I've spent the last several days writing on the computer myself, in this case an operating scenario for the model railway. We "operate" every other month here with crews of enthusiasts replicating railway operations using train-orders, switchlists, &c. Each session takes about two to three hours to complete, and the participants still find it enjoyable enough to return enthusiastically for the next session.
This one is one of the more complex ones, and writing out the sequence and the orders that control that sequence is very much like flow-charting a computer program and writing the commands. After all, a railway, model or real, is an analogue computer; all familiar control theory based.
I'm not sure the participants realise how much time is invested in creating those two or three hours. Just writing the sequence and orders takes several days of focussed work. The eight weeks between sessions can easily be busy ones writing, testing, and ensuring the mechanical and electrical reliability.
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