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It’s been more than a decade since Lou Sassi photographed my HO scale White River Division for a feature in the March 2009 Model Railroader. A lot has changed since then. The track plan has been altered to better view and photograph scenes. I also eliminated the duckunder. Now a point-to-point layout, there’s a yard […]
Q: I’m building a new layout using Kato HO scale Unitrack. I have read many different opinions on whether to solder all track joints. What’s the best practice? Some say that using terminal joiners on Kato Unitrack for connection to the DCC bus is OK, while others say they’re unreliable. I use terminal joiners every […]
Choosing model rail sizes is one of the things modelers often spend time on when building their second layout. We often start with whatever came in the train set we began with, but then we start to hear about rail “codes,” and how they can differ. Regardless of scale, model rail sizes are specified […]
Whether you need more blue on your locomotive roster or want to add Conrail units in other paint schemes to your layout, this is a comprehensive list of Conrail models you can buy. This list just focuses on locomotives and cabooses. Mixing Conrail freight cars into your rolling stock roster will also add some colorful […]
Three types of staging yards: Staging serves the role of representing a model railroad’s connections to the rest of the world. Different kinds of staging, though, perform differently. Using staging yards to represent “beyond the layout” connections is widely accepted among model railroad operators. There’s no better way to foster the illusion that a model […]
Add depth to structures using mirrors: In working on the addition to my On30 Olympia & Sand Creek layout, I’d decided to add a building flat at one end to represent a warehouse. The flat is about 3” deep and angles away from the viewer slightly so it can sit 90-degrees to the track that […]
Car Swap Project part 9: Lessons learned: Once the last clear coat had dried, David and Seth sent their cars to Gerry for a class photo before he distributed them all to their new homes. After spending several weeks on the project, the three friends share some fun photos and a few of the lessons […]
News & Products for the week of February 27th 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 February 27th 2023. […]
Car Swap Project part 8: Olympia cars and liquid rust techniques: In this installment of the Car Swap series, David explains how he completed the HO scale Olympia cars for Seth and Gerry’s layouts. Starting with a few of his own decaling tips, David explains how he weathered the cars using various paints, his airbrush, […]
Car Swap Project part 7: Gerry’s creative touch: In this episode of our Car Swap series, Gerry explains how he completed the HO and O scale Bona Vista cars for Seth and David’s layouts. Starting with prep work and a few of decaling tips, Gerry then dives into extensive detail about weathering the two boxcars. […]
Car Swap Project part 6: Seth’s techniques: With the decals finally printed and distributed, it’s time to start the actual work of completing the cars. Seth, Gerry, and David each have their own techniques for doing this kind of work, so parts 6-8 will cover each modeler’s efforts in detail. Seth kicks things off with […]
Car Swap Project part 5: Printing decals with an ALPS printer: As the three friends endeavor to make custom boxcars for each other’s layouts, Gerry Leone, Seth Puffer, and David Popp embark on printing custom decals. There are several easy ways to print your own decals, just as long as you don’t want white lettering. […]
