I wonder how many of us who model passenger operations from the pre-Amtrak era model one of the important aspects of their operations. One of the most important aspects of a passenger train, at least to the accounting department, was the head end traffic. This traffic is the reason so...

Photos by Richard Schumacher John Hardy was presented with the Mid-Continent Region’s Ken Cline Award at the NMRA’s banquet on Saturday night. Other Division members received awards for their models at the business meeting Friday morning. While there is no award for irony, our favorit...

Last time I discussed freight operations and hinted at passenger operations. This time I am writing about the passenger operations. Passenger trains operated on a regular schedule (as opposed to steam runs which are popular today) can be of three types. There are commuter trains, whic...

In my first column, I wrote that railroads are in the business of making money by moving freight and passengers (which can be thought of as a type of freight with certain requirements concerning movement). The manner in which the freight is originated and terminated uses a train known...

One of the most important aspects of operation is that it requires research in order to operate in a prototypical manner. This theme will be repeated, often! In order to operate well, the prototype must be studied. Once the era is determined, look at the railroad that you are either m...

text and photos by Brad Joseph, MMR originally published in the Winter 1997 Caboose Kibitzer If any of you are like me, the recent cold weather has you daydreaming about springtime railfanning trips. Nice warm sunshine, beautiful scenery, and a good railroad adventure will certainly s...

Some people believe that operation is not any fun and fear the “complexities” that they believe are inherent in it. However, I believe that these sentiments are false and fears unwarranted. In fact, based on the clinics I have attended and given, I find many people interested in proto...

The Golden Spike is the easiest, and for many people, the first AP award that they earn. It is designed to demonstrate familiarity with different areas of the hobby, rather than expertise in a particular area. So take a look at the requirements - you may find that you have met most, o...

The Last Granger Railroad text and photos by Brad Joseph, MMR originally published in the Caboose Kibitzer With the 1995 Mid-Continent Region Convention in Des Moines, Iowa, I had given some thought to spending some time on the Chicago & Northwestern mainline. All winter I looked ...