Operations, Near and Far

 As years have passed and operations on the Onondaga Cutoff have grown, so has the option to attend sessions at other's homes, and to be part of other communities around the country.  

A recent photo that came across email to me brought a smile to my face.  There are friends you meet along the road who are there to help you learn, and to help guide us forward.  These friends grow to become close to us and our families too, indeed becoming friends both within and outside of this hobby.  Doug Watts is a person who has always been willing to offer an ear and to be part of what we are working to build on the OC.  

Here's a fun image of Doug and I at an operating session on Tony Koester's famous Nickel Plate Road back in 2023.  We are both fortunate to be within a reasonable drive of this operation, it's a great experience to share!  Thanks to Rich Wisneski for the image.  

Operating a model railroad is a truly compelling part of this hobby of ours.  It becomes a bit of a lifestyle, too, one where you have to stay flexible in being surprised, be willing to take a risk and make mistakes, and have fun in a spot where you're the new guy and everyone else knows what they are doing.  (Or, at least, they seem to know what they are doing.)  

Take a chance on operations!  There are a variety of ways to get started, including open events that surround many National Model Railroad Association conventions and meets, as well as around Railway Prototype Modeler meets (RPMs) and even some train shows such as the big expo each year at Springfield MA.  

Operations keeps the good times going.

Simultaneous with the Semiquincentennial

This American semiquincentennial year of 2026 has been the sort of whirlwind year that makes the last few years look quiet - which is saying quite a bit.  Perhaps this is standard fare for the mid-life responsibilities that creep upon families and professionals.  However, when we add in the once-in-a-lifetime sort of activities that surround this particular year, it becomes clear how much of an outlier this one is.  The foundation of all of this is health, and by the grace of God the family is doing wonderfully.

This crowd is having quite a year, and it seems appropriate to list that here for posterity. New Jersey had a great cold winter this year, providing challenges at work.  We had two kids finishing their time at elementary schools headed to the next level while I was elected President of the Board of Education, while serving as Vice Chairman of the Planning Board.  Work at the day job was heating up too: we received permission to work on a semiquincentennial locomotive wrap.  

Meanwhile, for the first time the Onondaga Cutoff was selected to host a pair of full-day operating sessions as part of the annual Prototype Railroad Operations (ProRail) weekend in April.  ProRail is a national invitational event where about 60 of the nation's most avid model railroad operators come to spend a weekend running trains area layouts - the sort of event that takes maximum preparation and planning.  Simultaneously at the day job we were preparing to host the world cup soccer matches in NJ.  In the middle of those preparatory activities was Conrail's 50th anniversary on April 1, to which I was invited as part of the day job.  Of course April 1 is also the day which happened to also be the feast of Passover this year, immediately ahead of Easter weekend, both of which we hosted.  

May included a first overnight trip with the family to Washington, DC during the kids' spring break as well as a family wedding weekend followed nearly immediately with night shift work started surrounding the 8 world cup events hosted in NJ.  June was a blur of competing priorities, graduations and school concerts, and night work.  Those events overlapped with July 4th, the actual 250th anniversary of the nation. A large part of the 250th birthday of America is also the incredible trip of the largest operational steam locomotive in the world, the Union Pacific no. 4014 'Big Boy', making the first trip ever for such an engine to the East Coast of the United States. We were able to get away to see that on July 1, a life-changing and awe inspiring spectacle of 600 tons of locomotive and Union Pacific's business train climbing a 1.1% grade at speed.  The waiting was part of the fun!

Then came July 4 itself, coincidentally this year marking not just 250 years of America but also the 100th anniversary of our town, celebrated as part of its annual Independence Day parade.    

Holy smokes.  Too much, right?  

I don't know.  I used to think so, and it's certainly possible that it may be so still.  And yet I am no longer certain.  Add in some family health issues and it is certainly unsustainable, of course.  We have some of that on the horizon.  And then again, still, how can we discount some of the moments that happen now only because of the time we have invested to date?  Here's a moment nearing 10pm during one of the world cup soccer service events with Semiquincentennial 4526 along with 4210, the Erie heritage unit, both of which we had a hand in creating.

While this level of activity adds stress to the family and is exhausting for me, moments like this give me some pause.  Each of these things are so important to me as part of a larger community that I feel it is worth the invested time and energy.  I don't see these things as optional, per se.  Of course that is a luxury made possible by good health, and the key to all of it is the love and supportive transparency with that family back at the start of this post above.  

All of this....and it's only July 9.  What a year!