Action may be required on your Trains.com account in order to continue accessing content. Click here to learn more.
Name: H&R Steel Co. Layout owner: Mike Rabbitt Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 18 x 33 feet Theme: integrated steel mill Locale: Midwest United States Era: steam-to-diesel transition era Style: walk-in Mainline run: 135 feet Minimum radius: 30” (main), 12″ (mill) Minimum turnout: no. 3 (in mill) Maximum grade: 1.5 percent Benchwork: open grid Height: 46″ […]
Name: Danforth, Hadley & Northern RR Layout owner: Ken Chick Scale: N (1:160) Size: 38 x 52 feet Prototype: freelanced, based on Northern Pacific Locale: Central Montana Era: 1954 Style: walkaround Mainline run: 400 feet Minimum radius: 24″ (main), 20″ (branch) Minimum turnout: no. 5 (main), no. 4 (industrial spurs) Maximum grade: 1.5 percent (main), 2.25 […]
Name: Pennsylvania RR Layout owner: Chris Broughton Scale: N (1:160) Size: 18 x 27 feet Prototype: Pennsylvania RR Locale: Eastern U.S. Era: 1954 Style: modular walk-in Mainline run: 85 feet Minimum radius: 20″ Minimum turnout: no. 7 (yards and industries), no. 10 (crossovers) Maximum grade: none Benchwork: Free-moN modules Height: 50″ Roadbed: cork Track: Atlas […]
Name: Nitro Pass & Okanagan Layout owner: Don Weixl Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 12′-6″ x 15′-4″ Prototype: Freelanced Locale: southern British Columbia Period: 1955-1965 Style: double -deck walk-in Mainline run: 120 feet Minimum radius: 24″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 2 percent Benchwork: L-girder (lower level), open grid (upper) Height: 42″ to 62″ Roadbed: […]
Western Maryland 2-8-0s 840 and 816 swing around one curve and into another as they lead a coal train east through rugged Blackwater Canyon between Elkins and Thomas, W.Va., in May 1952. Three more 2-8-0s at mid-train, and two more on the rear, help the 78-car train upgrade. Ed Theisinger photo […]
A mix of older wood reefers and new steel cars mingle on the cleanout and ready tracks at Swift’s Sioux City (Iowa) plant in 1954. A lone car in the old yellow scheme stands out among a sea of cars in the red 1950 paint scheme. George Berkstresser photo […]
Name: Pennsylvania RR Nassau Division Layout owner: John Sethian Scale: O (1:48) Size: 21 x 31 feet Prototype: Pennsylvania RR electrified lines Locale: New Jersey and Pennsylvania Era: 1955 to 1957 Style: walk-in with duckunder Mainline run: 110 feet Minimum radius: 57″ (visible), 44″ (hidden) Minimum turnout: no. 71⁄2 Maximum grade: 1.8 percent Benchwork: open-grid […]
Name: Cale, Bear Mountain & Harrisonville Layout owner: Vern Sargent Scale: Z (1:220) Size: 2′-0″ x 3′-2″ Prototype: Milwaukee Road and Monon Locale: southern Indiana Era: 1945 to 1955 Mainline run: 15 feet Minimum radius: 811⁄16″ Minimum turnout: no. 41⁄2 Maximum grade: 4 percent Benchwork: extruded-foam insulation board Height: varies Roadbed: cork on 1⁄4″ plywood […]
Large layouts are cool, no doubt, but we thought that something smaller that combined postwar trains with modern materials also sounded like fun. We told Classic Toy Trains Editor Carl Swanson what we were thinking, and he challenged us to actually follow through. Uh-oh. This special 13-page magazine supplement contains step-by-step instructions for creating a 4 […]
Wagners Point (Updated from the December 2015 issue) Carroll Street on the Baltimore Harbor District (Update from the October 2017 issue) Name: Baltimore Harbor District Layout designer: Paul Dolkos Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 17 x 29 feet (in two rooms) Prototypes: Baltimore & Ohio, Canton RR, Pennsylvania RR, and Western Maryland Locale: Baltimore Period: 1955 […]
Louisville & Nashville adopted Alcos by the 1950s on lines in eastern Kentucky. The railroad first painted RS3s, FA2s, and FB2s in black, cream, and orange, but later opted for simpler schemes. R.D. Sharpless, Louisville & Nashville Historical Society collection Q My family moved from Texas to southeastern Kentucky in the mid-1950s, and I remember […]
Name: Central Maine RR Layout owner: Paul Boehlert Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 39 x 80 inches Locale: inspired by Portland, Maine Era: late 1960s Style: island Mainline run: 15 feet Minimum radius: 15″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: none This track plan originally appeared in the September 2016 Model Railroader. Click on the link […]
