Operations

[ClinchValleySD40]

The thread about how often you operate and CNJ831 reply begs another question. If you do not operate your model railroad, just run trains, why?
As someone that is really into operating sessions on various model railroads, I don't understand. I used to be a lone wolf, just ran my trains when I felt like it. Then I tried ops at a local layout and was totally amazed at how much better my hobby became. Ops does not have to be a very formal thing. It can be as laid back as you feel like. And the really best part is meeting a lot of really great people. Very very rare in this hobby you meet someone that is not top notch.
Just curious about reasons why people don't operate.

[ClinchValleySD40]

The thread about how often you operate and CNJ831 reply begs another question. If you do not operate your model railroad, just run trains, why?
As someone that is really into operating sessions on various model railroads, I don't understand. I used to be a lone wolf, just ran my trains when I felt like it. Then I tried ops at a local layout and was totally amazed at how much better my hobby became. Ops does not have to be a very formal thing. It can be as laid back as you feel like. And the really best part is meeting a lot of really great people. Very very rare in this hobby you meet someone that is not top notch.
Just curious about reasons why people don't operate.

[Anonymous]

Everyone isn't the same. I do model railroading for the layout building. To me it's art like painting pictures or chipping marble, and I'm good at it. It relieves stress and I feel pride in my finished work whether anyone else does or not. It makes me feel good inside. Isn't that what its about? To me the trains are just part of the scenery. As to meeting people, I do that everyday in my job and want time to myself when I relax. Don't get me wrong, I love talking model trains with model train lovers, but I am a computer tech by trade and the conversations usually turn to computers. I hate talking about computers on my time, I hate giving clues to the clueless on my time. I want to relax! not deal with more computer users problems and give free basic training!!! And when people want advise and you give them some: well then they want to argue. "I already tried that, or my brother-in-law, who's a computer genius and works at McDonalds flipping burgers part time , says..." As to operating, I have no desire to work on the railroad, if I did I would apply for a job with the BNSF. To me that's what operations mean. If you want to do operations and that makes you feel good, well then by all means do it. Just understand that some of the guys who ride Harleys for fun think we are both are idiots.

[Anonymous]

Everyone isn't the same. I do model railroading for the layout building. To me it's art like painting pictures or chipping marble, and I'm good at it. It relieves stress and I feel pride in my finished work whether anyone else does or not. It makes me feel good inside. Isn't that what its about? To me the trains are just part of the scenery. As to meeting people, I do that everyday in my job and want time to myself when I relax. Don't get me wrong, I love talking model trains with model train lovers, but I am a computer tech by trade and the conversations usually turn to computers. I hate talking about computers on my time, I hate giving clues to the clueless on my time. I want to relax! not deal with more computer users problems and give free basic training!!! And when people want advise and you give them some: well then they want to argue. "I already tried that, or my brother-in-law, who's a computer genius and works at McDonalds flipping burgers part time , says..." As to operating, I have no desire to work on the railroad, if I did I would apply for a job with the BNSF. To me that's what operations mean. If you want to do operations and that makes you feel good, well then by all means do it. Just understand that some of the guys who ride Harleys for fun think we are both are idiots.

[ClinchValleySD40]

Sorry I didn't phrase my question correctly. I'm not saying one way or the other is better or everyone should operate or such. Everyone does it for different reasons. I was just curious as to way someone would go to the trouble of building something and not sharing.
And it is NOT like working on a railroad. I'm a retired railroader and model railroading does not even come close in any way to the real thing.

[ClinchValleySD40]

Sorry I didn't phrase my question correctly. I'm not saying one way or the other is better or everyone should operate or such. Everyone does it for different reasons. I was just curious as to way someone would go to the trouble of building something and not sharing.
And it is NOT like working on a railroad. I'm a retired railroader and model railroading does not even come close in any way to the real thing.

