Item description for Model Railroaders Guide to Mountain Railroading Model Railroader Books Paperback

This listing is for Model Railroader's Guide to Mountain Railroading (Model Railroader Books) Paperback Book.

Publisher: Kalmbach Publishing Company (16 Nov 2011)

Author: Tony Koester

Format: Paperback, Illustrated

ISBN: 978-0890248157

I've read a lot of Tony Koester's books but I was genuinely surprised with this book -- in a good way. A lot of the books Model Railroader publishes lean very strong on the physical part of "how-to". For the past few years Koester has written titles delving more into the design part of model railroad. However those titles have tended to be very broad and, in my opinion, not as effective as they could have been. They lacked focus in a sense. Mountain Railroading seems to address this shortcoming and rather well. It's not a book about how to lay track or build plaster mountains. It's a book about designing a specific type of model railroad. Koester uses this focus to talk about the highs and lows of having a layout full of mountains, from difficulties in operation to leveraging the "clinging to the mountain side" look when designing the benchwork. Being primarily a narrow gauge model railroader I'll admit perhaps I may be a bit biased in this regard but the book actually contained a chapter on narrow vs. standard gauge for mountain railroads, delving into some pros and cons of both. I was happy to see narrow gauge getting acknowledgment as a serious contender for mountain railroads. The book also covers some other interesting topics like what kind of motive power were likely to be seen in the mountains (this chapter alone ended up having me discover the Milwaukee Road's electrified line through Idaho and Montana).

It might sound funny, but my overall reaction after finishing the book was wanting there to be an equivalent book for both prairie and shore front railroads as well. The focus of the book really gives it it's value, and I'm really hoping Model Railroader/Koester turn this into a series.

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