Blue flags and lockouts
The title of this post may be baffling to some readers, but it refers to track safety mea…
• August 21, 2024
BLANTERORBITv101
Waybills, Part 116: early prototype examples
I have by now written quite a few posts about using prototypically-oriented waybills in m…
• August 19, 2024
More on HO automobile license plates
Every layout has at least a few vehicles on it, and from the earliest days of the 20th ce…
• August 13, 2024
Operating off-line passenger cars
On most railroads, back in the days of passenger service, the railroad’s own passenger ca…
• August 10, 2024
Operating empty open-top cars
It occurred to me on a recent trip out of town for an operating weekend, that many layout…
• August 07, 2024
Rolling stock maintenance — still happening
From time to time I have described previously my various experiences maintaining the roll…
• July 11, 2024
Update on switch machine installations
On my layout, nearly all switches are hand-thrown (as would be such switches on a prototy…
• July 02, 2024
June operating sessions
I mostly host operating sessions on my layout during the non-summer months, in part becau…
• June 26, 2024
My engine servicing facilities
My layout of a fictitious Southern Pacific branch line was designed to have, as was SP pr…
• June 23, 2024
Background for my layout ice deck
A visitor to my layout recently asked about the ice deck I have modeled, and I explained …
• June 14, 2024
The role of “foreign” cars in your fleet
Modelers often choose to model a prototype railroad that they particularly like, and then…
• June 11, 2024
Trackwork wars, Part 14
Recently it seems like I keep coming back to the same troublesome switches, the two new o…
• May 21, 2024
Comments on layout goals and achievements
At this year’s Prototype Rails meeting in Cocoa Beach, Florida, I greatly enjoyed a prese…
• May 12, 2024
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