Model Railroader magazine’s associate editor Bryson Sleppy shares his technique for installing an LED kit into a modern, HO scale passenger car that did not come factory-equipped with lights. Even better, Bryson adds an NCE Light-it DCC decoder he’ll use to toggle the interior illumination on/off. Be sure to follow the exclusive In The Workshop […]
N scale trains on HO curves: In 1968 Aurora and Revell gambled that N scale train sets would be a big hit in the toy market. Aurora struck a deal with Minitrix, a German company, to produce its Postage Stamp line, and Revell turned to Rapido (also German) to manufacture its offerings. I have no […]
Better track, wheels, and couplers: Several years ago Atlas introduced its code 55 N scale track, and soon a great wail rose up from some in the N scale community. Beautiful as the track was, the wheels that came standard with Micro-Trains cars bumped against the track’s molded spike heads as the cars rolled along. The […]
Wheel quality keeps rolling: Over the last five years or so, N scalers have shown increased interest in replacement wheelsets. Maybe it’s just because so many more choices have become available. Up until the ’90s, some cars came with less than satisfactory wheels. Often the trucks didn’t roll freely. Sometimes cars would shimmy down the […]
After host David Popp cleans up a few foibles around the cork roadbed, he turns to the task of modifying turnouts to accommodate Tortoise switch motors. And then his full focus goes to laying down the trackwork! Follow his fastidious process for aligning the main line and gluing into place…to perfection! And be sure to […]
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Facts & features Name: Tygart Valley Division Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: Two rooms, 15′ x 18′ and 12′ x 20′ Prototypes: Proto-freelanced, Western Maryland Ry. Locale: West Virginia Era: Mid-1950s Style: Walkaround Mainline run: 160 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: No. 6 Maximum grade: 2.75% Benchwork: Open grid Height: 45″ to 63″ Roadbed: Cork […]
Sidewinders, squeezers, and crushers: In Milwaukee, our winter days can be very cold and dry, our summer days hot and humid. We can control the climate indoors, or at least try to, with heating, air conditioning, humidifying, dehumidifying, and such, but still we sometimes run into problems with track kinking on our model railroads. The […]
Test twice, solder once: It’s one of the best lessons I’ve learned in building layouts. In fact, it’s such a good lesson that I relearn it every once in while. My problem is patience. Testing takes a little time and slows my progress, or so I sometimes start to think. Actually, it can (and I […]
News & Products for the week of March 13th 2023 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of March 13th 2023. […]
On today’s Midday Modeler, David and Cody discuss painting track on the project railroad. Eric shows off the work he’s doing on a switch tower kit. Steve gives an update on the structures he’s building for the project layout. Mitch talks about working on the next layout structure, the water street freight terminal. David and […]
In this exclusive Trains.com video tour of an HO scale (1:87.1) model railroad based on New Haven operations in the 1950s and ‘60s, you’ll get to see close-up views of a masterfully detailed display! First showcased in the August 2004 issue of Model Railroader and Great Model Railroads 2020, Rick’s layout features exquisite catenary installations, […]
