Guest operations are a great experience for both visitors and hosts alike. The Onondaga Cutoff hosted a session as part of a group of sessions on five railroads in one weekend here in Northwestern New Jersey in October, and it was a great honor to be able to join the fun! We worked hard to get the railroad ready - and it was worth it.
We hosted along with Perry Squier, Ted Pamprin, Jerry Dziedzic, and Tony Koester - four legendary layouts, and the OC. I am still amazed at the good fortune of living in this same area as these railroads!
The first session Saturday was at Jerry's, and here Doug Tagsold and Dustin Jeffers work the big NJ Zinc Mill in Franklin, NJ on Jerry's NYS&W/L&HR.
Later that afternoon, the crowd came to the OC, and we got right into it.
Guest sessions work best with helpers on hand who know the railroad well, regulars that can be trusted as guides for the visiting operators. Sometimes guests jump right in and this group not only jumped in but also caught on very quickly - it was a great session!
Mike Burgett, whose amazing C&O layout was a railroad on which I operated in the spring of 2022, sat in as the Conrail Mohawk Dispatcher on the OC. He worked it well with guidance from Jack T, who as always puts a tremendous amount of effort into making sure the operating plan works and is robust enough to hold up through the typical ebbs and flows of a session.
An honored guest this time as well as Eric White, who attended with his wife and son. Eric was recently promoted to be the Editor of Model Railroader magazine - a key role not just at Kalmbach but in the hobby in general - and he has now attended a session on the Onondaga Cutoff. Awesome!
It has been a thrilling and fascinating start to the fall in 2022, and things are continuing on a rapid pace. Maintaining balance is going to be a key not just this year but as life goes on and that is something I will explore more in future posts and creative works. Balancing life, family, career, and an immersive hobby is a wonderful privilege and a huge responsibility at the same time.
The best for all of these is yet to come!
Indeed, it was an awesome weekend of ops w/our out of town guests. Thanks again for the opportunity to be one of the assistants on your OC!
ReplyDeleteGreat time at the recent invitational ops weekend. Appreciated being part of your work crew. Thanks for the opportunity to assist our guests.
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