[Anonymous]

I share, my layout is in the back of the store and I show it several times a day. I have severals friends (suprise?) who come over regularly and procrastinate about starting a club and all but never show up when you try and have a meeting. As to operating, other than the hard physical work that is required in the real thing, how is having bills of lading and delivering the cars on time not like the real thing? I mean John Allen invented a switching puzzle and proclaimed it was just like the real thing? I have not worked on the real rails so enlighten me.

[Anonymous]

I share, my layout is in the back of the store and I show it several times a day. I have severals friends (suprise?) who come over regularly and procrastinate about starting a club and all but never show up when you try and have a meeting. As to operating, other than the hard physical work that is required in the real thing, how is having bills of lading and delivering the cars on time not like the real thing? I mean John Allen invented a switching puzzle and proclaimed it was just like the real thing? I have not worked on the real rails so enlighten me.

[Anonymous]

Medically retired and tired of watching the grass grow I took up building models - railroad models. I am currently building a 5X12 layout to run my trains and will be scratch building all scenery and detailing all rolling stock to prototypical specs. As a farm boy, I have never been exposed to RR ops. However, it sounds intreging and much more fun than just watching model trains go in circles. I have been investigating, reading all I can, on RR ops - freight bills, waybills, transfers, etc. and am hoping that one of these days operations will come together in my head so that I will understand how it works.

As for sharing my layout... Unable to drive any longer I don't get out to visit with other RR'ers so don't know anyone interested in coming over to see my layout except for my son-in-law and grandson which they come over 'bout once a week to see how far I've gotten on the layout. Working 2-4 hours a day for a month now (see the thread on "The 20 minute rule" http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6462) have gotten about 2/3rds of the subroadbed completed.

I truly enjoy model railroading and reading all the great threads on these boards. Most threads are very informative.

[Anonymous]

Medically retired and tired of watching the grass grow I took up building models - railroad models. I am currently building a 5X12 layout to run my trains and will be scratch building all scenery and detailing all rolling stock to prototypical specs. As a farm boy, I have never been exposed to RR ops. However, it sounds intreging and much more fun than just watching model trains go in circles. I have been investigating, reading all I can, on RR ops - freight bills, waybills, transfers, etc. and am hoping that one of these days operations will come together in my head so that I will understand how it works.

As for sharing my layout... Unable to drive any longer I don't get out to visit with other RR'ers so don't know anyone interested in coming over to see my layout except for my son-in-law and grandson which they come over 'bout once a week to see how far I've gotten on the layout. Working 2-4 hours a day for a month now (see the thread on "The 20 minute rule" http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6462) have gotten about 2/3rds of the subroadbed completed.

I truly enjoy model railroading and reading all the great threads on these boards. Most threads are very informative.

[Anonymous]

I would come see it, but it's too far to drive. FRED

[Anonymous]

I would come see it, but it's too far to drive. FRED

[CNJ831]

In addressing Clinchvalley's question, let me first say that my reply is in no way meant to be derogatory to those who indeed enjoy operations - I occasionally dabble in it myself in a crude way but it is not my main interest in the hobby.

Our leisure-time pursuit is one that is much closer to folkart than an attempt to exactingly replicate the operations of a particular industry, as "operations" implies. Although MR magazine and its crew of contributors have espoused for some 50 years that operations is the intended end goal of layout building, no hobby survey by MR, NMRA, or other organization has ever indicated that it is done in any significant fashion by more than about 30% of hobbyists. Serious operating-groups probably account for just a few percent of hobbyists.

For the vast majority of model railroaders the hobby is about creating/building/modeling - specifically an outlet for our creative drive and talents. In many ways it is similar to artists who paint or sculpt. To one dgree or another we are creating something akin to 3-dimensional lanscape paintings. As such, the desire is to create something that pleases ourselves specifically, not something necessarily intended to share with strangers, or even friends. On an amateur level, most artists paint or sculpt to challenge themselves. Whether their works truly appeal to the viewer usually remains secondary to them. In a similar sense, model railroading is not really a hobby about sharing or socializing to any degree. This is reflected in that probably less than 10% of modelers are members of any clubs or organizations. In fact, the somewhat anti-social nature of our hobby was often the subject of jokes and cartoons that ran in MR years ago!

