11 crew member arrived from various locations including the bay area and Sacramento. Die hard railroaders braving weather conditions and getting up early (thanks to Starbucks for being open at 5 AM) they found their way to the OWNRy layout room even arriving early. After a review of the layout for newbies, the Superintendent gave a geography lesson in where all the cities are. Using a white board and colored pens he then showed where the "worm holes" are..e.g. how one gets from Wallula switch to Nampa, Idaho in 6 inches instead of 250 miles. This seemed to help...some. Yardmasters were appointed for Seattle (Alan), Portland (Mark) and Pasco (John). 2 newbies in the yards.
Fortunately their experience in operating aided them in surviving. and after the first hour, as with most newbies to a layout (including yours truly), they were in the flow and trains were rolling even faster. Intrepid Dispatcher Jacobson figured out the JMRI dispatch panel (who better to do so?) and discovered the little gremlin causing problems then it was smooth sailing from there. All told we moved 28 trains including a couple of extra trains. THe only train not run was the Valley Flyer (RDC). Pasco, as usual, proved to be a fun experience, one John will definitely remember (Mark will pay later 
