I've become a lone wolf operator. My layout is large enough to have a group in, but I've never found a group that I was comfortable with for more than a few sessions, so those sessions died. I'm not a dyed-in-the-wool model railroader: I'm more a modeler who chose model railroading as an avenue. My best operating sessions have been with non-model railroaders, who come in to run trains, and maybe do a little switching under my guidance or their own ingenuity. More later . . .
Actually - I _usually_ do run a passenger (bullet), on the inner loop which I set to a fair speed and let her go while actually "driving" the freight. Of course if I am not careful: An evening to just relax and... Sequence: Glass of wine Take the bullet train out of the yard and move her to the inner oval. Make up the freight and get her moving. For some dumb reason open the power routing path to the other bullet train which had been quite happy to just stay right were it was. Fright, er, freight train makes one full loop and connects with bullet train, Inner loop goes rolling merrily by
Well, anyone who knows me knows I am a "Lone Wolf" always have been. We currently run a "temporary" layout that can be changed out between DC and DCC very simply (we run either DC or DCC but not both). This thing can only handle one train at a time. I have been slowly moving to DCC for several reasons. First, I like the idea of controling the train, not the track...no matter how many trains I have available at any one time. I also like the sound aspect of DCC and would not trade it for the world. Also, once the "real" layout is underway it will be quite large and my sons will be involved in running trains as well, so we COULD have at least 3 trains on the same track at any given time. I am a bit frustrated by the availability of DCC in my scale...some engines have it and some don't. I am not good with installing things like that so I am sort of considering having two layouts in one...one for my DCC engines and one for my DC engines.
I sure glad to see someone put this idea out there in "print". I have a bunch of DCC locomotives, and a bunch of DC locomotives that would be expensive to convert, so I, too, have wondered how to pull this "separate but equal" idea off. I run point-to-point much of the time, so I would have to install a 2nd mainline and split my yards between DC & DCC. The number of industries, interesting enough, would be about equal on the DCC & DC segments. As for getting rolling stock from one environment to the other, maybe an insulated "shared" passing siding?
That is the plan for me. I figure that on an insulated line I can push rolling stock from one system to the other if the siding is short enough. I have insulated a small turn-out on my temporary layout to give this a try. I'll let you know how well it works.
Who got authorization to disinter this old musty posting? Grin! Ok who did it, who's responsible, who dredged up this old posting? We must be hard up for new posts. Not a problem! Here's my take on the subject. In the past visitors would stop by to watch my trains in action. Note the verb denoting action. As my train (single train) would work it's way around the layout, the one observation I most often heard, "You can only run one train at a time"?. They wanted to see action as in the dime store, Lionel multiple circle tracks, toy trains running round and round and round and round. I got to quit I'm getting motion sickness just thinking about it. Hrrrruumph! This time around I wanted a railroad that would entertain quests as well as provide the realistic switching moves, freight and passenger locals. See sawing cars, set outs, pick-ups, spotting cars and in making up various types of trains to run out on the main line. I started looking at plans that would give me realistic operation, multiple trains and something close to an prototypical location. First idea to suffer, a prototypical location What I came up with can be seen here on RailImages. Not much to look at for right now but give it a chance. A staging yard was needed to be able to bring out those eye catching trains. Essential that it be a run through, so I could take the trains off the main line, return them to the staging yard and pull out other trains. All while the others were still running. With the help of a fellow model rail enthusiast, Steve and I managed to get five trains running at one time. Two left in the staging yard and one in the siding at the top. Now what happened to all those guests? Basically the layout is a stretched out, wound up, folded over and slightly pretzel... dog bone. It all fits into a space less then 10X10 and gives hours of pleasure during operations. I'm not crazy about having it located in a metal shed but I hast to do, what I hast to do. And, in case you were wondering. I love meat balls with my spaghetti. Have fun!
John/Spidge, You are more then welcome to join Steve and I. We need someone to throw the switches manually from under the table. That is until I get them wired in. Naw, just kidding. Stop by anytime but call first just to make sure I'm home. I should have suggested that you e-mail me via the PM. Grin! Have fun!
**Regarding 1 operator and multiple (2) trains: On a previous layout I designed a continous loop option so I could set one train to orbit the entire layout while I worked a second train in one portion of the layout. This worked ok if I worked in the yard or on the branch line, neither of which was included in the continuous loop, but any switching along the continuous loop by the second loco became a frantic race to clear the main (and the electrical block) in time for the orbiting train to pass through every 8 to 10 minutes...not too bad when there was a passing siding to park the working loco/train on, but way too frustrating for the remaining 3/4s of the continuous loop where there was just a single main without passing siding. My current layout is essentially a hub and spoke design, and operations are set up so all trains run point to point or are "turns". Although I could set up a continuous loop option (and sometimes do so for displaying the layout to non-participating visitors), if I want to run some trains by myself, I usually run them sequentially...one at a time...instead of simultaneously. Multiple operators and multiple trains. I was just getting into operations on others' layouts the year or two before I moved in 2003, so I didn't have too many sessions with other operators simultaneously running second or third trains on my previous layout. (I did, however, participate in run sessions on others' layouts with 3 to 6 operators running trains simultaneously.) My current layout is large enough to accommodate 6 to 8 operators simultaneously (although, so far, the most we've had is just 5). I now have a core group of operators who know the layout, and they help me shepherd newbies during operating sessions, but until members of that core team learned to run the different routes, I only had one train going at a time.
I'm a young lone wolf... :tb-wink: my goals are to have an average of 3-6 trains (each 2 m. long) and having them running at the same time at low speed. Using DCC allows me to be the dispatcher instead of the engineer... Sometime, one of my best friend (a lone wolf too) come to my house. One of us plays The dispatcher and the other plays the engineer then we can run up to 10 trains at the same time.:tb-smile: Seb
Lone Wolf on this end. It'd be nice to have a couple three trains running at the same time but this pair of eyes only has time and space for only one. Insulated sidings allow me to run an engine or train into a siding and bring out another but that's it. And besides, even though we put that track down as best we can, there will always be that car or locomotive that says "I don't like that switch point, crossing or joint and I'm going to show you that I don't!" Especially the few brass steamers that I have. Persnickety bunch they are... One night, a friend of mine was over and his PA's went off the track near a bridge. Never had that problem with my own but his were grouchy. I don't need that happening simultaneously.
Lone Wolf! I do get a little distracted if there are two trains running, and I'm trying to work the coal mine branch which needs to access one of the main lines at times. Also gets a little confusing because I have a small yard that requires using the other main line sometimes. But it sure is fun to watch the eastbound and westbound trains meeting each other at various places around the layout. Oh yeah - derailments usually only happen when someone else is watching... :tb-rolleyes:
