Bruce Chubb's How to Operate Your Model Railroad from 1977. My most important question is: The principles of freight car movement described in Chapter 11 - are they still valid for post-1980 railroading? (After the Staggers Act, that is.)
I don't have that book and have never read it. (Looking at the date, I guess it is a "classic" ) I would guess that many of the principles would still apply, but it could also vary depending on the road(s) you're modeling. Harold
I've got that book down in my basement, but I haven't read it in a long time. I'll have to get it out and look it over. Pat
I have the book. To me, it is still 100% valid, for the era modeled. Which is that of human interaction. Open train order offices, pre-CTC, interlocking towers, larger train crews, etc. But would not seem to be as applicable for the CTC'd, humanless railroading world of today. Boxcab E50
I know it's good for pre-1980s railroading. I know some things to change for modern railroading (no cabooses, smaller train crews, etc.) It does have information on CTC, though it emphasizes timetable-and-train-order operation. Enough for me, anyway - operation is important to me, but not the be-all-end-all it is to Chubb. My specific question is, did the rules regarding handling freight cars change significantly between then and now? [ July 20, 2005, 08:55 PM: Message edited by: Triplex ]
Okay, one more time. This time, more specific. Have the regs on empty-car movement changed? As long as they haven't, I can still use the same freight-car forwarding systems for non-unit trains on a modern layout.