Personally, no I don’t. I own maybe a hand full of model railroading books most of which are several years old that were given to me by friends or hobby shops where I do business because they were outdated and were going to be thrown away anyway…
I rely more on actual railroading books about real trains.
I also have my own way of doing things that I haven’t changed since I got into the hobby years ago - as a lot of you might be able to tell by my topics sometimes.
Some might ask why I even joined the forum in the first place if that’s how I look at things. My reply to that would be - same as a lot of you, out of boredom… ([;)])
I have some books on scenery, track layout etc… But since I have a few of those I don’t see me buying any others in the near future. Most of what I have was bought in the late 80’s, early 90’s.
I don’t have any about real trains because quite frankly I never really got into ‘real’ trains.
I subscribe to Model Railroader…isn’t that enough???[8D]
I buy books about both real and model railroads. the model books are helpful because I didn’t know much and much of what i thought i knew was outdated or incorrect. Much steeper learning curve when you can avoid the mistakes someone else has already made and written about. Same with this forum - i looked in not knowing what to expect and found a wealth of information and help. In addition many of us labor on our layouts without a lot of family support and having people around with similar interests is a good thing. To me this is a good way to relax and have fun creating something if i was bored i wouldn’t bother - too much like a lousy job then. [:D]J.R.
I own a couple of books about prototypical operation. The only experience I have ever had with trains was to put a penny on the tracks and let it get flattened. I have learned a lot from the books but also find that the author gets caught up in the jargon of the industry which can be confusing for a newbie dummy like me.
Yes I do. I hate asking others for how to do “this” and how to do “that” if there are books and DVD’s that allow me to use my own brain to do research. I DO use the MRR forum however for clarifications, and especially for “reviews” on equipment such as tracks, turn-outs, locomotives, likes and dis-likes, etc, basically manufacturer questions which you may not get unbiased opinions in a book if written by any given manufacturer.
The books are great for review, for referral when you are in the middle of a problem, or just sitting by the woodstove fire with a hot coffee on a cold winters evening.
The bottom line is, you can ask 50 million questions, or you can use your God given intelligence and abilities ( you may surprise yourself ) and READ. There are some terrific books out there written by the best in the modeling world. Unless you cannot afford to purchase books, and some people cannot and that is understandable, you are missing out on a great reference source.
I’ve saved a lot of time and grief by reading some basic books on scenery, electrical and other areas of MRR. I also learn a lot from forums.
I just bought an old “code of operations” rule book so I can know something about signaling (bells, whistles, horns, etc.) for MRR operations now that sound is available on the layout.
I hate reinventing wheels, especially when they come out lop-sided and don’t roll quite right.
I own several of the MR series booklets and several books on the Sante Fe. The MR books and magazine keep me up to date on new ideas. Besides, it is enjoyable to sit down and read about your hobby.
I have hard cover, soft cover, pamphlets and books by the dozen. They are on modeling and prototypes, trains and other hobbies and interest. I have read at least half way through most of them, all the way through some of them. [tup][tup][tup]
They are usually my lunch time reading at work, as well as one of the reasons I am not any further along on a layout than I am. [%-)][][D)]
Oh my word do I ever!! I just got the Trackside book of Duluth in 1957-1960 and it’s a wonderful to read. I’ve learned much about the Duluth area back in this time and I know for a fact that it has change since I live there.
As I make this entry I am looking at a solid wall of railroad reference books, model and prototype. (Not all that I own, by any means, just those on the four-high shelves of this particular twelve foot wall.) Do I read them? You betchum! Do they help? Immensely.
A very wise man once told me that there are two types of memory. One type you carry around in your head. The other type is found in a library of reference books.
Depends on the book…If I see one that I like at the LHS I read it there. Go back again and read it again[oX)] seems that I remember everything about subject mateeriar that I am interrested in … just sticks with me…any way …If the book is a gotta have then I get it. Our home collection is extensive…just a bout any thing …we got it…Picture books of prototypes are neat. Havent found any recentley that are gotta haves…so in answer to the question Yes I buy model books and read mrr books…oh yea subscribe to mrr too…
Nope, I don’t spend one dime on them. If I need one I just go to the public library and borrow it. If what I want isn’t on the shelf, they will order it for me as long as I have the publication info.
I have way to many books and catalogs. I started buying them when I got in the hobby back in the 1970’s, but that sad part is you see these type of books at train shows and Ebay going for cheap. So I just hang on to them, sometimes someone will need one and I lone them out.
I have a growing railroad/model-railroad library–currently it takes up two shelves of one bookcase and two shelves on another. Photocopies taken from books or magazines certainly counts as a “library”, I have a couple thick folders of handy information and prototype research–as well as magazines! One of those shelves is two-thirds MODEL RAILROADER and other modeling magazines, the other is two-thirds TRACTION & MODELS, RAILROAD/RAILROAD & RAILFAN, TRAINS etcetera. I buy a few select Kalmbach and other publishers’ model railroad books,although I generally prefer to buy them used at train shows! Some were too interesting to resist and I broke down and paid retail at my local hobby shop.
I do try to periodically winnow my collection, though–every year or two I go through and try to divest myself of books and magazines that don’t really have anything I consider useful. I volunteer at a railroad museum so all I have to do is leave the stack in the docent lounge and they vanish quickly enough (many others do the same thing–it’s kind of a clearinghouse/free library exchange)! Sometimes I regret a decision but model railroad magazines are cheap enough and easy enough to obtain again…and typically I figure if there’s one really good article, or two okay articles, that is enough to justify holding onto a magazine.
I’ve got the Frary book on Scenery, the Koester book on Operations, and the Armstrong book “The Railroad: What It Is; What It Does”. I consider the latter to be the most valuable book of my meager collection because of the broad foundation of understanding it builds in the reader.
Former MR editor Linn Westcott made the point years ago that when you are a beginner you need to know so much, about so many subjects, that a monthly magazine simply cannot provide the help you need when you need it – hence the model railroading books (and that was back when Kalmbach had a magazine just for beginners, called Model Trains).
I think wiring is an example where the sort of wiring discussion for an MR project railroad simply isn;t going to be enough. The Linn Westcott and Andy Sperandeo books on wiring, even the old Atlas books on wiring, cover so many issues you could subscribe to MR for a decade before articles would cover them all.
I also would say that I think I could read and re-read John Armstrong’s Trackplanning for Realistic Operation and never exhaust its content or fail to learn something new.
Dave Nelson
I bought a lot of the basic modeling books and read them some 30+ years ago when I got into model railroading. The only recent purchases were how to detail locomotives and how to tune model locomotives up for best performance. Now I purchase mostly prototype books of real railroading. When at a loss for ideas I am a member of a model railroad club, read model magazines and surf the net for an answer.
][D)]