I know that there are those that roast the likes of John Allen, George Selios and Malcom Furlow, but none of the above seems to bring out vinegar like Tony Koester. Whether you love or hate his style, he is the contemporary modeler has done much to expand the envelope towards realistic operations. In fact, he is one of the few people today that is pushing the envelope in any direction.
Is it that we as a hobby need someone to hate? Or is it that, like some people suggest, that we despise in some people what we despise most in ourselves?
I could never figure out why the “Contempt & Disdain” for Tony. He is an excellent modeller and has gone to many lenghts to show us new and diverse techniques. I do not find to be a know -it-all or a Mightier than thou kind of guy.
The impression I got from some was “Tony Overload” or “Tony’s Never Ending Layout”.
Well guess what, I miss his articles and pictures. The man did a lot to share the craft with us and we should be grateful not ingrates. Then again the “Contempt & Disdain” factor may have been more of envy, as not all of us will ever aspire to that artistic level or ability.
Chip,
Granted, Tony has contributed greatly to the hobby. In more directions that just prototype operations. The prototypical freelance of the former Allegheny Midland was incredible, his years of service at RMC, plus his “trains of though” columns in MR touched on a variety of subjects other than operation. He truly is one of the leaders of the hobby.
However, having met Tony years ago, I would say he is just a genuinely nice guy, who loves trains and who probably would find this all slightly embarassing.
I for one would like to know half of what Tony has forgotten. 10% of what Tony has “built” would satisfy me as a modeller. However, while I love the historic part of the hobby both prototype and models, my rivet counting is not up to “standard”.
Some of the concepts that I feel Tony has shared with us is railroading beyond our layouts, the interchange of traffic with other “railroads” that make our operations “real” in terms of moving product to other markets and the supply of traffic to our industries. His observations have brought some interesting “discussion” to the hobby on both sides of the “issue”. That alone may explain some of the “Contempt & Distain” that follow his obsevations about our modelling and concepts we use to achieve the ends that each of us holds.
I like having a lofty goal to aspire too. Tony has the talent and knowledge that I can hope to have some day. His previous layout was very nice and it was shared with us through the pages of MR. I like his column and gives me reason to pause. I look forward to seeing his new layout, especially since so much seems to be influenced by another person I admire, Bill Darnaby and his Maumee Route.
This post speaks of Tony as if he is in the past tense. His Trains of Thought column is in the most recent MR. Did I miss a retirment announcement regarding him.
I am a big fan of Tony’s writing, having bought his book about railroad operation recently.
His monthly columns are enlightening as well. John Allen and George Selios have been tremendous inspirations for me and I have never understood the criticism of their work. I am not Malcolm Furlow fan although I wouldn’t disparage his work. Let’s just say his approach is not for me.
All of these men offer us something unique that we can learn from and apply to our own efforts. Their approaches are somewhat different but that is a good thing. It would be pretty boring if everyone did things the same way.
I first encountered Tony Koester when I started reading Railroad Model Craftsman as a child. I enjoyed his writing, even if didn’t entirely agree with what he wrote.
I don’t see Mr. Koester as much of an innovator. He seems mostly to be a reporter and popularizer of innovations devised by others. His abilities as a writer and editor give him a platform to share these ideas, which might not have spread as far or as quickly.
Tony has had a tremendous amount of influence on my layout. I credit him with legitimizing the free-lanced approach to model railroading. Others in the past simply laid down track, thought up a mythical name for their railroad and that was it. Tony’s writings challenged us to put more “trains of thought” into the hows and whys behind our layouts. His buddy Allen McClelland really pioneered this work on his V&O, and shared it through his landmark series in RMC. However, Allen’s layout focused on interchanges with other fictional model railroads. Tony took his concepts and then made connections with prototype railroads which brought about a whole new dimension to, as he coined, “prototype-freelancing”.
I have always enjoyed Mr. Koester’s writing style (academic with a hint of humor and sarcasm) in his column, articles and books. I have all three of his books on design/operation and find them all to be both informative and “good reads". I especially enjoy his editorial leadership through the pages of Model Railroad Planning. His contributions to the hobby are too numerous to mention here…suffice to say that I for one appreciate his impact on the hobby.
I remember in the early 80’s when Malcolm Furlow hate-speak peppered the RPO column in MR. While his articles focused more on the nuts and bolts of layout and scenery construction, it was considered state of the art at the time. John Olsen also frequented the pages of MR at that time, but didn’t seem to generate the negative feedback that Malcolm did. Then George Sellios comes along and raises the bar even more.
