Guide to Narrow Gauge Modeling (Layout Design and Planning)

Good introduction for U.S. narrow gauge

I have bought several of the books Tony Koester has written before in this format and have always enjoyed them. With experience writing for both Railroad Model Craftsman and now Model Railroader, Koester always carries a strong voice and sense of authority in his writing; so I am not surprised to see this book carries more of the same.One of the things Tony handled well in the text is balancing out the variety of subject narrow gauge lines and prototype influences. Its a collection probably familiar to most railfans by now, the Rio Grande and its network and subsidiaries, the East Broad Top (which at the time of the book's writing was still closed and not yet reopened for restoration as it is now), various Maine Two Footer's, Southern Pacific's "Slim Princess" lines, and so on. Other than a few brief mentions of the Glacier Express in Switzerland and the Ffestiniog network in the UK, the focus is squarely on American prototypes. Fortunately Koester manages to balance it out well between the US prototypes, and despite the Rio Grande making the cover it fortunately doesn't dominate the book like it seems to do in other discussions of American narrow gauge. A few obscure lines mentioned early on help to expand a modeler's horizon beyond the dominant Rio Grande influence in the hobby, even if it is still the major player in both the book and the market.Other trappings of a Koester book are all here, segments on operations, various photos of the prototypes and modeler's work to replicate them. Discussions on scale, gauge and other considerations. If you have read his books before you know exactly what to expect. Personally, I have cancelled my subscription to Model Railroader in part because I know the more interesting articles and editorials (ad free, focused and better organized) tend to find their way into these books that are only marginally more expensive than the newstand price of the magazine so it feels worth it to me.The reason I have knocked this down to a three star review is though I am disappointed by the paper quality. All other Kalmbach books I have previously (including Koester's prior books) are printed on a high gloss paper. This one trades it for a more common book stock that feels porous and rough to the touch. I don't know if this is a one-off issue for this book (since I have much later Koester books and earlier Koester books all on gloss paper in my collection), or if it is a new strategy Kalmbach has chosen for reprints. This certainly drags the quality of the purchase down in my opinion and has me worried I might see it popping up in future purchases.My second complaint is due to the focus of the book being so heavily on American only prototypes. The author doesn't take much time to focus on Canadian lines outside the border crossing White Pass and Yukon; and no mention of Mexican or Cuban narrow gauge operations are present despite also sharing a visually similar appearance to American prototypes that would make them easy jumping off points for US based modelers into a more international world. Koester further omits the rest of Latin America, along with African, Asian and Australian prototype railroads. Considering the rising popularity of OO9 modeling in Britain too, its surprising that the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland are the only British line mentioned brief in passing with a single photo. With how limited the narrow gauge market still is domestically with such a Rio Grande focus (looking at you guys Blackstone...), a brief introduction to these foreign trains would have been extremely welcome in this book. However, considering the primary market for this book was always intended to be an American one I can't fault Koester to much for choosing to focus almost completely on the US. However, for any international buyers or American's interested in international railroads that is a good forewarning there isn't much here for you in this book. But, if you want to focus entirely on US narrow gauge this book is an excellent resource.

The latest from Tony Koester and Kalmbach Publishing provides a teasing overview of narrow gauge modeling. No doubt this is due to the constraints of Kalmbach's 96 page standard for this and similar publications. Nevertheless, Tony Koesters friendly writing style, erudition and research recommend this book for the modeler's library with some reservations. Primary among the reservations is the generality of the information presented. The novice narrow gauge modeler will no doubt extract value from the commentary, but anyone who has and does model narrow gauge, at least to an intermediate-skill level, may have their expectations quashed. A bold discussion of applicable and comparative standards of scale would have been helpful. Perhaps a chart or two (or three) could have cogently summarized and compared the necessities, constraints and demands of narrow gauge modeling in a variety of scales (let's recall the technical difficulties of squeezing a Faulhaber coreless motor with flywheel into an HOn3 boiler, or Sn2). Further, while brief histories of several narrow gauge lines are re-told to stimulate the imagination of the modeler, only 6 track plans are presented - the book is, after all, subtitled: Layout Design and Planning. (If all modelers share one stimulus it has to be track plans!). The chapter dealing with commercial support is thinly veiled advertisement, yet I understand the need to suggest to the entry level modeler that he/she will have access to the materials and locomotives to whet their narrow gauge appetites. The chapter, "Car and Train Movements", is reflective of one of Mr. Koester's strengths - operation - and provides purposeful commentary for all modelers. There may always be expansions and amendments of any publication where it is found to be lacking, and certainly there will always be criticism of its shortcomings. A "Guide to Narrow Gauge Modeling (Layout Design and Planning)" could have been a bit more technically and visually expansive. It is, nevertheless, a solid, general assessment of narrow gauge modeling by a highly respected and accomplished author whose only constraint is, perhaps, a 96 page format. A bit more breathing room is needed to do the subject justice. Thanks for listening to one man's opinion.

Model Railroader always has quality books and this one is no exception. It is very informative and Tony Koester is an excellent writer. I have been reading his "Trains of Thought" in Model Railroade for many years and it is always an eagerly awaited treat.

Good guide if you're looking for an overview of narrow gauge railroads, but not a lot of info if you're starting in narrow gauge modeling. Sort of sits in the middle between prototype and model and doesn't excel at either.

An inspiring book to get into the world of narrow gauge

Another great book on Modeling Narrow Gauge railroads in America in many different gauges. This is great if you want to model Narrow Gauge on your layout.

Enjoyable reading. I'm currently working on a layout.

Quality print and photo reproduction.Non condescending narrative.

Très bon livre pour celui qui s'intéresse à la voie étroite US !

Very useful book - wish there had been more information on how to build locomotives - but otherwise great addition to my bookshelf.

A good balanced view to narrow gauge modelling

Great book,thanks to Amazon