A Vision of Operations

Sharing the hobby of modeling railroading is to me one of the great strengths the community has.  The Onondaga Cutoff was created to share memories and passion for mainline railroad operations, and with a longtime goal of being able to share the operations through regular operating sessions.  Another important goal of mine was to share the railroad in the hobby media: magazines, this blog, social media, books, podcasts, etc.  

Those operations goals are met with a great group of local operators.  For nearly 15 years, the OC has supported regular sessions, generally on a monthly basis.  Here we have a group led by regulars including Al Tillotson, Doug Watts, Rich Wisneski, Jack Trabachino, Chris Lee, and Tom Schmieder. Those early sessions generated another layer of community, as guests of regulars from the North Jersey area gradually were invited to see what they had heard about.  

I am grateful for that larger community, and especially for Jerry Dziedzic who included the OC in November Interchange the first time.  Now more than a decade later the tradition continues in 2025.  The boys and I also pitched in, and our guests from the Washington, DC area did a fantastic job moving trains on the OC.  

Operations gives the railroad purpose, and gives us a reason to keep on railroading month after month.  It is essentially a role playing game for railroad people, and like any such activity it helps bring us together.  Each of the guys here has a life at home: family and friends, many with careers ongoing or from which they have retired.  And each makes time to bring that life experience here where we share it with a common goal of efficient operations.  The result is a really great camaraderie that is fun in the moment and generates anticipation for the next time.  

Look for opportunities to participate in operations.  Start with open invites or at regional shows, and see if you like it.  I think you might!

Giving Thanks

 As we head through Thanksgiving and into December, it is an annual time of Thanksgiving.  This is always a good time to take a breath and really think of things for which we are grateful.  And this year, it's an easy one for Conrail modelers.  

I love Thanksgiving.  I really do, it is my favorite holiday and a complete joy to host each year.  And a fun chapter of that night in the last few years has been the Abeles cousins all running trains around the OC after dessert.  Sure enough, that came to be once again!

Here's a grab shot in Island Yard, showing two fantastic 2025 deliveries that have helped the OC look the part.  In the background is Broadway Limited Imports' new business car, which is a PRR prototype that Conrail did not roster.  However, it's a great addition to my Office Car Special train, custom-painted, numbered and detailed by me to bring up the markers on the OCS train.  And of course, prominently in front of it here is the fantastic C36-7 by Rapido Trains.

As a thought exercise, either of these would have been sufficient for me this year.  The OC benefits quite a bit from both, and these models help with being able to share the story with others via operating sessions and with Facebook Live, with photographs for this blog or for magazines or books.

Those operating sessions specifically also make me thankful for the companionship and support of those that have helped with the OC from an operations aspect.  And there is no greater contributor from an operations perspective than Jack Trabachino.  I am grateful that we live near each other and can see each other regularly, that we work at the same company with the same mission, and most of all that it is still so much fun to hang out with each other.  We met in 1987 and so 40 years of friendship is right around the corner, and here we are enjoying a few drinks with each other in November.   

In fact if I take a minute to reflect on it, it is hard to not have other things come to mind for which I am thankful.  There's a text group, as a random example, with longtime friends I met through The Station Inn, and it brings me joy.  Alex Lang, Lou Capwell, Jon Kayes, Mike Filoni and I share images, reflect on happenings and get a few laughs regularly that way.  And all of this is only worthwhile because of Kristen, my wife and parter in all things, and 'DemClams' - those three crazy kids that make me proud and hold their own in a changing world.  

In closing, thanks to you too for reading this post and the blog, and for supporting the OC journey which is chronicled here.  There is no question that I have a lot to be thankful for!