the CP&S cookie station. At least Janis Navigato makes outstand- ing cookies for Bill’s op sessions. But honestly now, just how much realism do we want? I dread the day when I walk into an operating session and the lay-
Bill’s world A simple system of train-order signals is easily added to any model railroad. Two- sided colored cardstock pieces on clips can substitute for a decent model operating train- order signal until one is obtained and installed. Bill’s railroad is north– south; hence the signal notations “N” and “S.” In this example, the northbound order board is “up” or red for a northbound, and a train order is waiting to be picked up. There are no orders for an impending southbound; hence, the “green” signal. — Bill Navigato photo
out owner states, as he snaps on a latex glove, “Okay, boys, we’re gonna start this op session of the extremely realistic Hoot, Toot & Western Railroad with a company physical…” Eek!
O
Bill sez…
kay, Mike, you ignorant nut, here we go again. Now
try to keep up.
Back when model railroad- ing was invented, the goal was to have something relating to a train in miniature. Eventually, the hob- by developed various methods to make them move on their own with a wind-up mechanism and, later, electricity. As technology advanced, everything about the hobby improved, from locomotive control to the incredible detail on today’s rolling stock, structures, and just about anything else one might want on his or her layout. No longer must one be a master craftsman to build credible mod- els or a complete basement-sized fine layout.
Bill’s world A typical train-order semaphone; this one happens to be on Bill Navigato’s Chicago, Peoria & Southern. They can be a project to install, but still significantly easier than installing CTC signals, detection, panels, and so forth. — Bill Navigato photo
Along the way, modelers start- ed thinking about not only hav- ing a layout that looks very much like the real thing, but also runs like the real thing. For me, that happened very early on. When I started working for a railroad in the early 1970s, I wanted to know all I could about what was going on — how trains were worked in the yards and moved over the main line. Many model railroad- ers, having it much easier today to build their layouts, have given more thought to what to do with it once it’s built. Most want to have prototypical models, as well as prototypical operation and train control.
Sure, we can run our trains to enjoy just seeing our layouts in motion. But, just as the mod- els have developed, so has the in- terest in prototypical operations. Having several modelers running like a real railroad can be more enjoyable. Modelers
started to
have some structure in their oper- ations beyond the typical “crank the throttle and watch it go.” For mainline operations, many opera-
80 RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
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