My wife went to San Diego for a continuing education seminar (R.N.) that was Tuesday. We just got in. We went down on Monday and stayed at the hotel where the seminar was being held. We went to Balboa Park Monday and went to the some of the museums she was interested in seeing. Today while she was in class, I went to the Model Railroad Museum for the day. In the morning I was talking with some of the members who were operating trains. About 12:30 or so I stepped into the gift shop and picked up a couple of books, and then went to lunch. After lunch I went back to the Museum, and a couple of the guys I had been talking to invited me to come in for a tour and to operate on the layout. I ran a long freight with an a-b-b-b F-7 unit lash up up the hill from Caliente. Then at the top of the hill we took the F-units off the train and put together a shorter train with a Gs-4 in black. I got to take it down the hill to Bakersfield and back up to the siding above Caliente (Alray, I think) before I had to go pick up my wife to head home. What an awesome layout. First time I ever ran a train on a fully signaled railroad with a dispatcher. For anyone who has been to the museum and thought the operators were being rude, I can tell you that even at speeds under 25 scale mph, an operator is very busy running the train even with what is a relatively small crew on a weekday when most of the operators are retired. On weekends when the people with regular jobs are available to operate, the layout may be crowded with trains making the operators even busier! Man, that is one huge layout! I suspect that the aisle is all of 100 yards from Bakersfield to Mojave, and it shortcuts much of the layout!

that sounds awesome ,id be happy to run trains on my own 4 by 8,but on a layout that huge it sounds like a heck of a challenge.so one question WHERE ARE THE PICS! --josh

Ya what Josh said. :needpics:

Sorry guys, I didn't have my camera with me on the trip. I don't think I would have had time to get pics while running the trains. If I did it enough to get to know the layout to know where all of the signals are located without needing to keep looking for them, it probably would not be so hectic.

It's been years since I was out to Balboa Park. I've had the chance to operate on the San Diego Arizona & Eastern layout(San Diego Model Railroad Club), which was across the isle from the Tehachapie. Yes, it can get very busy, and it isn't easy to answer the public's questions, when you've got a train under your control.
Any one going to San Diego, should make a visit to the Museum, at Balboa Park, one of their goals.

That's great! What a nice opportunity!
Ralph

Pics...Website...Need to see more!




Please?

Russ, It sounds like you had a great time. We had the pleasure of seeing these layouts, N, HO & O back in the fall of 2007. Got the full tour from one of the O gauge members that I learned to know on another forum. If anyone is going to be in the area it is a must see, if you love trains.

eightyeightfan1 Wrote:Pics...Website...Need to see more!
Please?

Here is the link to the web page for the San Diego Model Railroad Museum.

<!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.sdmodelrailroadm.com">www.sdmodelrailroadm.com</a><!-- w -->

At the top of the page is a link titled "Exhibits." Click on Exhibits and it will take you to an inter-active display that is in the lobby of San Diego County. On the left is a list of the railroads modeled in the Museum, and clicking on those links will take you to picture galleries and information on each club and layout.

By the way, in my lead post I mentioned that the operator's aisle was 100 yards from Bakersfield up to Mojave. I was talking to some of the other members of the modular club at our monthly business meeting last night, and found out that I may have been mistaken. It is only 240 feet!

As others have said, if you get to Southern California, the San Diego Model Railroad Museum is a must see for model railroaders!