MAJOR milestone reached: The Great Northwestern Railway had the first "test" operating session! The management decided the equipment had done enough trials, and the layout was ready for a real stress-test. So an invite was sent out and 4 volunteers graciously accepted.
Good news is the layout performed quite well. There was a short punch-list of problems that were identified, but all in all, trains moved quite well and reliably.
Next step is to flesh out the operating plan and set up waybills for the cars. It's one thing to just pick up and drop off whatever you like; it is something entirely different to have specific destinations and car routing!
Some highlights of the evening. Thanks to all for making it a great success!
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| Three of the four testers are, left to right, Dave Cochrun, Keith Hayes and Kevin Strong |
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| Gerry Glancy made up the balance of the test crew |
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| Multiple simultaneous movements in Armstrong yard was a key element of the test. |
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| Gerry bringing a manifest freight bound for Warm Springs through the "old" part of the layout. |
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| The new Armstrong Yard provides for, left to right: a running/bypass track, 4 classification yard tracks, 2 arrival/departure tracks, siding, main, and passenger siding. On the far right is a stub track for the GNW's biz car. |
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| Gerry working Warm Springs. |
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| Kevin running a transfer between Armstrong and Valley Gate. |
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| Armstrong Yard was under the capable hands of Keith. |
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| Another key element of the test was running multiple trains on the main and on both decks. All went well without any electrical issues. |
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| The one disaster of the evening was the derailment of the excursion train while backing into Rosita. The turnout drive has since been fixed. No passengers were hurt in this incident. |
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| The day after the OS, Nancy was already hard at work installing scenery between Rosita and Wren Canyon. Stay tuned for more developments on the scenery! |
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