Author: Lmind1

Couples Therapy? Do You Need It?

No, not THAT type of couple! I’m talking about coupling and uncoupling during operations. It’s the most fundamental of tasks. Even so, there are some things we can do to enhance the experience of operating our layouts. To start, here’s an excellent video explaining how the big boys do it. After watching it, here some […]

Be A Selfish Prick

It’s 2006 at the East Rail Industrial park in Miami. The engineer has gotten out of the cab to talk strategy with the conductor about a plan of attack for handling an extremely complex switching situation. Pauses in the action like this are common in the real world. Just because a comment is annoying and […]

East Rail May 27

The first structure for the new East Rail layout is now a wrap. Photo above. In Miami there is a fairly broad range among industries in terms of how often they receive cars. The LPG companies, logistics warehouses, and scrap metal industries are worked frequently. Others only see a car or two a year. This […]

Site Visits

Visiting your site in person creates a mental link between you and your subject that you simply can’t get from looking at photos online or in a book. This shot was taken looking east down Miami’s 23rd Street in 2007. I was taking in the sound of the aircraft flying out of MIA, the humidity, […]

Crossing 12th Avenue

The local runs down the switchback to pick up an empty at the Miami Produce Center on my Downtown Spur layout. This was a tricky move for the crews because they had to cross 12th Avenue to do so. “Twelfth” is a busy, four lane, boulevard through the heart of town. For whatever reason, there […]