Realistic Model Railroad Operation

Make your railroad more true-to-life - and interesting - by adopting realistic operation principles. Covers the history, practice, terminology, and benefits of operating realistically. Guides you through the steps leading to realistic operation, and includes pictorial examples of working model railroads and realistic operating sessions.

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Author: Tony Koester
Perfect-bound softcover; 8 1/4 x 10 3/4; 96 pages; 25 black and white photos; 125 color photos; 40 illustrations; ISBN: 9780890244180

Tony Koester has written a half-dozen books focusing on his life-long hobby of model railroading. Tony is the editor of Model Railroad Planning, a special annual issue of Model Railroader magazine, as well as a contributing editor to MR. He writes MR’s popular Trains of Thought column and has written numerous feature articles for MR. He also served as the editor of Railroad Model Craftsman magazine until 1981.
Tony spent a quarter of a century designing, building, and with his friends, operating a freelanced coal-hauling HO railroad, the Allegheny Midland (the Midland Road). More recently, he has been hard at work on a multi-deck HO layout that accurately depicts the Nickel Plate Road’s St. Louis Division as it appeared in 1954.

Introduction 4

Chapter 1: Realistic models, realistic movements 6
Chapter 2: Quick-start guide to operation 10
Chapter 3: Basics of operation 14
Chapter 4: Classification and staging yards 26
Chapter 5: Shortcuts to operation 40
Chapter 6: Forwarding cars 48
Chapter 7: Moving trains 60
Chapter 8: Signal systems 72
Chapter 9: The operating session 80
Chapter 10: What lies ahead 88

Appendix 92