three more power supplies.  I tested one and it was working OK.  But I did not have the time or the inclination to replace it before the operations session started.  So I just used a 9V battery to power the Arduino.  I’m sure by the end of the night, it was getting pretty flat.  But I have Shelton working – with and without Clayton.  It has only taken me four and a half years of planning and design.

Shelton the Photographer has his back to the shed in the right foreground ready to capture the train activity.

The Ops Session was scheduled at my place for 7:30 whistle out on Friday evening.  It was the Geoff/Geoff/Jeff/Darren/Darren day.  The rest of the attendees changed our names for the evening to fit in.  Even the person formally known as Aaron, the main reason for holding the Ops Session, changed his name to Aaron-Darren to fit in.  Before the night was complete, the track across Fawcetts Creek bridge had come loose and the rails was flexing out of gauge.  This put a few trains in the dirt when travelling across the bridge.  I actually looked at trying to fix that late this arvo, but it is a bigger job than first thought, so it has been put back to this coming week.  Basically the layout ran reasonably well.  One of my passenger trains had issues.  So I will also look at that this week.  Because of this, some trains ran out of order.  So that caused issues filling up staging tracks.  A number of drivers went roaming around the layout when they should have terminated at a particular locations earlier on.  No Overtime for them.  They eventually back tracked with tail between their legs.  There was almost a head-on at Murwillumbah, when someone was travelling without taking a staff – hey Glen?  I think there was another incident similar to this between Dutton Park and South Brisbane.  Basically more frequent Ops Sessions will assist with familiarisation of locations and procedures.

Geoff and Jeff, but where is the other Geoff?

The rear Cassino aisle chockers with operators.

Rappville Loop at the rear with trains crossing.  Grafton Loops in the foreground and Grafton Loco in between.

Almost a head-on with the Paybus and the banana train at Murwillumbah.  No crew was not paid in the making of this incident.

I had a bit of scout around the layout today and found a few wagons sitting in sidings that should have been picked up.  My banana train sitting in Grafton Yard Staging was 4 wagons short.  They were sitting in the siding at Lismore.  This is weird, as only two wagons get placed there to be loaded.  At least one other wagon was not picked up at Lismore by the branchline Pickup Goods.  So this week I will be going through re-adjusting the train consists and making charges to the shunt lists.

So not being tired of Ops Sessions, some of us then ventured to Anthony’s place on Saturday for another session.  Anthony’s layout continues to progress with scenery.  There were 8 of us operators in attendance and I was SAR2 - The second driver on the South Australian roster.  I ran about 12 trains on the day.  Six of these were very short runs, Staging to Tatiara Downs, or Tatiara Downs to Staging.  I have no issues with this at all.  But I kept the layout operating.  I also got to run an extra, being the weed spray train.  Apparently the first time of this trains run.  It attracted a few foamers with their cameras.  It ran from Jameston to the Southern Aggregates Sand/Stone loading facility.  Then from there to Tatiara Downs and then back to Staging.  I also ran a passenger train on the layout from Staging to the Jameston branchline terminus and then back again to Staging again.   I also got to run a VR railmotor from Staging to Nankiva and then onto Tatiara Downs, and then back again to staging.  Don’t tell the union that I was not ticketed to operate in VR territory.  Today was my first use of a NCE cab06 throttle.  Quite impressive.

Darren caused this incident, and was almost too fast before we could get a shot.

Geoff has some performance problem.

This was to be my next train to operate, but time was called.

Today I spent a small amount of time fixing the cattle loading facility at Lismore.  I need to put a barrier up above the fascia so the operator bodies do not overhang the layout and damage the scenery and scenic items near the baseboard edge.  I will get around to it eventually.  This coming week, I will fix the power supply for Shelton, and have it working properly.  Plenty of work to now do, but no deadlines in sight.