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!

A Return to November Interchange

Among the most disappointing losses of organized activities in the COVID era was to learn that the DC-NJ 'November Interchange' in 2020 had been postponed indefinitely.  That weekend, which has been around for more than 7 years now, became a focus of every fall for me and for the 'wisdom keepers' on the Onondaga Cutoff.  

After that hiatus, it is exciting to report that Interchange returned in 2021, arriving in New Jersey to make up for the lost year.  About 22 'boomers' made the trip to operate on any three of 7 available layouts of which the Onondaga Cutoff was one.  The OC hosted 11 guests, who were shown the ropes by 6 of the regulars. 

Here we have noted model railroad author and operator Steve King, one of the founders of the 'ProRail' organization in the 1980's, on a visit to the Onondaga Cutoff once again.  He's the hogger on today's NYS&W interchange move SY-1, a Syracuse-based job that will take freight from Conrail interchnage down to Binghamton, NY.

Meanwhile, one of the most enthusiastic and consistent supporters of the 'OC' is Wayland Moore, a kindred soul from Virginia who has made fast friends with all of us on the OC.  Rich Wisneski as always is a great mentor and guide for the guys as they get their feet on the ground, and wheels rolling.

One of the great parts of Interchange is that a group of guys that haven't seen the railroad much get to work it, and there is a learning curve. But. with operators of this caliber, they come on quickly - and by the halfway point the session is rolling.  Here's Bob Rodriguez of The Nickel City Line hamming it up while Jack and Don work with Jerry Dziedzic to move trains across the main line.  

Another thing about Interchange is the support of all the families to allow it to happen, especially a lot to ask in a COVID recovery year.  Kristen and the kids all dressed the part and were wonderful hosts and helpers, and the session really went off without a major hitch.  

Thanksgiving is here, and I am especially grateful for you as a reader of the blog and for the hobby, for my family and career and good fortune.  I wish you and your family a healthy and happy thanksgiving!

November Interchange

Last year, we were invited to have the Onondaga Cutoff be part of an annual round-robin series of operating sessions where a group of layouts in New Jersey are open for a group of modelers and operators from Virginia and Maryland to visit and have a guest operating session.   It was a pleasure to meet so many other modelers of note and to host such a great group of operators! 

This year, we were invited to join the same group on their turf for a weekend of operations and open houses.  I was able to operate on two layouts that have long been inspirations to me:  Mat Thompson's Oregon Coast, and Doug Kirkpatrick's Virginian & Western.  Both were wonderful hosts, and both layouts are nearly complete with robust operations and amazing scenery.  So, I asked permission from the layout owners to share a few of my photos of their spectacular work here.

Friday I was at the Oregon Coast (another 'OC'!) hosted by Mat and Victoria Thompson:

 Jack & Tom hard at work at Hoyt Street Yard, Portland Oregon 

 Jerry working hard at the big Swift Meat Plant outside of Hoyt Street Yard

 Fabulous scenery on Mat's Oregon Coast - the Victoria local passing an abandoned logging camp.

 Friday evening social at Mat's after the session.  Great camaraderie!

 Saturday morning we find ourselves at Doug Kirkpatrick's incredible Virginian & Western, inspired by the Norfolk & Western in VA.  I'm quite partial to the signals, of course, but the hand-laid track is amazing and the scenery very convincing.

 The tail end of my freight train, 99, working at Jamestown Yard.  All cabooses are lit.  The depth of these scenes and the flowing trackwork are a pleasure to see.

Finally, another layout that does night lighting!  While Doug uses blue lights, the effect is wonderful with all the lit buildings and equipment he runs.  Here the switcher at Cincinnati waits in the clear while my train 96 rolls past.  

An overview of the station and mainline at Loraine, lit up after sunset. 

 Signals lit up for east and westbounds to meet at Falls Church, home to a local even overnight.

This was a weekend that I had looked forward to for a full year, and even given high expectations, the weekend exceeded them.  The layouts were wonderful, the operations satisfying and interesting, and the camaraderie reminded me there are still a lot of good people out there.  In short, this is one of the things that makes this hobby so special to us - it's all just good fun.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!  

~RGDave