How do you operate your layout?

My layout is set up in scenes that mirror episodes of Ivor the Engine. Ivor begins in his shed and trundles from scene to scene. 

For example, here he takes water before getting clearance from Owen the Signal to head to his first station. Note Idris the dragon in stack. 

I will spare you more photos... Ivor visits Llaniog station where he can pick up a truck or two, he can switch Pugh's Pit (a coal mine), and drop off and pick up items at Mrs. Porty's manse (the owner of the line), a gold mine, a volcano housing more dragons, another Welsh town, where Ivor is a member of the local choir, a farm and finally a junction with the Main Line. Then what is essentially a loop brings him to a switch where he can back into his shed after a satisfying day's work. 

Yeah,right on.

My railfan interests involve watching different trains go by, preferably a series of different trains, in scenic locations that provide a nice backdrop for photography. My model railroading follows the same idea: a place to watch different trains go by. I get a bit weary of the hobby magazine articles that want to make a big deal out of switching, scheduling, and clerical work. Well that's fine if you like it but it's not gospel for enjoying the hobby.

I have enough work in the hobby with restoring old trains and making them run well and reliably. Then I like to put them through their paces with the challenges of long trains and sometimes steep grades. And there is some dispatching involved to avoid clogging up the siding and yard and main tracks. But mainly I just want to see them rolling along ...

My wife and I almost exclusively, nowadays, operate the layout, sporadically throughout the year, only when we have guests, which is usually the local clergy and/or some seminarians, relatives, children's choir and/or altar servers, and colleagues and non-hobby friends.

Here you can see "command-central," literally, with two trains per ZW, all run by TMCC; plus one trolley.

I removed a RR-yard and roundhouse because that got stale real fast for me, for my wife, and for our non-hobby guests. I wanted to be able to talk in response to guests' exuberance and surprise, not move boxcars around to compose a consist, for example, and wanted the trains to run continually so I could be an attentive host and enjoy myself with everyone's company.

That means, as soon as an engine "gives me attitude," it is off the layout and put into display, usually permanently. Several are at-the-ready to take its place immediately.

The ten trains running in Moon Township, now, have been there for years because they are dependable, which means no tripping, no hiccups, or fade-outs, just lots of noise, smoke, horns, bells and commotion, in continual movement.

When I begin to turn the trains off, one at a time, as guests gradually leave the train-room, you can hear the silence, pervaded by a cloud of smoke.

Here are a few shots of some sections of the layout...

FrankM.

Round-the-room layout[9x16] is sort of dormant and messy currently. Long recovery from "small" stroke in 2010, occurred just as I completed railpower wiring and Tortoise switch motors. Small attic operation with dual mains, Engine Service Yard on one side, corners with [1]Textile Mill buildings and [2]Sawmill/Lumber Yard. Other side,36" wide, is to be a Village utilizing mostly ready built structures as my building days are over.

Operation of shorter consists running comparatively slow[compared to action on large layouts I dismantled in '08 and '09]. 

Next to last photo shows what my wife refers to as "The mess". 

Kinda? I was rolling on the floor, much of this sounds like me at different times. Thank you Tom.

Ray

+1.....great post!

--Greg

My old layout was 8x16.

It was a single main line that went around the table 4 times with an up and over elevation.

There was a through yard with three in and out sidings.  All operation was in forward.

There were blocks to allow four trains to run at once.

So I would power up, and start train 1, then throw the switches to siding 1 and launch train 2, then train 3 and train 4.

It was great to have all four trains looping around on the same single main.

Two wrap up I would reverse the operation, train into siding 1, power off siding and throw points to siding 2....

All track was O-27.  All trains were O-27 (K-Line, Rail King, Lionel etc)

All turnouts were even 027 turnouts.

I used wider curves on the mains 072, 054, 042.

Because I was using 027 track I could not use the entire rail on a block to disable the block behind.  Instead I had a one track isolated rail section with a latching relay, that got unlatched when the next block  detector was reached.

Another layout within a layout that I have is my trolley module set.

The outside it 3 normal hi-rail mains.  The inside is a 32 foot long loop of trolley track.

The 32 foot long loop is broken up into 16 four foot long blocks.  Each block will pull a relay and disengage the power to the block behind it.

I also have one block where there is a time circuit that kills the block ever few seconds as well.  This causes period stops, then trolleys gang up in the blocks behind in a cascade.

The real fun is trying to get like 10 or more trolleys running at one time!

Nowadays,  I spend some hours setting up modules with NPOG then I grab my CAB1L and run some scale steam or electric.  Then tear it all down again.  Its a transient piece of art.

Hey Dewey, I have to say, I like everything you have there so far, epitomized by these three shots. You have interesting models and interesting arrangements. Have fun! I think you are going to surprise yourself, and even your wife, with what she will come to discover you have accomplished quite handsomely.

FrankM.