Scab plant

scab_plant

Nancy Norris Common name: Scab plant Latin name: Raoulia australis Plant type: Groundcover USDA Hardiness Zones: 5-10 Cultural needs: Dry, well-drained soil, sun or part shade Plant size: under 1″ high by 12″ wide Raoulia (Ra-OO-lee-uh) admittedly has way too many vowels but it does sound better than “scab plant,” its common name. The silvery […]

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Video 101 Trains at twilight

trains running on a garden railroad at twilight

Many garden railways are lighted for evening viewing. Some have intricate model street lighting, while others use various yard lights or strings of overhead outdoor bulbs. Bob Guinan installed several light sources along his railway, including inside buildings and balloons, overhead, and along the viewing pathways. Our club looks forward to Trains at Twilight on […]

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HO scale Baltimore & Ohio

HOscaleBaltimoreOhio

Name: Baltimore & Ohio Layout owner: John Listermann Scale: HO (1:87.1 ) Size: 32 x 35 feet Prototype: freelanced, inspired by the B&O Locale: West Virginia Era: early 1950s Style: walk-in Mainline run: 500 feet Minimum radius: 24″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 2.7 percent Benchwork: L-girder and open grid Height: 36″ to 54″ […]

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HO scale Pacific Coast Lines

HOscalePacificCoastLines

Name: Pacific Coast Lines Layout owner: Steve Mahan Scale: HO (1:87.1), HOn3 (1:87.1, 3-foot gauge) Size: 42 x 57 feet Prototypes: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Southern Pacific; Union Pacific; Western Pacific; Denver & Rio Grande Western Locale: Southern California Era: 1952-1960 Style: multi-deck walk-in Mainline run: 1,600 feet Minimum radius: 36″ Minimum turnout: no. […]

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Video 101 Trains at twilight

trains running on a garden railroad at twilight

Many garden railways are lighted for evening viewing. Some have intricate model street lighting, while others use various yard lights or strings of overhead outdoor bulbs. Bob Guinan installed several light sources along his railway, including inside buildings and balloons, overhead, and along the viewing pathways. Our club looks forward to Trains at Twilight on […]

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Olympia 2, The Log Blog: Part 11 – Scenery Surprise

David and Jenny by the Olympia layout

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Hard to believe David has been working on the Olympia Logging Co. On30 layout revisions for an entire year now! What better time to take a look at the work he’s completed thus far. But to keep the progress moving forward, David enlists […]

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Canadian Canyons Series: Part 27 – Shaping tunnels

Kent Johnson and Drew Halverson next to layout scenery

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Our Canadian Canyons N scale layout project would certainly be flawed without adding tunnels (and slide sheds) to the Fraser and Thompson River segments. No worries! Drew and Kent show how to plot out and install one of the many foam-built tunnels they […]

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Make-A-Wish Railway Project

Make-A-Wish Railway Project

Make-A-Wish Northeastern California and Northern Nevada is one of 62 chapters nationwide. Since the foundation began in 1980, more than 250,000 wishes have been granted to children ages 2½ to 18 with life threatening medical conditions. This particular chapter began in 1983 and has granted more than 4,700 wishes. Make-A-Wish organized volunteers from 4 organizations […]

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Canadian Canyons Series: Part 26 – Shaping a mountain

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Drew and Kent keep the scenery effort moving forward. In this episode of our Canadian Canyons N scale layout project, the two share how they attached “ribs” to the spine they just installed. Once this rough cut of the scenery substructure is in […]

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Train-superiority checklist for model railroad operation

OnoperationJanuary2018

In his On Operation column for the January 2018 issue of Model Railroader, Jerry Dziedzic describes dealing with train superiority and time-table-and-train-order (TT&TO) operation for model railroads. Jerry mentioned a train-superiority checklist developed by Mark Amfahr that greatly simplified TT&TO decision making for train crews during operating sessions on his railroad. Click on the link […]

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HO scale Tar Branch

HOscaleWinstonSalemSouthboundTarBranch

Name: The Tar Branch Size: 2′-9″ x 8′-2″ Prototype: Winston-Salem Southbound Ry. Location: Winston-Salem, N.C. Era: mid-to-late 1950s Style: shelf Minimum radius: 20″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: none Benchwork: L-girder Height: 46″ Roadbed: milled Homasote on ½” plywood Track: handlaid code 83 Scenery: Sculptamold on extruded-foam insulation board and plywood Backdrop: building photographs […]

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HO scale Texas & Pacific Ry.

HOscaleTexasPacific

Name: Texas & Pacific Layout designers: R.D. Moses and Jack Luck Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 18′-8″ x 40′-0″ Prototype: Texas & Pacific Locale: rural west Texas Era: 1950 to 1960 Style: linear walkaround Mainline run: 193 feet Minimum radius: 24″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 3 percent Benchwork: open grid Height: 45″ to 54″ […]

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