MRA Editors

Talking Custom Model Railroads with Tony Koester

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Duration:   1  mins

Description

There are many different ways to build custom model railroads; every modeler has their preferences and things they avoid. When it comes to creating a layout from the ground up, each component of the scenery, trackage and wiring is your choice and dictates the final result. You have a lot of options when planning your custom model railroads, and it can be daunting to keep a focused vision of the end product as you go through the design and construction stages.

If there’s one person who knows a thing or two about maintaining a clear image during the building of custom model railroads, it’s Tony Koester. Tony is a longtime expert in the field of model railroading, and his breathtaking layouts have served as inspiration for modelers around the world. In this segment, host Allen Keller visits Tony’s workshop to pick his brain on the thought process and methods that go into designing and building custom model railroads, and he asks him a few important questions about the state of the hobby.

Tony’s thoughts on custom model railroads by committee

One of the great things about model railroading is its fantastic community component. Modelers love to share their experiences in creating custom model railroads, both good and bad, with other modelers. However, it’s important to remember that the hobby of building custom model railroads is very much an art form, and that means most of us want to do it our own way.

With that idea in mind, we wanted to get Tony’s thoughts on what it’s like to build custom model railroads with a group of people. Creating railroads by committee can be a tricky process to navigate unless the right pieces are in place, so we were curious how one of the greats feels about working with others on a project. After that, Tony answers a few more questions about the methodology behind building custom model railroads, including the rise of electronics in the hobby at the turn of the century. Find out what this pioneer has to say!

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2 Responses to “Talking Custom Model Railroads with Tony Koester”

  1. Timothy Mautz

    so basically this video is saying you're wrong for wanting to do custom model railroads?

  2. Teady

    Hi Tony I like the way you think about new and upcoming new designs and updates for DCC this is the only way when people start talking to one another I use Z21 to operate my Locos I am always looking for something new for lights and level crossing and to find a manufacturer to start making HO Container Gantry Cranes something that worth it's money thanks again Tony keep up the excellent work and videos and Happy Modelling

Can a railroad be built by committee? Well, there's some railroads that have been. the Batavia club and any BMW up at Troy certainly were. But I think that's pretty rare. You've gotta have a handful of very capable modelers who run rough shod over the other guys that are less capable. And by guys, I don't mean men. Men and women And that's kinda tough. Egos get in the way. All these things are entrepreneurial in nature and entrepreneurial is another word for ego-based. So I think that if you get lucky and get several guys that can work together, fine. But I think the better railroads are built when you have one owner, strong personality, that says "This is the way it shall be." What do you think about the increasing use of electronics in the hobby? Is this helping or hurting us? Absolutely helping. It's wonderful. You don't think it intimidates people and drive some people away? Yes, it probably does. But we'll get around that. For instance, I've been asking manufacturers for years for the locomotive guys to get together with the carrier control guys and make standard receivers. Yeah, I don't care about this compatibility issue that the NMRA is so hot on because I'm not going to use the standard they come up with anyway, because I'm over in another world and the way they're going is not where I'm going. I won't pay any attention to that. But it would be nice that whatever standard, that I could buy a receiver that plugged into a module right on the back of the locomotive. I mean, why not? This is really simple stuff. And yet these people don't talk to each other. So that's the downside. But the upside is, for instance, a friend of mine in South Jersey is working on an infrared system and his fast clock has got a variable ratio. So you don't have to be stuck with six to one. You can have any ratio. And not only that, but this thing's going to control the lighting and the sound effects and the room lights and all that stuff.

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