02-06-2014, 12:41 AM
Hi jwb,
I'm not sure if you asking this as a general question, or to me. For myself the answer is , yes I (plan to) do something with the cars. They get destinations and get transported with 'purpose'. At the club we use JRMI to sort out the cars and their destinations. We don't just haul a hopper from A to B for the sake of it. It would go to / come from a grain loading facility for example , to be handled then sorted, and eventually leave from their for it's next assignment or destination. We're still learning about operations so I am sure we make mistakes, but the purpose is to have fun, and learn about real railroad operations in the process.
On my own layout I plan to do similar things, once it is completed sufficiently to actually do so.
So if your observation from the pictures is that there appears to be little in the way of operations, that is partly true because the layout hasn't been completed enough to get to point B, only point A exists, and is 80% ready track wise (some work remains on the controls of turnouts), but once done I can operate that as a switching layout with the trains arriving from 'rest of world', and using a switcher like the SW1500 in the pictures, to take cars from the arrival spur to the yard, sort the cars (or spot them at an industry, such as the scrap yard you've seen parts of) , and assemble a new train to be taken back to 'rest of world'.
What you see on RM (and elsewhere) is that people have build a small layout and switch on that. Some operate it as a switching puzzle (and often the trackplan reflects that), some attach staging or a traverser and try to run limited operations where the destinations are on the layout, and origins are in 'the rest of the world' , or vice versa. There's only so much you can do on a small layout like that. Others as you've observed, solely build it as an exhibition piece , a little island on it's own. Nothing wrong with that perse but it lacks the operations side of things.
In any of these cases however, it's largely because one has limited space and can't build much bigger, and what they like (or have been accustomed too).
If they enjoy it, then great. In our case with modular layouts, we're trying to show that there's more to model railroading than just inglenooks and switching puzzles etc, and certainly among the 'north american scene' this is catching on.
My new project Tree Point, will be operated like that as a stand alone, but when taken to the club, it will become part of a larger modular set up, and then the story gets more interesting.
Koos
I'm not sure if you asking this as a general question, or to me. For myself the answer is , yes I (plan to) do something with the cars. They get destinations and get transported with 'purpose'. At the club we use JRMI to sort out the cars and their destinations. We don't just haul a hopper from A to B for the sake of it. It would go to / come from a grain loading facility for example , to be handled then sorted, and eventually leave from their for it's next assignment or destination. We're still learning about operations so I am sure we make mistakes, but the purpose is to have fun, and learn about real railroad operations in the process.
On my own layout I plan to do similar things, once it is completed sufficiently to actually do so.
So if your observation from the pictures is that there appears to be little in the way of operations, that is partly true because the layout hasn't been completed enough to get to point B, only point A exists, and is 80% ready track wise (some work remains on the controls of turnouts), but once done I can operate that as a switching layout with the trains arriving from 'rest of world', and using a switcher like the SW1500 in the pictures, to take cars from the arrival spur to the yard, sort the cars (or spot them at an industry, such as the scrap yard you've seen parts of) , and assemble a new train to be taken back to 'rest of world'.
What you see on RM (and elsewhere) is that people have build a small layout and switch on that. Some operate it as a switching puzzle (and often the trackplan reflects that), some attach staging or a traverser and try to run limited operations where the destinations are on the layout, and origins are in 'the rest of the world' , or vice versa. There's only so much you can do on a small layout like that. Others as you've observed, solely build it as an exhibition piece , a little island on it's own. Nothing wrong with that perse but it lacks the operations side of things.
In any of these cases however, it's largely because one has limited space and can't build much bigger, and what they like (or have been accustomed too).
If they enjoy it, then great. In our case with modular layouts, we're trying to show that there's more to model railroading than just inglenooks and switching puzzles etc, and certainly among the 'north american scene' this is catching on.
My new project Tree Point, will be operated like that as a stand alone, but when taken to the club, it will become part of a larger modular set up, and then the story gets more interesting.
Koos
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