I guess I’ve never viewed any modeler’s work, no matter how over-saturated it may be in the hobby press, with resentment. I applaud anyone for having the talents to become a “household name” and then take the time to share it with others. How can anyone find fault with that?? Too bad criticizing others takes less effort than contributing your own material. [}:)]
I met him at the Springfield Train Show this year in the parking lot. For some reason, I thought he lived out west and was quite surprised to see him. I couldn’t remember how to pronounce his last name so I kept saying “Tony” loud enough that if it was him he would turn, but if not then I would be okay. Thankfully, he smiled and we talked for a moment. Got a picture with him. He seemed like a great guy.
While some of his stuff is a little over my head regarding operation things, for the most part I love his work.
And I ask you, how can anyone pu***he envelope of modeling without a pulpit? How would your inovations be known without your website? Right now, Tony is the only voice in the wilderness. Sure there are others writing, but how many of them are making us think?
O.K. what did Tony ever do that’s so controversial? Did he kick a puppy? Did he tie a bunch of old people’s shoelaces together during naptime and yell “fire” at the nursing home?
What did Tony do that’s so controversial?
He voiced an opinion that someone didn’t agree with! And they got their knickers in a knot! So be it!
I for one like opinions I don’t happen to agree with — it makes me think.
It seems every decade or two has someone who is controversial. I am not sure why. While I feel Tony is a little over the top at times on operation, I have never felt he was offensive, just a man of strong opinions (like a lot of people on this forum, me included [:D]). His columns usually get me to look at something in a new light. So even when I don’t agree 100% with everything he writes, I enjoy his columns and articles.
I think he has advanced Model Rairoading Operation quite a bit through the Annual Model Railroad Planning. Again while I don’t always agree with all of it, I do find it to be helpful.
“tony’s the only voice in the wilderness”??? Are you for real? This is model trains we’re talking about, not world peace or the ever dependency on oil, give me a break pal, you need to get a freakin life!!!
I was happy to be able to meet Tony, and we talked trains for a while on the floor of the show following Seattle’04 NMRA Convention. It made me wish I lived closer to him, or that he would move out here. I enjoy his books as the best way to share all that he has to offer the neophyte model railroader. No reference library is complete without them. jc5729
I don’t see what all the fuss is about. Tony K. uses his column to express his opinions, which is what he is paid to do. Like any opinion, the reader is free to agree or disagree as they see fit. I didn’t think there was anything controversial or elitist in the column cited - but then Tony’s views reflect my own approach to the hobby. I’ll happily admit to being influenced by his writings, as I am by another modeller mentioned in this thread, Bill Darnaby.* But I’ve never interpreted his writings as being critical of those who don’t share his views.
I notice that many of Tony’s critics state that “it’s a hobby, it’s about having fun”, as if research, prototypical modelling, realistic operation and fun are mutually exclusive. To me they’re not. Fun is subjective - these are the aspects of the hobby I find enjoyable. That doesn’t mean I look down on those who don’t find these things enjoyable. A good mate of mine has a garden railway - mixed scale, mixed era, mixed prototype. He has a great time running trains on it, and when I visit him for a barbie and a beer, so do I.
I met Bill some years back when he visited Australia. He came for a ride on the engine I was firing on a steam-hauled excursion. Great bloke, very knowledgable, very down to earth.
There will always be someone who has more time, money and skill than I have, and naturally they will tend set the bar for the hobby. But for cryin’ out loud, this is a hobby, and not all of us can reach that bar, even if we wanted to.
I know a guy that races RC equipment. Does he set the standard for the guy that runs RC just for fun? Well, yeah, sort of. But while the guy that just plays with his RC car on weekends appreciates what the racer does for the hobby in general, that doesn’t mean he’s going to go out and spend hundreds of dollars on a new motor & drivetrain just so he can get another 5 MPH out of his own car.
Same applies to model railroading. Yeah, Koester pushes the limit. And because of guys like him, we have something a little better than Athearn BB to play with. But does that mean I’m gonna plunk down $200.00+ on a superdetailed unit with sound? Not hardly. At the moment, at least, I’m still happy detailing my BB’s. With very few exceptions, specifically a couple units I can’t get any other way, I’m planning on sticking with Athearn BB & RTR for a while.
So go for it, Tony, raise that bar. I’ll be in the background, updating a couple RTR units to match my era and detailing BB’s, rooting for you all the way.