Railworks America

For those of you are are not familiar with Kalmbach Publishing, besides Model Railroader magazine they also publish a number of topic specific books that explain prototype operations for model railroaders. I stumbled across this series of books while at a local hobby shop a number of years ago. Since then, I've been slowly picking them up as they go on sale.

The reason why I bring this is that I've found these books to be an excellent source of explaining how and why a certain aspect of railroad operations occur. For example, there is a book that covers how railroad operations work around the produce industry. It covers the history of operations up to current date, without getting too much into the "weeds". It also goes into discussions about the equipment used (ice and mechanical reefers). Not only are the explanations good, but there are good reference photos to backup the discussion.

Anyways, in our virtual simulation world, we have more freedom to replicate a prototypical operation and not be hampered by the space constraints of a model railroad. I've found these books very interesting, and will be a good reference for me as I continue to work in TS20xx. Below is the link to Kalmbach's model train book section. Hope you find these books as helpful as I have.

https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/catalog/ ... oks?page=1

Yes, Kalmbach Publishing, does have tons of Railroad Info. If You get a chance, check out videos, of "Tracks Ahead". It was a program on PBS years ago, sponsored by Kalmbach & Walthers. Really a lot of great info. Also Walthers & Kalmbach Publishing, are tied pretty much tied at the hip. Take Care, Stefan

Hey Stefan. Thank you for the reminder about the Tracks Ahead video series. I remember catching those from time to time on PBS, but haven't watched one in years. Another good source of reference photos is Morning Sun books. Their books cover a wide range of railroads and eras. They are mostly color picture books with good captioning. But, they have pics that I haven't seen elsewhere. Books are hardcover and run around the $60 USD price. They also have digital reprints available, and some titles that are only available in digital form.

https://morningsunbooks.com/

Another source for more modern reference material is Withers Publishing. Besides producing the magazine Diesel Era, they produce a number locomotive books that are either railroad specific, builder specific, or model specific. Besides excellent reference photos, the authors go into more detail about the models, often explaining history and differences between phases.

https://www.dieselera.com/books

If you're interest is steam / transition era freight cars and passenger cars, check out Railway Prototype Cyclopedia. These soft cover books go into great detail about a specific car, and often include plans and lots of photos. Unfortunately, the publisher has stopped producing these books, but you can still find them online and at some train specific hobby shops. I have almost the entire series and highly recommend them. So if you want to go "Searchlight Sim" or "Mainlines" on a USRA single sheathed boxcar or a war emergency gondola... these titles for you.

Lastly, Four Ways West books produces a number of hard cover books that are mostly railroad specific titles. Depending on the title, there can be more text explaining the topic, but seem to be more color picture books. As with Morning Sun, they seem to have pictures that I haven't seen elsewhere.

http://fourwayswest.com/books/

Lastly, it should be noted that railroad book titles are often limited runs, and titles have a tendency to go "out of print". So if you do come across a title that you like and you think will have value to your modeling (virtual and/or actual), then I would suggest picking up the title while you can. If you have a used book store in your area, periodically check in with them to see if they are received any railroad titles. Every now and then they will get something in... usually from a trade or an estate sale. I picked up a title on Southern Pacific steam locos for $40 USD that is long out of print, and if you find a used copy at a hobby shop... will often go for $100+ USD. In my instance, the dust jacket was worn and had tears, but the interior pages were in excellent shape. Some train specific hobby shops will also sell used books. Last time I was in Des Plaines Hobbies in Des Plaines, IL, they had a large number of used titles available.

Kalmbach, Walthers, I had forgotten about these names.
You bring back fond memories of my HO modeling days.

I just thought of another good place- Iconografix https://www.enthusiastbooks.com/ci_1243.html . Located in Hudson Wis. It's where Patrick Dorin & Jim Scribbins are publishing at now. Another one is Superior Publishing from Seattle. Enjoy! Stefan

Thank you for those. I'll check them out.