Individual operators can register for events and get notified when operating events are available. An operator's profile, once created, does not have to be re-entered for every event. Layout owners and event organizers can only see the information if the operator signs up for their event. Operators can also sign up as a group to make carpooling simpler.
To get started, create your user profile today!
Layout owners can update their layout information in the directory, adding pictures and related documents whenever they wish. They can also create an operating session that is either open to the public or only sent to an invitee list. No more keeping track of everyone's email addresses and phones... each operator can update their own profile.
Note: Club-owned layouts should register here. During the registration process, you can mark that your railroad is club-owned and fill in the address/contact information.
To get started, create your user profile and then go to the Railroad Manager to enter your layout details.
An organization can be as simple as a round-robin group in your city, a regional operating group, or a temporary group associated with a convention. You can add railroads who are participating in your organization and then set up events for those railroads as a group. Quick and easy URLs are provided to link your organization's landing page on OperatingSessions.com to your event or organization web site.
Note: Club-owned layouts are not considered organizations in the system. Organizations are groups of layouts in the terminology used here.
Completeness Rating Feature
For those of you who have planned operations events, you already know that the more complete the railroad profile, the quicker those sessions fill up. To assist with that, I've added a Completeness Rating to the Railroad Manager page. It's made up of two parts:
I may tweak this over time, but after looking at some profile pages that seemed complete, this seems like a good starting point. If you have feedback, please send it to dispatcher@operatingsessions.com.
Released on 5/6/2026
Registrant Notes
I've also added a way for people registering for single sessions to notify the railroad owner of special requests/notes/etc. This should NOT be used to add people to the event registration - each person should register on their own. However, if you know you're going to be running late, this is an easy way to communicate this to the event organizer. This feature probably does not make sense for standard events where there are multiple sessions involved at different railroads.
Released on 5/4/2026
Single Session Cancellation Feature
I've rolled out the first part of a long-missing feature: self cancellation. This is currently available for single session events. Standard events are more complicated, since you have cases such as having to reassign the group leader, allowing the group leader to cancel just his/her registration or the entire group, etc. Cancelling a single session is simpler because there's no group option. When this is done, you'll get an email with a confirmation, and the railroad owner will also be notified by email.
Released on 4/30/2026