Through the generosity of the Free-moN community, the 2023 Texas Express NMRA International Convention will be offering the Operations Road Show (ORS) experience to this year's attendees.
What is the Operations Road Show?
Originally designed as a stand-alone modular model railroad in HO, the ORS is a training program designed to let new or inexperienced operators try their hand at operations.
It is fundamentally a train operations clinic three hours in length that offers a training lecture followed by hands on operation on a model railroad.
Crewmen work in teams with a pilot at their side to answer any questions that may arise during the operating session.
The operating system used is based on the proto type Time Table and Train Order system (TT&TO).
Trains run to a schedule, with helping train orders being issued to some trains.
Multiple jobs are modeled including switching using JMRI generated switch list, mainline freight trains, scheduled passenger trains, yard jobs and locals doing industrial switching.
The sessions are designed to satisfy the needs of both the most novice of operators and old hands of the operations game.
As happened in last year's 2022 NMRA Convention, this year's layout is composed of Free-moN modules supplied from around the country, and even Scotland! The mainline run is over 320 feet with eight passing sidings. For those that have participated in the past, this will be a new, unique layout to enjoy and ops session on, a layout that will never again exist in this configuration. Five Train Order boards will demark points from which to OS the dispatcher.
The current layout plan for the 2023 Texas Express Convention is:
Sessions will happen Monday through Thursday of the convention. The three hours session will occur:
Monday, August 21:...........2:00 PM and 7:00 PM
Tuesday, August 22:..........9:00 AM and 2:00 PM
Wednesday, August 23:.....9:00 AM and 7:00 PM
Thursday, August 24:.........9:00 AM, 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM
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We have set aside special run times for two groups.
The 7:00 PM session on Tuesday will host the Women in Model Railroad SIG.
Wednesday's 2:00 PM session will be for members of the N Trak community.
If you are a member of either community, please come sign up for one of those sessions with your fellows in the hobby.
Sign up for all operating sessions will be available in the Tate Ballrom 'B' at the ORS layout site. Cindy Young will register you for a session. Sign ups will be available throughout the week until all sessions are full. Each session will accommodate up to 16 participants.
Make plans early to sign up and join us for one of the operating sessions during the week.
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