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Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Is there some book on operation?

2

I didn’t know that you where a Dumbass. Are you?[;)] It takes a dumbass to make a dumbass. [:D]

3

Dum-Bass is what I yell after a fi***akes my bait and gets away. ARGGGHH!!

4

Brian,

Tony Koester has a couple of books out on layout operations that may be of help:

Realistic Model Railroad Design
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0890245819/ref=pd_bxgy_text_b/104-2615564-6321551?_encoding=UTF8

Realistic Model Railroad Operation: How to Run Your Trains Like the Real Thing
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0890244189/104-2615564-6321551?v=glance&n=283155

The late John Armstrong also wrote a book that’s now in it’s third edition:

Track Planning for Realistic Operation: Prototype Railroad Concepts for Your Model Railroad
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0890242275/qid=1146607208/sr=2-3/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_3/104-2615564-6321551?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Tom

5

Thanks, tstage

6

I’ve read the three books that tstage mentioned. In case you want some info on each:

Armstrong’s Book: A very thorough trackplanning book that includes a lot of information about how real railroads operate and how these practices you influence your track plan. There are a lot of examples of how to plan a layout. However, there is no discussion of actual operating systems like car cards, waybills, etc.

Koester’s Operations Book: This is a good book on operating systems. It shows how to use a yard to breakdown and build up trains, how to design car cards and waybills, and gives examples of operating sessions. However, it does assume that you have a decent knowledge of model railroading and has little information on track planning. It is really a book for someone who already has a layout.

Koester’s Design Book: Some people like this book. I do not (nor it’s more recent counterpart: Koester’s Layout Design Element book). Unlike Armstrong, there is no systematic approach to track planning. Rather, this is a book about the “philosophy” of realistic layout design with lots of semi-interesting but fairly useless examples (like how to create a plausible paint scheme for your 1950s-era EMD F units if you have a freelanced road).

Anyway, if you already have a layout and want to understand operational systems, buy the Koester Operations book. If you are still in the track planning / laying phase, then get the Operations book plus Armstrong’s book.