26/06/2015

Last Nights Operating session

Another Friday night on the SFRSD
     Last nights ops session was a bit different than usual as I only had 6 guys plus myself to operate the RR..
     Several of my regular operators are on holiday. Vic is in Weipa which is almost as far North as one can get in Australia. Weipa is a Bauxite mining town. Little John is at the Gold Coast visiting family, Greg is on a cruise with his wife heading up the East Coast of Australia. Darren was working and Brendan was stuck at home.
     Roger a member of our Melbourne 2003 convention committee asked if he could participate in a session so he could see how it works. Roger is a Victorian N Scale Modeller and a member of the Victorian N Scale collective so he added to the numbers.
     We started at about the same time as usual 7.30pm only this time Ron was in charge of Augusta while Noel took charge of Flynn.
     I usually stage the first two trains to depart the day before. The loaded Grain that departs from Augusta at 7.10 am and the empty grain that departs Flynn at 7.30am by the fast clock that is set to run at 4:1.
     Dennis and Roger took control of the Aug / Fln loaded grain whilst Big John was in charge of the Fln / Aug empty grain. These two trains meet at Red Rock.

The Aug / Fln arriving at Flynn headed by custom painted SD40-2

The locos are about to be cut off the train so Noel can switch the cars.
Ron on the left and Big John discussing the days events at Augusta

Locos off train 2 are being sent to the Augusta servicing area
Roger on the left then Dennis and Noel at Flynn discussing?

Barry in charge of the Win / Gut / Win Cement train.
    The Winfield to Guthrie and return Cement train can take almost all night. It has no rights and must fit in to whatever is happening around it.

Switching at Guthrie


Heading to Perry

Arriving at Perry ready to switch.


Dennis and Roger switching at Ponca with the Fly/ Pon / Fly Sweeper.


The Aug / Hac / Aug Sweeper arriving at Winfield on its way back to Augusta.


    So with only 7 of us to work the session, me as dispatcher, time out for beans at 9.00pm we called it a night at 10.30pm.
    A big learning curve for Roger as he plans the operating system for his new RR and a good night was had by all.

That's it for todays update.
Rod.

5 comments:

  1. Now I wish you weren't 14000 km away. Would love to see your layout in person.

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  2. Thanks JSL.
    You could always come for a visit. There is lots of N Scale layouts of friends in my area although two are in the process of being torn down due to house moves. The GC&SF RR belongs to a good friend.
    Regards
    Rod.

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  3. Thanks for the invite and the pics, Rod. It was a good session even though we were down an operator or two. I haven't run Augusta for a long time, and it was very enjoyable.

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  4. Hi,
    I really love your layout and its atmosphere! It's great inspiration for someone like me who dreams of his first N scale layout.
    Like JSL, I wish you were closer (I'm in France) but I admire your work.
    Keep it up!
    Vianney

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  5. Thank you for your kind comments Vianney. My SFRSD has been a labour of love since it started in 1994 and has been great to share with my good mates. I must admit I have not done much to it of late. Once the weather warms up I should get to and complete some buildings.
    One thing I will suggest is to get started. That's how I began way back.
    Regards
    Rod.

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