I've heard many hobbyist refer to those who operate as the "work-obsessed" - something of an aspect intended for those who find it uncomfortable to relax even for a minute away from work. Admittedl;y, most of us use the hobby as an escape from the work-a-day world and desire no guidelines, rules, train orders, or schedules to invade our hobby time. We ARE trying to relax.

Perhaps the most obvious demonstration that the hobby is really all about building something is that even the best known model railroaders and the leading proponents of operations, with layouts that could exist for the rest of us only in our wildest dreams, end up tearing them down soon after they reach completion, only to start over again. These guys (and most of the rest of us too!) may claim it is because they have a better idea, trackplan, or whatever but I think most would agree that deep down it is that burning desire to create yet again that is resurfacing.

CNJ831

[CNJ831]

In addressing Clinchvalley's question, let me first say that my reply is in no way meant to be derogatory to those who indeed enjoy operations - I occasionally dabble in it myself in a crude way but it is not my main interest in the hobby.

Our leisure-time pursuit is one that is much closer to folkart than an attempt to exactingly replicate the operations of a particular industry, as "operations" implies. Although MR magazine and its crew of contributors have espoused for some 50 years that operations is the intended end goal of layout building, no hobby survey by MR, NMRA, or other organization has ever indicated that it is done in any significant fashion by more than about 30% of hobbyists. Serious operating-groups probably account for just a few percent of hobbyists.

For the vast majority of model railroaders the hobby is about creating/building/modeling - specifically an outlet for our creative drive and talents. In many ways it is similar to artists who paint or sculpt. To one dgree or another we are creating something akin to 3-dimensional lanscape paintings. As such, the desire is to create something that pleases ourselves specifically, not something necessarily intended to share with strangers, or even friends. On an amateur level, most artists paint or sculpt to challenge themselves. Whether their works truly appeal to the viewer usually remains secondary to them. In a similar sense, model railroading is not really a hobby about sharing or socializing to any degree. This is reflected in that probably less than 10% of modelers are members of any clubs or organizations. In fact, the somewhat anti-social nature of our hobby was often the subject of jokes and cartoons that ran in MR years ago!

I've heard many hobbyist refer to those who operate as the "work-obsessed" - something of an aspect intended for those who find it uncomfortable to relax even for a minute away from work. Admittedl;y, most of us use the hobby as an escape from the work-a-day world and desire no guidelines, rules, train orders, or schedules to invade our hobby time. We ARE trying to relax.

Perhaps the most obvious demonstration that the hobby is really all about building something is that even the best known model railroaders and the leading proponents of operations, with layouts that could exist for the rest of us only in our wildest dreams, end up tearing them down soon after they reach completion, only to start over again. These guys (and most of the rest of us too!) may claim it is because they have a better idea, trackplan, or whatever but I think most would agree that deep down it is that burning desire to create yet again that is resurfacing.

CNJ831

[Anonymous]

I love to build a layout, and at one time I was sure I loved to operate? Then it hit me oneday while sitting in the hole on one of the locals layout for a real 45mins or about 2 1/2 hrs fast time holding tightly to my neat little pile of card cards ,ooh,ooh just dropped them on the floor! just one min. please lets see CP 12222bxc here it is CONX 1119299992929922991I don''t know this is fun right ?
Now when I do go to a operating session I make it real, I go has a railfan and wait for the rail police to run be off the property, it adds to the real operations right?

[Anonymous]

I love to build a layout, and at one time I was sure I loved to operate? Then it hit me oneday while sitting in the hole on one of the locals layout for a real 45mins or about 2 1/2 hrs fast time holding tightly to my neat little pile of card cards ,ooh,ooh just dropped them on the floor! just one min. please lets see CP 12222bxc here it is CONX 1119299992929922991I don''t know this is fun right ?
Now when I do go to a operating session I make it real, I go has a railfan and wait for the rail police to run be off the property, it adds to the real operations right?