Respected expert Tony Koester teaches modelers how real railroads operate trains and how to apply those methods to their own model railroads in this extensively updated edition. Learning about timetable-and-train-order operation, as well as how cars are switched, how yards function, how signals work, and more, provides an added dimension of realism and fun for modelers, keeping the hobby fresh and exciting.

Contents:

• Basics of operation: Learning the hows and whys of prototype and model operation
• Quick-start guide to operation: Locating your railroad on a map, naming everything, spotting cars
• Classification, staging, and fiddle yards: Operating visible and hidden yards and determining staging needs
• "Macro" operations: Moving trains, Operating freight and passenger trains under various dispatching systems
• Timetable and train-order operation: Taking a closer look at an increasingly popular form of train dispatching
• "Micro" operations: Forwarding cars, Reviewing various ways to control the purposeful movement of cars
• More realistic waybills: Developing easy-to-use waybills that are based on prototype documents
• Signal systems: Understanding hand, whistle, and lineside signaling systems
• The operating session: Scheduling regular sessions and attracting and managing enough operators

Author: Tony Koester Softcover; 8 1/4 x 10 3/4; 96 pages; ISBN: 9780890249390