I really like model railroding because I get to create, which really appeals to me, but when I do have space to build a permanent layout I don’t really know how to design a railroad because I don’t really know how a real railroad operates. Has anyone else felt this way and if you operate/built your railroad now, how did you learn about operations to make the layout into something more than a roundy-round? I know some people worked for the real railroads as an occupation so that is obviuos, but what about the rest of you? Did you read alot? Any good book recommendations? I have Armstrongs book about realistic operation and have read it cover to cover several times but it just doesn’t seem like enough. Any thoughts?
I learned about railroading by working on the Amtrak NE corridor from DC to NYC. Also from consulting for Caltrain, CSX and BNSF. I also have specialized training in track structure, catenary/ 3rd rail, metro operations, hydraulics, PLC electrical and mechanical. That is where I learned that a model railroad, no matter how small or freelance, must have a “reason” behind it. Without some reason, be it real or imagined, nothing can happen. But what do I know.
The OPSIG (Operations Special Interest Group) is a group of people interested in operating trains - they have a resource links web page here: http://www.opsig.org/reso/
There are lots of other resources as well, but these should give you a place to start out.
You might find some interesting switching ideas by following this thread. I’m not suggesting that you should build a mini layout. The puzzles can be done in any size yard if I understand the concept correctly.
Reading OpSig Dispatch Office, RwyOpsIndustrial Yahoo group fo rhte last 5 or 6 years, reading Josserand’s “Rights of Trains”, collecting 25 prototype rule books, reading the backs of ORER, reading John Armstong’s “Track Planning for Realistic Operation”.
Oh, and working in the operating department of a railroad for 31 years.
Thanks for the responses so far and I will be checking out all those links and books. I guess I should clarify that if I jump right into hardcore operations info that has a lot of terms that need to be understood and defined to comprehend the material being discussed it’s probably going to turn me off. I want to learn but I need to start with literature that is more of a primer and has lots of illustrations to go along with the text to begin with. Those are the suggestions I’m looking for initially but feel free to suggest anything you think would be of value. Remember, I don’t do this as a living. [:P]
I found that the best way to learn about operations is to try a club that has operating sessions. A lot of info can be had and it’s pretty fun to do as well.
Well, I learned a lot by looking out my window at the trains going by. I lived for years on a dead-end branch line so you could see when a car was brought down to an industry and how long it took til it came back the other way.
BTW you can run a continuous run layout (or “roundy round” as you put it) and still “operate” like a real railroad. Picking up and delivering cars to an industry works the same no matter whether the mainline is point to point or loop to loop or whatever.
The problem, Chris, is the deficiency of the internet and the written word. I can tell you face to face in about 20 minutes exactly what you are asking to know. I understand the terminologies and such of operations is overwhelming to somebody just learning, and trying to be self taught at the same time. I’ve got time on my hands. PM me how I can contact you.
BTW you can run a continuous run layout (or “roundy round” as you put it) and still “operate” like a real railroad
This is basically what seems the most appealing to me. I definitely want a continuous run type of layout with different trains appearing then going away. I’d like to focus on passenger and mail trains. Probably both commuter and long distance through trains for the operations part of things I want freight trains both drag and fast freight , mostly to pass through on the way to a far off destination. I’m not really interested in a lot of fiddly switching moves but a few online industries might not be bad if the mood fits. Could what I want be made into enough operations to warrant a descent design when the time comes? I would mostly operate alone.
Frank Ellison’s 1940s-1950s articles were many decades ahead of their time – So to speak! Download, print, and 3-hole punch – You’ll have a 130-150 page notebook.
The problem, Chris, is the deficiency of the internet and the written word. I can tell you face to face in about 20 minutes exactly what you are asking to know. I understand the terminologies and such of operations is overwhelming to somebody just learning, and trying to be self taught at the same time. I’ve got time on my hands. PM me how I can contact you.
Ya, I know. The thing with me is that I simply want more than I have space or money for. So the actual construction of the layout isn’t going to happen (at least not in the immediate future) but when it does happen I don’t want to jump into track design and have nothing I drew up make any sense from an operational point of view. Does that make sense? I think one of the things that make a railroad look realistic is the track work. Not so much in how it is detailed (although important) but in how it flows. It kinda creates that railroady kind of feeling that is hard to explain but pleasing to the eye because somehow you know it could be prototypical. I don’t want to waste a lot of your time with “what if” questions but I cretainly appreciate the PM offer and may take you up on it sometime in the future.
These PDF-articles & PDF-books reside on a many-gigs USB hard drive:
Wow! Thanks so much! I do believe I’ll be reading quite a bit this evening! BTW, saw you are in Johnstown. I am originally from Altoona. My brother lives in Altoona still but works in Johnstown.
I see you are heading for the newbie trap. So, I will enlighten you with only one nugget of information. Do with it what you will. A railroad does not exist because of track, it’s the track that exists because of the railroad. Ponder this on the tree of woe… oh uhm, I mean think about that very seriously. Contact me when you wish, I will answer all your questions no matter how fundamental you think they may be. Trust me, I know all about the “what if” questions but they don’t matter. What matters is the fundamentals, the “what ifs” you can easily
Most model railroaders does not do railroading for a living.
Relax - it is supposed to be fun. Just read that Richard Schumacher link (first one in my first post) - it will not tell you The Secrets of Being A Real Railroader, but it will explain the basic concepts of model railroad operations.
Another good place to start is Byron Henderson’s NMRA 2005 handouts: http://www.layoutvision.com/id37.html - there are handouts from several interesting clinics there, including one called “a quick and easy start for operations”.
Don’t worry too much about how real railroads do everything. You are not running trains on real railroads - when you make mistakes on your layout, it will not kill or maim people or cause massive amounts of property damage.
Just pick something that seems interesting, ease into it, and have some fun
I’ve only been in MRRing for about 7 years now so I haven’t learned it yet…but I am learning. Here’s some of the venues (tools) that have helped me to increase my knowledge of how the prototype works/worked:
Reading - Books, magazines, web sites, forums, etc.
Posting questions on the Prototype forum
Talking and chatting with folks of all levels who know things about RRing
Watching videos and DVDs
Visiting museums, depots, and historic sites
Joining a historical society and user groups - Yahoo! Groups has a number of user groups covering specific RRs or aspects of RRing. Some groups are better organized or have more to offer than other groups. My philosophy is to try and put as much into it as you get out of it.
Be willing to ask LOTS of questions - even if they may seem dumb
Boy, there is so much to learn about RRing - past and present - that it can be kinda overwhelming at times. Sometimes, Chris, it’s like trying to take a drink out of a water hydrant. I don’t absorb or comprehend everything that passes through my eye gate and ear gate, but…a few things stick and that is something that I can build upon over time.
As a modeler of the New York Central, here’s a few general sites that have been especially helpful to me:
