Getting Ready for Operations!

After 3 years of sweat and construction I am getting the layout ready for its first operating session. The purpose of an operating session is to run the railroad as if it were a real railroad, one built to move supplies and finished products around the country.

To do that, I created a spreadsheet listing the industries, the supplies they needed and the products they ship out. Then waybills (order to get empty cars to the industry to be filled and then instructions on where to ship them) were created. Railroad cars are then obtained to meet the waybill requests.

I will use the MicroMark car and waybill system. This week I mounted the waybill boxes (to hold the cards at the industries) and made up about half of the 200+ waybills I will need.

I also spent time running the railroad cars on the layout to weed out the broken and poor running ones.