Building a recycled metal enginehouse

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Craig actually works in a railroad shop, which he modeled when scratchbuilding his scale metal engine house. The roof came from a fluorescent light fixture. Nancy Norris Craig Lund Craig Lund Craig Lund Craig Lund Craig Lund Craig Lund Craig Lund Craig Lund Denver, Colorado Recycled metal I like to use “used” items in my […]

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Building an acrylic train shed

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Tucked behind Ray’s Mystic Mountain Railroad, a weatherproof train shed houses his long coal train, which is ready to go at a moment’s notice. Ray likes working with acrylic, which should last a long time. Ray Turner Ray Turner Ray Turner Ray Turner Ray Turner Ray Turner Ray Turner San Jose, California Wooden box and […]

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Building an enginehouse out of wood

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After many months of build time in his garage, Bob emerged with a practical car barn, so trains are ready to roll anytime. Gas struts help with raising the three separate overhead doors. Bob Ferraro Bob Ferraro Bob Ferraro Bob Ferraro Bob Ferraro Bob Ferrero Leadville, Colorado Scratchbuilt wood The engine house still looks great […]

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How to build a scale tipi

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Patrick Friedmann In the April 2016 issue, Patrick Friedmann describes how to build an authentic tipi for your garden railroad. Registered users of our website can download full-size drawings to build a tipi. […]

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Bachmann animated cattle cars

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Marc Horovitz 1:22.5 scale, gauge 1, animated cattle cars Bachmann Industries 1400 East Erie Avenue Philadelphia PA 19124 Price: $129 Website: www.bachmanntrains.com Cattle car with openings through which horse or cow heads appear; opening doors; plastic construction; plastic arch-bar trucks; metal wheelsets; working, truck-mounted knuckle couplers installed; hook-and-loop couplers also supplied; two road names available […]

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Kadee Barber S-2 freight car trucks

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Marc Horovitz 1:29 scale, gauge-1 trucks Kadee Quality Products Co. 673 Avenue C White City OR 97503 Price: $49.99/pair Website: www.kadee.com 1:29 scale, gauge 1, Barber S-2, roller bearing, freight-car trucks; cast-metal side frames; metal wheels and axles; plastic brake detail; equalized Pros: Mostly-metal construction; weight of trucks will lower the car’s center of gravity; […]

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MTH F7 locomotive

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Kevin Strong 1:32 scale, gauge 1, A-A diesel locomotives MTH Electric Trains 7020 Columbia Gateway Drive Columbia MD 21046 Price $999.95 Website: www.mthtrains.com 1:32 scale, gauge 1, plastic-and-metal A-A set of EMD F7 locomotives; ProtoSound3; smoke; analog DC, AC, DCC, and MTH DCS-compatible control Pros: Accurate scale/gauge combination; well detailed with good fidelity to the […]

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Peter Angus: Locomotive Builder book

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Peter Angus: Locomotive Builder by Peter Angus Camden Miniature Steam Services Barrow Farm Rode, Frome, Somerset BA11 6PS Great Britain 8 3/4″ x 11 3/4″, hardbound, 222 pages, color and b&w photos Price: £32.50 + £10.02 s&h to the US Website: www.camdenmin.co.uk Peter Angus, while relatively unknown in the US, is a quite-well-known builder of […]

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Vilas County Lumber Company buckboard wagon plan sets

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Buckboard wagon plan sets in 1:24 and 1:13.7 scales Vilas County Lumber Company 12306 Lakeview Trail Homer Glen IL 60491 Prices: 1:24 scale, $14; 1:13.7 scale, $15 Website: www.VCLCo.com Comprehensive plan set for the construction of a buckboard wagon; four 91/2″ x 13″ pages and six (1:24) or eight (1:13.7) 13″ x 19″ pages; spiral […]

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Video: Animate structures using microcontrollers

Animate structures using microcontrollers

In the April 2016 Model Railroader, author Bruce Kingsley shows how to add sound and animation to a structure model using Arduino circuit boards. Watch the video clip to see the finished results of Bruce’s project. In addition to watching the video, you can also download Bruce’s sound file. Download a PDF copy of the source […]

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