Topic: Model Railroad Operations So, how are your coupling skills? Are you doing everything by the book? Are you sure? In the January issue of The Dispatcher’s Office*, professional rail Dan Sylvester writes, “When making a joint (coupling) the speed should not exceed 4 mph. Stop and stretch the coupling to make sure the […]
Category: Operations
No Skills, No Problem
Many view me as a champion of small model railroads. I’m really not. They’re just a means to an end. What I am is a strong believer in is finding ways to get those not actively engaged in the hobby actually in the game. Small, easy to achieve, layouts are just the most practical way […]
Using Likely Op. Session Length To Determine The Best Size for Your Layout
Topic: Model Railroad Layout Design How much layout do you need to do accomplish what’s important to you? I mean, realistically, how much model railroad do you REALLY need to be satisfied? Most newcomers, and many veterans, grossly over estimate their requirements and by doing so create a lot of unnecessary expense and angst for […]
How To Play With Trains
How to Use Your Layout and Use it Often How do we ‘play’ with our layouts? It’s an important question because it ultimately determines how much we enjoy our railroad or whether we enjoy it all. Fewer people than you’d expect can answer the question accurately. The result is layouts that sit idle, never […]
Hand Brakes
In talking about switching operations with my friends that are professional railroaders, one recurring topic that keeps coming up is the importance of setting hand brakes. When a locomotive cuts away from its train to handle a switching move, the hand brakes on one or more cars on the now engineless train need to be […]