In Memoriam: Iain Rice. The hobby lost one of its most creative and prolific track planners with the passing of U.K.’s Iain Rice on October 8, 2022. Iain was a frequent contributor to Kalmbach Media’s Model Railroad Planning as well as to Model Railroader. He also wrote four books for Kalmbach: Small, Smart & Practical […]
Section: Project Layouts
Small O and S gauge layouts have always been part of the hobby
Small O and S gauge layouts are how the hobby began. To demonstrate the wonders of layouts designed to fit into small spaces, let’s travel back to when most current enthusiasts were youngsters. This most likely means we’re talking about the 25 years immediately following World War II. These men and women can trace their […]
O scale modular layout inspired by Amherst Railway Society’s Railroad Hobby Show
This operating layout features scenes visitors to the Amherst Railway Society’s Railroad Hobby Show are familiar with, and some they are not. Did you know the site was once rail served? Now in O scale, it is again! […]
Check out the Campbell Road HO scale layout!
Take a tour of George Campbell’s impressive freelanced layout, an 11 x 30 foot module modeled after Cincinnati, Ohio to Appalachia. […]
The Turlan’s HO scale layout for Walthers
Modeling is for hobbyists of all ages, and the Turlan family is an example that proves just that! Xavier and Lindsay Turlan, along with their seven-year-old son Gabriel, all worked together to build a layout for the 2021 National Model Railroad Build-Off. Interested in hearing more from the Turlans? Check out their interview. […]
Matthew Mendolia’s HO scale layout for Walthers
Matthew Mendolia might have been away at college, but that didn’t stop him from building this impressive layout for the 2021 Walthers National Model Railroad Build-Off from the confines of his dorm room. Matthew uses every piece that he received from his kit from Walthers to prove that you don’t have to spend a lot […]
DJ Arlia’s N scale layout for Walthers
Check out the layout built by open class contestant DJ Arlia for the 2021 Walthers National Model Railroad Build-Off! Designed to look like an old chemical plant based in Pittsburgh, Pa., this module is full of interesting details and thought-out designs. Interested in hearing more from DJ? Check out his interview! […]
Building the HO scale Bay Junction layout
Bay Junction was a project railroad for the editors of Model Railroaders in the early 2010s. Track plans and videos for that project are linked to below. Bay Junction track plans The Bay Junction track plan Industries and tracks and Williams Bay Bay Junction overview article Read the first article about the second Milwaukee, […]
Build the 3 x 7 Red Oak layout online extras
The 2015 N scale Red Oak project layout Fifty miles west of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy RR division point of Creston, Iowa, lies the town of Red Oak, the inspiration for Model Railroader’s 2015 project model train layout. Named for the trees that line the Red Oak Creek, the town came into being with […]
Build a 5 x 8 harbor railroad online extras
The HO scale Rice Harbor Welcome to Rice Harbor, Model Railroader’s new staff-built project railroad. In this and subsequent issues, we’ll show you how we built this 5 x 8 layout – from the wheels at the bottom of its legs to the top of the illuminated lighthouse. Rice Harbor is an HO model of […]
Project Layouts
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Tour the Model Railroader staff’s HO scale Beer Line addition
Don’t miss the latest Model Railroader staff project layout series, beginning in the January 2017 issue. The staffs adds the Snake Track branch to its popular HO scale Milwaukee Road Beer Line layout. Get highlights of the new addition, including a look at the various trackside industries and structures, with associate editor Eric White. […]