Last week month I sent a new engine to a buddy for DCC and sound installation. I got the engine back last week and ran an ops session with it right away on my Hermitage Road layout. Here’s the report.

I had the layout set up for a Seaboard ops session with mostly southeastern cars, but I threw on the new Milwaukee Road FM and ran the session anyway.

Here’s the list of cars on the layout set up for pick-up or set-out in alphabetical order. In this case, set-out cars were in the staging yard, and pick-up (I called them “pull”) cars were on the layout in the locations mentioned.

I re-shuffled the lineup into a pick-up/set-out list, which made it a little easier for organizing switching:

To help visualize where the industries are, here’s a TrainPlayer drawing of the layout sent to me by John Moenius.

So let’s get going!

Below. I started the session by shoving all seven set-out cars from the staging yard onto the layout. The cars were not blocked, so a little extra shuffling will be required.

Note the cars were set up on track two of the traverser. The tracks are numbered one to five, front to back. I normally keep track three, the center track, clear for run-around moves.

Also…for something a little different, I picked a “vintage” filter for photos in this post. They look lot like all the crummy Ektachrome slides I have from the early 1980s.

Below. The cars have been pushed onto the layout and now I’m ready for work. I’m blocking two crossings so I need to make my initial moves and clear them up within ten minutes.

Below. I uncoupled the engine from the seven-car block, then pulled all three empty cars from the grocery and brewery track and into staging.

Below. The traverse table is being set up to pull the empties into track one.

Below. I’ve pulled the cars to track one and left them, then run around them on track two. Next I’m heading in to pull cars off the block company and Alcatraz track.

Below. See that SAL box car tucked away in the Alcatraz plant? We’ll push it through and pick up the loaded car at the block factory, then pull them all out together.

While the road is still blocked, we pushed the car from Alcatraz to the block plant to pick up the loaded SAL composite car there. That SAL car is a B-5. Once we’re coupled we’ll pull both cars all the way out to the traverse table.

Below. I’m pulling those two SAL cars out on track two of the traverser. I’ll leave them there, run around them on track three, then start setting out cars before our ten minutes elapses.

Below. Now I’ll couple up and start spotting these cars.

SAL 58102, a phosphate hopper with a load of sand, is at the far end, so let’s spot that car first. Below, I’ve pulled the train all the way back out on the stating traverser, which also frees up both crossings…

…and now I’m pushing all the way across the layout…

…to spot that last car, SAL 58102, at the block plant. It needs to go at the end of the plant by the conveyor. There are bins at the end of the plant, fed by a conveyor, for sand, gravel and concrete. By the way SAL 58102 is a brand-new car in my fleet–it’s a Funaro & Camerlengo model.

Below. Next I’ll drop most of the cars but hold on to the NYC box car and GYRX reefer, and spot them on the grocery track. The cars we’re leaving are clear of the crossings, so there’s no time limit to worry about.

Below. Pushing the NYC car all the way into the brewery.

Below. NYC 136417 is spotted, so let’s uncouple and pull the reefer up a hundred feet and drop it at the grocery warehouse.

Below, the GYRX car is spotted, so let’s get back and get those last four cars spotted. The tank car goes to Alcatraz (not Southern Fuel), the loaded hoppers go to Hermitage Coal Co., and the SAL hopper with a load of cement will be dropped “Off-spot” and delivered tonight by the night crew.

Nice scene here, below. The filter does a good job of creating sort of a late-in-the-day light with soft shadows.

Below. Here are the cars we need to set-out.

Below. First we tuck the UTLX car into Alcatraz, uncouple it, set the brakes, and leave it.

Below. I’ve pulled away from the tank car and now we’re free to work the Hermitage Coal Co. track. To avoid any extra moves let’s leave our cars coupled and pull the empties from Hermitage Coal first.

Below. A black and white shot at the road crossing.

Below. And now a “bird’s-eye” view. I’ve pulled the two empties out of Hermitage Coal–a C&O hopper and a NYC hopper–and I’ll set them aside on the nearest track so I can get the loads in asap.

Below. I’ve set out the empty Central and C&O hoppers on the ladder temporarily, and now I can shove the two coal loads all the way in.

Below. Here’s the delivery at Hermitage Coal Co. being completed.

All that’s left is to leave the covered hopper “off-spot” on the ladder. This car will be delivered by the night crew tonight. Once the covered hopper is set out, I can pull the two empty hoppers off the layout and that’ll be it for the day.

Below. Leaving the covered hopper off-spot on the ladder.

Below. We’re all done here. I’ve coupled up our last two cars–the empty NYC and C&O hoppers–and will pull them off the layout to staging.

Below. Session complete. It took 23 minutes to service half the spots, pull seven cars, and spot seven cars.

I hope you enjoyed the session. The new engine ran great, by the way.

I wish you and your families a blessed Christmas celebration. Please set some time aside with your families to celebrate the eternal reason for Christmas. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16