12-29-2011, 09:43 AM
The best single source I've seen on signals and operation is Bruce Chubb's How to Operate Your Model Railroad. This is long out of print, and the people on the cover are very 1970s, but it's available used at a reasonable price <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0890245282/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1325172821&sr=8-1&condition=used">http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/ ... ition=used</a><!-- m -->
The whole question of model railroad operation is bound up in another thread here, whether the hobby is a solo or group activity. If you operate mostly alone, your approach is going to be very different from the way it would be if you have a regular group. I operate a lone, and my challenge is to have a signal system that mimics CTC without the need for a dispatcher. On the other hand, I have lots of challenges, and I have to do the best I can with the resources I have available.
I also remember an MR article from about 1960, where the guy made detailed models of the unique C&NW semaphores. He was interested in the models themselves, and they were otherwise unlit and not operational. He got around that by modeling a maintainer on site and saying they were out of service for that reason. Naturally there are rules that cover this situation on the prototype.
The whole question of model railroad operation is bound up in another thread here, whether the hobby is a solo or group activity. If you operate mostly alone, your approach is going to be very different from the way it would be if you have a regular group. I operate a lone, and my challenge is to have a signal system that mimics CTC without the need for a dispatcher. On the other hand, I have lots of challenges, and I have to do the best I can with the resources I have available.
I also remember an MR article from about 1960, where the guy made detailed models of the unique C&NW semaphores. He was interested in the models themselves, and they were otherwise unlit and not operational. He got around that by modeling a maintainer on site and saying they were out of service for that reason. Naturally there are rules that cover this situation on the prototype.