Handout for “Realistic Operation” clinic

The clinic is aimed at describing and illustrating my ideas of what it means to conduct realistic operations on a layout, whether large or small. In the clinic, I show numerous examples of realistic layouts; a number of examples of prototypical paperwork as developed for use by model railroaders; and show a number of real railroad jobs that an serve as prototypes for layout operating jobs. As a single example, one might think about the yard office clerk, chalking switching directions (not graffiti!) on a freight car. This photo is from the Richard Hendrickson collection.

For layout appearance, few would disagree with a choice of a view of operations at Caliente on the La Mesa Club’s famous Tehachapi layout.

I wrapped up my recommendations with several illustrations of how I have followed these ideas in developing the operating procedures on my own layout. Shown below are links to some blog posts of mine, with background about all this. In addition, I have included below a number of background links to internet resources, as well as a complete list of published material shown or mentioned in the clinic. As I usually do nowadays,  this handout is on-line only, so that the numerous internet resources are readily accessed.  

I will begin with links to three posts to my blog, which touch on the three principles I mentioned for realistic operation.

https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2024/11/realistic-layout-operation.html

https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2024/12/realistic-layout-operation-part-2.html

https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2025/01/realistic-layout-operation-part-3.html

Next is a listing of books and articles shown or mentioned in the clinic.

Armstrong, John H., The Railroad – What It Is, What It Does (Chapter 8, Railroad Operations), Simmons-Boardman Publishing, Omaha, 1982. [there are several subsequent editions with updates; the original is closest in time to the era I model] 

Bedwell, Harry, The Boomer, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2006.

“Boomer Pete,”see under Kalmbach, A.C.

Chubb, Bruce, How to Operate Your Model Railroad, Kalmbach Books, Milwaukee, 1977.

_______, Compendium of Model Railroad Operations, Operations Special Interest Group, Downingtown, PA, 2017.

Coughlin, E.W., Freight Car Distribution and Handling in the United States, Car Service Division, Association of American Railroads, Washington, 1956.

Ellison, Frank, “The Art of Model Railroading,” six-part series in Model Railroader, 1944; reprinted in 1964, August to January 1965.

Ellison, Frank, Frank Ellison on Model Railroads, Fawcett Books, Greenwich, CT, 1954.

Fisher, Ralph E., Vanishing Markers, Stephen Greene Press, Brattleboro, VT, 1976.

Kalmbach, A.C. (writing as “Boomer Pete”), “Realistic Operation,” Model Railroader, March 1939, pp. 127–130.

Kalmbach, A.C. (writing as “Boomer Pete”), How to Run a Model Railroad, Kalmbach, Milwaukee, 1944 (revision of earlier book, Operating a Model Railroad, 1942).

Koester, Tony, “In search of the perfect waybill,” Model Railroader, February 2012, p. 82.

Koester, Tony, Realistic Model Railroad Operation, Kalmbach, Waukesha, WI, 2003 (2nd edition, 2013).

Morgenstern, Wes (Ed.), Working on the Western Maryland, Western Maryland Historical Society, Union Bridge. MD, 1999.

Morgenstern, Wes,and Leo Armentrout (Eds.), Working on the Western Maryland, Volume II, Western Maryland Historical Society, Union Bridge. MD, 2011. 

Niemann, Linda, Boomer, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1990.

_______, Railway Accounting Rules, Accounting Division, Association of American Railroads, Washington, 1950. [numerous editions exist; this one suits my era]

Rehwalt, Dan, Westsider, Grizzly Press, Oakridge, OR, 2004.

Roxbury, L.E., Let’s Operate a Railroad, High-Iron Publishers, Warwick, VA, 1957.

Smith, Doug, “The latest word on card operations,” Model Railroader, December 1961, pp. 52–62.

Sprau, David, and Steven King, 19 East, Copy Three, Operations Special Interest Group, WoodDale, IL, 2013, 

Thompson, Anthony, “Prototypical waybills for car card operation,” Railroad Model Craftsman, December 2009, pp. 71–77.  

Thompson, Tony, “Getting Real: A More Prototypical Waybill for Model Railroads,” Model Railroad Hobbyist, pp. 31–46, May 2012. 

Thompson, Tony, ”Getting Real: Operating with Prototypical Waybills,” Model Railroad Hobbyist, January 2018.  

Finally, several on-line articles by me, touching on the topics of the clinic.

Thompson, Anthony, “Contents of a Waybill,” The Dispatcher’s Office, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 17–24, April 2010.
[corrected version available at: modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2011/01/waybills-2.html ]

Thompson, Anthony, “Freight Car Handling and Distribution,” The Dispatcher’s Office, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 28–31, October 2011.
[corrected version available at: modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-article-in-dispatchers-office.html ]

Thompson, Anthony, “Progress with Prototypical Waybills for Modelers,” The Dispatcher’s Office, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 26–33, October 2016.
[corrected version available at: modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2017/11/yet-another-correction-of-dispatchers.html ]

Thompson, Tony, “Choosing and Modeling an Era,” https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2011/04/choosing-and-modeling-era.html

Thompson, Tony, “Handout: Operating like the Prototype,” https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2023/05/handout-operating-like-prototype.html

I hope presenting these resources on-line in this way will be at least as helpful as a paper handout, and in my opinion more convenient to use.

Tony Thompson