How to Operate Your Model Railroad with Tony Koester

Running operations on a model railroad layout is very much up to personal preferences, and the builder has final say on how the system should be run. Whether you opt for waybills, timetable order, car cards or whatever other method, the fact of the matter is that the point should be to just have fun.

More often than not, you’ll decide how to operate your model railroad during the initial design process before you start building, but realistically you can change your method of operations at any time, before or after the layout is complete. In this lesson, host Allen Keller visits the workshop of master modeler Tony Koester to talk about Tony’s method of operation for his HO scale model of Allegheny Midland Railroad, and from this discussion hopefully you’ll get a sense of how to operate your model railroad.

Tony’s tips for how to operate your model railroad

There are many types of model railroad operations, and each has its benefits and drawbacks that you should weigh before picking your method. But the gist of it is this: no matter how you choose how to operate your model railroad, the purpose of the hobby is to have fun, so don’t get too stressed out about making it run perfectly! That’s straight from the mouth of Tony Koester, who has been a pioneer in the model railroading community for decades.

In talking about how to operate your model railroad properly, Tony explains to Allen why he believes operating a model railroad should serve as a simulation of prototypical business practices, whereby you make a business decision based on the evidence in front of you. You’re given a scenario as to a series of cars that need destinations, and your goal is to think like a real-life operator–how do you get the right cars to the right spots? That’s what Tony believes you should think about when you choose how to operate your model railroad, not how precisely the timetable is adhered to. It’s all about the challenge and the fun of making decisions like it’s the prototype!