A Chesapeake & Ohio Mallet starts downgrade for Barrett, W.Va., with loads from Eastern Gas & Fuel’s Wharton No. 2 mine in June 1955. Trains’ Editor David P. Morgan tracked two cars from mine to Tidewater in the April 1956 issue. W.A. Akin Jr. photo […]
Read More…
New York Central J-1 Hudson No. 5403 accelerates west at Mattoon, Ill., with an express train for St. Louis in September 1954. When built in in 1927, the Central was given to throwing up marble monuments of stations, running seven-section Centurys, and paying 8-percent dividends. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Read More…
Gary Hoover models the Norfolk & Western Ry. in the late 1950s through Virginia and West Virginia. Many of the scenes on his 24 x 49 foot model railroad are inspired by the famed railroad photographer, O. Winston Link. Gary’s model train layout is also the cover story of the April 2020 Model Railroader. Enjoy […]
Read More…
Not everyone has a fabulous railroad library to work from, but the library at the Model Railroader offices didn’t get me as far as you’d think. Following is a short list of places I’ve found amazing stuff when looking for research: • Most railroads have a historical society, so it’s good to have an up-to-date […]
Read More…
Prototype operations weren’t the focus of many model railroaders when I started work on my HO scale layout in 1988. But I had a clear vision of an operations-oriented layout that would depict the Canadian Pacific Ry.’s Montreal Terminals Division in Canada’s second largest city in the late 1960s. That was when I spent […]
Read More…
The layout at a glance Name: Western Maryland Ry. Blue Ridge Division Layout designer: Brian Wolfe Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 28 x 39 feet Prototype: Western Maryland Ry. Locale: Maryland/Pennsylvania border Era: 1970 Style: multilevel walk-in Mainline run: 200 feet Minimum radius: 29″ (main), 18″ (Hagerstown wye) Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main), no. 4 (yards) […]
Read More…
The eastbound Western Star kicks up snow as it approaches a freight at the west end of the Tintah, Minn., siding on February 14, 1969. The Star carried Nos. 27 and 28 at the time. Howard S. Patrick photo […]
Read More…
Forrest Nace took plenty of fascinating photographs of Howard Zane’s spectacular HO scale Piermont Division. Enjoy this exclusive gallery of selected scenes from the 60 x 70-foot HO scale model railroad, including many of Howard’s superdetailed brass steam locomotive models. A full article on Howard Zane’s layout appeared in the February 2020 issue of […]
Read More…
The layout at a glance Name: Piermont Division Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 60 x 70 feet Theme: freelanced Locale: Pennsylvania, New York State, northwestern New Jersey Era: early 1950s Style: walk-in Mainline run: more than 1,400 feet Minimum radius: 38″ Minimum turnout: no. 10 (main and sidings), no. 8 (yards) Maximum grade: 1.5 percent (main), […]
Read More…
Host John Truckenbrod pairs with Classic Toy Trains Senior Editor Roger Carp to take a close look at vintage station platforms made by Lionel Corporation. Things get even more interesting when the two talk about some of the operating accessories found on John’s display-style O gauge layout! Even better, the guys also discuss Lionel’s 6464 boxcar […]
Read More…
Host John Truckenbrod pairs with Classic Toy Trains Senior Editor Roger Carp to take a close look at vintage station platforms made by Lionel Corporation. Things get even more interesting when the two talk about some of the operating accessories found on John’s display-style O gauge layout! Even better, the guys also discuss Lionel’s 6464 boxcar […]
Read More…
The layout at a glance Name: Quisling, Calif. (1954) Layout designer: Brian Moore Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 21 inches x 24 feet Prototype: proto-freelanced Southern Pacific Locale: Central/Northern California Era: 1954 Style: modular Mainline run: 24 feet Minimum radius: 42″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: none Benchwork: extruded-foam insulation board sheets, wrapped in plywood […]
Read More…