Hi David, well done. I

Hi David, well done. I currently operate with 12 guys in a round robin informal operating group and it is very rewarding. Most likely you will be very stressed leading upto and during the first night, however it is not to be taken too seriously until the guys get to know the layout and it's, as well as your requirements in the pursuit of operations. Things well settle down with the crew and ultimately you will be able to build on their feedback and undertake improvements which operations highlight. Operating groups also allow for your fellow modellers to review what you are doing, or other members of the group are doing and ultimately improve their layouts. Let us know how it goes.

Results

Bummed! Invited twenty people and only two showed up; an excuse for everything even though the invite went out two weeks ago.

Those that did show up had a good time and accomplished what I wanted - found several "bugs" in the layout that need fixing.

Will be more selective in who I invite to the regular ops session each month. In the meantime, I have work to do and can run my railroad myself to have fun.

Don't worry

It can take a while to build up a crew interested in the kind of operations you want to run. For some people it will be too much like work, and they won't come back. Other people will be disappointed that you aren't reaching up to their own lofty personal standard (you should ask these people if you can visit their railroad).  You had two guys show up. Ask them to each bring an interested friend next time, and within a year, you'll have enough people to run the way you want.

As you gain experience running the railroad, take time for a "debrief" after the session and be willing to make adjustments to things like job assignments and fast clock ratios when your crew offers suggestions.

Are many of your crew football fans?

1-4 this past Sunday was competing directly with the NFL.  If your crew likes football you may want to try a different day/time.  

Randy

Sorry the guys did not show

Sorry the guys did not show up,  however as was mentioned you are competing with some big draws in the fall. The NFL on Sundays, Church, and I am sure several family time issues. I would suggest trying some different times and days till you find out what works best for the folks you like to have over. Also if your main competition is the NFL it will be done by the beginning of February and no longer an issue.

One other thought would be to provide more notice say a month so guys can actually plan for it and block out the time for the operating session instead of having to try and juggle something around it.

I liked the other suggestion that Joe made as well. Hope your next session goes better that the first one did as far as folks showing up.

" Invited twenty people and

 I'd suggest starting out with small sessions with folks you know and then add others as you find new interested folks, build on the ties that your first crew members provide. I wouldn't want 20 new guys to deal with at one time. Any railroad has operating jobs that can be run with a one person or a few person crew, a whole "day" doesn't have to be on the agenda to start .....DaveB 

Glad you ran anyways

So tell us what bugs you found, and what went better than anticipated?

Thomas Gasior

Rome was Not Built In A Day

Operations and getting things rolling is not easy.  I would suggest talking to each person one on one and explain you are not upset and find out if they one want to really do it, and second if so what will work for them. My crew call list is way past 60 and usually get 10 to 12 to say they are coming. Send notice 30 days out and follow up the week of. If it becomes fix group then only have  to call a couple of days before for the something came up situation them call backups. 

Crew call seniority lists

In use a crew call list with a first RSVP'd first to operate. But when the crew comes, I do have a sign in book and a seniority list. The one highest on the list get first choice of jobs. Keeps them motivated to be there. On occasion I'll do a open session to give newer guys a chance.