For the next installment of my Switching Operations 101 YouTube series, Tom Klimoski was generous enough to go out into the field on a hot day and shoot some video of the process of setting and releasing hand brakes. As a re-cap on this whole “playing with your trains” theme: -Running your layout is a […]
I’ve just uploaded Episode 5 of my Switching Operations 101 video series. In this segment I take a look at switching an LPG dealer and touch on how buffer cars are handled for an industry like this. My friend Tom Klimoski made a great analogy when it comes to operational practices. View them as a […]
Preparing to shove into Weeks Gas on my East Rail 2 layout. Weeks Gas is the “problem child” of the East Rail industrial park. With one exception (the problem child), all turnouts in the park are oriented the same way. Doing so, makes switching straightforward in that every industry can be worked with push/pull moves. […]
Pricom’s Dream Player Lite. When I’m running a solo op. session on my layout I try to visualize what the crew would be doing along the way. This encompasses things such as allowing time for the conductor to walk, setting car brake wheels, three step protection, etc. The question becomes, how do you represent some […]
Getting out more often to rail fan industrial switching operations has had a direct impact on how much I enjoy operating my layout. The above shot was taken a few months ago in Annapolis Junction, MD. I was a little surprised with the response I received from my recent Operations 101 YouTube videos. What it […]