Action may be required on your Trains.com account in order to continue accessing content. Click here to learn more.
(From the article “Three track plans for one sheet of plywood” from the August 2008 Model Railroader) HO scale model railroads are often small layouts based on 4 x 8-foot sheets of plywood, for obvious reasons. A flat tabletop is a lot easier to build than L-girder benchwork, and almost any home has room for […]
Freight cars are the stars of James McNab’s HO scale Hills Line layout, so he’s working to get them performance ready! Discover his helpful modeling tips, tricks, and insights that you can use to keep your rolling stock in prime operating condition! […]
The layout at a glance Name: Danefield modules Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 28″ x 8′-11″ Prototype: Union Pacific Locale: generic Midwest Era: modern Style: module Mainline run: none Minimum radius: none Minimum turnout: no. 7 Maximum grade: none Benchwork: laser-cut plywood modules Height: 56″ Roadbed: cork Track: handlaid codes 83, 70, and 55 Scenery: plywood […]
In this final episode of our Trains.com Holiday Party, Cody Grivno shows how to assemble an HO scale kit made from styrene and acrylic parts. Cody shares his helpful hints for working with acrylic components to form a sturdy, contemporary structure. […]
Around the Kalmbach HQ, workin’ on the railroad is part of the job. But at Christmastime, we all make sure to park our various projects and take a moment to have some fun simply running trains! Join Eric White, Cody Grivno, Ben Lake, and David Popp as they each share one of their favorite trains […]
Join CTT Senior Editor Roger Carp, a.k.a. Professor Carp, as he shares insights on a post-war era Lionel Trains O gauge operating car. Learn about the history of the famed Automatic Refrigerated Milk Car and Platform, plus tips for making the car work properly! For even more info on the Milk Car, read the February 2021 […]
The Trains.com Holiday Party continues with David Popp suited up to make some special layout scenes using little more than odds and ends he’s cobbled together. Even better, everything he made was assembled in a single afternoon. […]
Host James McNab shares how he combined sticks and leaves, and applies water effects to help add an authentic appearance to his HO scale Hills Line layout. These and other scenery construction considerations and insights will help lead you to incredibly realistic results! […]
A previous O scale turntable build went awry this fall, so David turned the troubleshooting effort into a Trains.com Holiday Party project…and solution! David takes no shortcuts in showing how to avoid shorts when using copper-cladded PC Board materials for crossties. […]
Are you hoping to get a freight car kit under the tree? Cody Grivno opened his present early, so he could share helpful techniques for assembling an HO scale covered hopper kit…on this episode of the Trains.com Holiday Party! […]
David Popp pushes the Trains.com Holiday Party to capacity! Follow along as he walks through the steps for installing an ESU anti-stall device into an HO scale Atlas RS-1 diesel locomotive. With these units in place, you’ll never have to worry about dirty track, unpowered frogs, or other track maladies getting in the way of […]
Cody Grivno fits right into the Holiday Party festivities! In this episode, our Trains.com ace modeler/painter shares his technique for using oil paints to apply rust effects to the roof of a boxcar. Grab your brush and get started making realistic weathering effects – without an airbrush! […]
