The Second Virtual Open House was a big success. We applied the learnings from last time, and relaxed our schedule a bit to allow the crew in the layout room some breathing room. We still had 40 operator slots during the Open House and all available slots were full a week before the event. A few last minute cancelations allowed club members to run trains remotely, too, and keep the main line busy.

Once again we used a modified JMRI Web Throttle to enable remote operators to control trains with no need for any software installs. This approach worked very well and minimizes potential technical problems. We prepared a tutorial video to explain how to use the throttle. Since operators knew what to expect they also could tell us when things didn’t work as advertised. Case in point: The Web Throttle Stop button becomes non-responsive if there isn’t operator activity for a while. Adjusting the locomotive speed with the slider always worked, so remote operators could always regain control over their respective trains, but this bug caused a few run red signals and will need to be addressed.

All our guests paid extra attention to run their trains carefully and with appropriate speed. We have found that remote operators run their trains slower than in-person operators. The cab view camera contributes to a more immersive operator experience and naturally leads to running trains more at scale speeds that “feel” right.

During one session we ran the layout in nighttime mode with the work lights in the room turned off and the layout lighting set to a blue tone that resembles a pale moon at night. Remote operators enjoyed this change in atmosphere immensely, and reported good video picture quality despite the reduced light.

While remote operators enjoyed the view from their personal cab camera within their throttle as they were running their train, we also streamed the cab view camera feeds from all 4 active trains, plus additional rail fan cameras, on Youtube Live during the event. A recording is linked below.

Everyone had a great time today: The support team in the layout room, the online SVL crew, and of course our virtual guests from all over the world. Thank you for joining us, and while we have not picked a date yet, we are planning to offer a similar event again later this year.