BONUS ARTICLE: N scale through the Northwoods

NscaleMissabeJunction20131

Steve Miazga’s updated N scale Missabe Junction is featured in the September 2018 Model Railroader. Check out This first article about Steve’s layout from the November 2013 Model Railroader. Steve Miazga grew up less than two blocks from the Soo Line main in Rhinelander, Wis. As a kid, he saw the Soo’s first Geeps and […]

Read More…

HO scale Baltimore & Ohio RR Pittsburgh Division

HOscalePittsburghWesternSub

Name: Baltimore & Ohio RR, Pittsburgh Division, P&W Subdivision Layout owner: John Babcock Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 19′-6″ x 23′-3″ Prototype: Baltimore & Ohio Locale: western Pennsylvania Era: 1966 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 125 feet (double-track main line) Minimum radius: 24″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 3 percent Benchwork: L-girder Height: 42″ to 48″ […]

Read More…

Troubleshooting vintage O gauge locomotives

Troubleshooting vintage O gauge locomotives

Troubleshooting vintage O gauge locomotives isn’t difficult. There are some common issues to look for when they won’t run, and most are fairly easy to fix. It happens to all of us sooner or later. You place your favorite vintage locomotive on the track, power up the transformer, and the darn thing just sits there, […]

Read More…

HO scale Arcadia & Betsey River Ry.

HOscaleArcadiaBetseyRiver

Name: Arcadia & Betsey River Ry. Layout owner: Harley “Skip” Luyk Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 14 x 28 feet Prototype: freelanced logging line Locale: Pacific Northwest Era: 1910 to 1957 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 74 feet (main), 87 feet (branch line) Minimum radius: 22″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 4 percent Benchwork: mix of […]

Read More…

HO scale Piney Fork Branch

HOscalePineyForkBranch

Name: Piney Fork RR Layout Owner: Seth Gartner Scale: HO scale (1:87.1) Size: 23 x 31 feet Prototype: New York Central Locale: eastern Ohio (Minerva to Dillonvale) Era: early 1960s Style: multilevel, walk in Mainline run: 260 feet Minimum radius: 24″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 (industries), o. 5 (yardns), no. 6 (main line) Maximum grade: […]

Read More…

HO scale B&O Paquettin Division

HOscaleBOPaquettinDivision2018thumb

Name: B&O Paquettin Division (updated 2018) Layout owner: Mike Tricker Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 16′-6″ x 16′-6″ Prototype: inspired by Baltimore & Ohio Locale: Appalachia to New Jersey Style: partial mushroom Era: early to mid-1950s Mainline run: 78 feet (excluding helix) Minimum radius: 18″, 15″(waterfront) Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main), no. 4 (waterfront) Maximum grade: […]

Read More…

HO scale Palmetto Subdivision

HOscaleAtlanticCoastLinePalmettoSubdivisionthumb

Name: The Palmetto Subdivision Layout designer: Christian Javier Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 13 x 20 feet Prototype: Atlantic Coast Line Locale: southwest Florida Era: 1958-1959 Style: walkaround Mainline run: 93 feet Minimum radius: 28″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: none (flat) This track plan originally appeared in the July 2018 issue of Model Railroader. […]

Read More…

Mountains to seaside on a triple deck model railroad

MRRA0613_01

Note: This article originally appeared in the June 2013 Model Railroader. Mike updated his plan and wrote a followup story in the July 2018 issue. Ever since receiving my first Hornby train set as a child in 1954, my modeling interests were focused on the railways of my home country, Great Britain. About 10 years […]

Read More…

Layout Tour – Willoughby Line with Guy Cantwell

Model town of Willoughby

This HO scale masterpiece is a double-deck proto-lance 1950s-era layout built by Guy Cantwell that represents parts of California’s central valley, as well as the railroads that operated in the Sierra foothills and mountains. It features prototypes from the Southern Pacific, Western Pacific/Tidewater Southern, Sierra, Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite Valley Railroad, and West Side Railroads. Most […]

Read More…