P&EBR Operation: Beginning
24/11/10 08:40 Filed in: Operation
This fall, I have greatly enjoyed running trains on my layout now that the trackwork is complete.
The yard crew stops in at the office to pick up paperwork and get instructions.
In fact, I can hardly bring myself to take time to do anything else but operate the railroad. While this is delaying progress on the vast expanse of work yet to be done, I think the railroad has already passed a critical test, and it has proven that it can hold my interest for the long term.
Working the Yard Track at Shops
I see the success of the P&EBR rooted back in decisions made about how I would pursue model railroading 30 years ago.
Working the RIP track, the Yard Crew pushes a long string of freight cars past the machine shop.
Just out of college, my monetary situation only allowed me to think about building a layout. Long hikes on railroad grades along the James River allowed me to formulate a personal priority list, much like what John H. Armstrong would call “Givens & Druthers.” But I called it Justification, Plausibility, and Legitimacy .
These main headings are vague and interrelated, but basically can be defined:
Justification - I want the pursuit of model railroading to be an effective form of recreation, and be worth the investment of time, space, and money that it entails.
Plausibility - I want my model railroad to include the reason for the railroad’s existence.
Legitimacy - I want the operation of my model railroad to be a reasonably accurate representation of how a real railroad would operate within the modeled setting.
The Quarry Job arrives at Dust Mill Yard.
The yard crew stops in at the office to pick up paperwork and get instructions.
In fact, I can hardly bring myself to take time to do anything else but operate the railroad. While this is delaying progress on the vast expanse of work yet to be done, I think the railroad has already passed a critical test, and it has proven that it can hold my interest for the long term.
Working the Yard Track at Shops
I see the success of the P&EBR rooted back in decisions made about how I would pursue model railroading 30 years ago.
Working the RIP track, the Yard Crew pushes a long string of freight cars past the machine shop.
Just out of college, my monetary situation only allowed me to think about building a layout. Long hikes on railroad grades along the James River allowed me to formulate a personal priority list, much like what John H. Armstrong would call “Givens & Druthers.” But I called it Justification, Plausibility, and Legitimacy .
These main headings are vague and interrelated, but basically can be defined:
Justification - I want the pursuit of model railroading to be an effective form of recreation, and be worth the investment of time, space, and money that it entails.
Plausibility - I want my model railroad to include the reason for the railroad’s existence.
Legitimacy - I want the operation of my model railroad to be a reasonably accurate representation of how a real railroad would operate within the modeled setting.
The Quarry Job arrives at Dust Mill Yard.