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Model Railroader Magazine 1939 January Plans for old time coaches
Model Railroader 1939 January
Table of Contents.
Detailed Track Switch 7
Switch Accessories 9
Colortone Photo Pages 12-13
Model Railroad Movie 14
Steaming Along
(Boomer Pete) 18
A Reliable Controller 21
HO 0-4-0 Switcher 22
Making Use of Ideas 25
Old Time Coach Plans 26
Building a Passenger Train 28
News40
Trade Topics 48
Operating the Model Railroad.
OPERATION of model railroads is a matter of comparative importance, but it has not been receiving much thought or attention. This is perhaps as it should be, for after all a model pike must be built before it can run. And there are many model rails who derive their enjoyment from the building itself, and who run models only as a demonstration of their mechanical ability. They enjoy the hobby that way, and why not? Others see correct operation as one item in their ideal of a complete reproduction of railroading in miniature, and admit that they like what is sometimes derisively called "playing with trains." After all, correct operation of a model system demands considerable thought and much study of the science of railroading.
Planned operation begins with the correct layout. A real railroad is built to carry traffic from one place to another. A model railroad should be so planned that it will give an illusion of doing the same thing even if it doesn't. The simplest layout is a circle or oval with siding, station, or yards at one point on it. That one yard or station can be imagined as both ends of the line and definite orders can be made up and carried out for moving traffic from the one terminal around the main line and back to the same point.
With larger space the layout can be better planned for operating. The terminal or yards should be so arranged that trains can run out in either direction, thus giving both east and west bound movements. At least one or two sidings are desirable at way stations, presumably for freight handling. Two big terminals, constituting an actual point to point system, are impracticable unless two or more people will run the railroad.
If the line is single track, trains in the two directions will have to make properly arranged meets at sidings. Way freights will have to get in the clear so that through passenger trains will not be delayed. If the line is double track, sections of three track, with the center track used as relief or passing siding for either direction, will help to make the operations intriguing.
Schemes of operation are as varied as the men who do the operating. One of the most workable we've seen for an individual layout is that used by Minton Cronk-hite. His line is well furnished with coal mines, oil refinery, grain elevator, local stations, and other sources of traffic. He has a file of cards, each giving directions for some specific movement of traffic. The cards are shuffled and dealt off. It is up to the operator to carry out the instructions with efficiency and dispatch.
Scale time is for club roads, but another timing principle applicable to individual layouts is illustrated on the Cronkhite lines. It is the principle of relative position of scheduled trains. If you have on your line a Limited and a hot shot freight, the two can always be kept in the same relative positions no matter when or at what speed they run.
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