So that's why they play the game
Sports betting is hugely popular (or so I'm told … I'm way too cheap to risk any money myself). A couple of my
friends follow the odds, subscribe to "information services", scan the web for little-known facts, all to try to predict the
outcome of the Super Bowl, NCAA tournament, NHL labor negotiations, whatever.
But despite all that forecasting effort, eventually they play the game (OK, except for the NHL). And that's the ultimate
truth. Prognosticate and predict all you want, but if your guy fumbles on his own 2-yard line, it doesn't matter what the
"can't fail" 900-number or the casino odds said: you lose. So how does this relate to model railroading, you may ask?
Well, specifically I'm thinking of operating sessions. In particular, operating sessions I have helped to develop. Over
the years at Rick's ATSF 4th District layout, I've tended to avoid most of the locals and turns when signing-up for operating
assignments. In fact, in several years of op sessions, I had never actually operated one of the over-the-road locals or turns
on Rick's layout, although I enjoy these jobs elsewhere.
For one thing, I really like switching in the yard, and for another, sometimes we need a Dispatcher and I fill in there.
And since I have already thought through all the local jobs to set up their blocking charts and the crews' operating instructions,
it just hasn't seemed like it would be much fun to operate one of those jobs myself. I've already figured it all out -- when
the crew needs to run around to work the facing points, what blocking order you need coming out of town to make things go
smoothly when you tie up, etc., etc.
But like the sports example I gave above, when you actually "play the game", it doesn't necessarily go exactly as predicted.
I found this out when I offered to mentor a visitor on the Douglas/Raymond Turn (DRT) a month or two ago. Although I tried
to convince him to take the "thinking chair", he insisted that he'd rather serve as the engineer, leaving me to operate as
the conductor. I figured this would be a pretty routine run -- after all, I know how it's supposed to go. I wrote the whole
thing out, right?
Then the game began. Turns out the car-card-and-waybill system we use to add some variety to car movements lived up to
that promise: we had a few more cars than typical waiting for us in Redding Yard where we went on duty. It took quite a bit
more thinking than I had expected to put things together in the right order while staying (more or less) out of the Redding
Yard job's way. OK, that was more fun than I thought …. but now we'll head out on the road --- ho hum.
Once out on the high iron, things did not go exactly according to my plans. Interaction with through trains kept us on
our toes and caused me to think about how to make my moves more efficiently. And the destinations of the outbound cars in
each industry siding offered tantalizing opportunities to save some blocking effort later with a quick shuffle or two now.
Hey, this is pretty challenging -- and fun!
OK, you probably know how this story ends. I really enjoyed my day out on the DRT. Yes, I pretty much knew what generally
was going to happen next and I knew enough about the whole job to take some "old hat" shortcuts along the way. But I was smiling
as broadly as the visiting engineer when we finally tied up at the end of a long shift. It was a great lesson for me. Even
though we're able to define the general outlines of each operating job, session-to-session variety and interaction with other
crews can make for a different and interesting run each session. Operating challenge based on prototype situations adds spice
to the role, even if you think you "know better". So that's why they actually play the games …
Would you like some help in designing or operating an engaging layout? Just contact me and let's see what we can do together.
