MRVP’s Ben Lake explains the essential components and process for establishing a digital means to control trains, turnouts, blocks, and even signals. His solution? JMRI interfaced with a Raspberry Pi computer. Follow along, and get up to speed on this cutting-edge DCC option for operating your model railroad! […]
Name: Boston & Maine Layout owner: Thomas Oxnard Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 18 x 28 feet Prototype: freelanced, inspired by the Boston & Maine Locale: Boston, Seacoast region of New Hampshire into the mountains Era: 1953 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 194 feet Minimum radius: 20″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 3 percent Benchwork: L-girder […]
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 […]
It’s true. The same Bona Vista RR that builder Gerry Leone showcased in an MRVP Exclusive Layout Visit, plus episodes of “Off the Rails” and “Turning Spaces into Places”, is no more! But before removing his double-deck HO scale layout, Gerry was kind enough to start the cameras rolling to capture its demise — all […]
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 […]
Click on the image to download this track plan. The layout at a glance Name: Wingate Layout designer: Tony Koester Scale: O (1:48) Size: 30″ x 16′-0″ plus optional 30″ x 8′-0″ extension Prototype: Nickel Plate Road Locale: Wingate, Ind. Era: 1954 Style: portable tabletop Mainline run: 16 feet Minimum radius: none Minimum turnout: no. […]
Please enjoy this photo gallery of Jack Varadi’s HO scale Greenville & Ohio, firmly planted in Appalachia. Photographs of this 13.5 by 23-foot layout are by Bruce Gathman. A full article on this railroad appeared in the December 2019 issue of Model Railroader. […]
Name: New York, New Haven & Hartford RR Layout owner: Richard Abramson Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 12′-6″ x 19′-6″ Prototype: New Haven electrified zone Locale: southwestern Connecticut Era: 1950s to 1960s Style: around-the-walls Mainline run: 65 feet Minimum radius: 36″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent Benchwork: open grid Height: 49″ Roadbed: Homasote […]
This track plan originally appeared in Great Model Railroads 2020. Click on the link below to download a PDF copy of this track plan. Name: Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Layout owner: Lou Sassi Scale: On30 (1:48, 30″ track gauge) Size: 7 x 16 feet Prototype: Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Locale: north-central Maine Era: […]
Click on the image to download a PDF copy of this track plan. Name: Denver & Rio Grande Western Layout owner: David Powell Scale: HO scale (1:87.1) Size: 13′-0″ x 18′-6″ Prototype: Denver & Rio Grande Western Locale: Colorado Era: late 1950s to early 1960s Style: walk-in Mainline run: 65 feet Minimum radius: 273⁄8″ Minimum […]
Click on the image to download a PDF copy of this track plan. Name: Minneapolis & St. Louis Story City branch Layout owner: Clark Propst Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 13 x 20 feet Prototype: Minneapolis & St. Louis Locale: central Iowa Era: Autumn 1949 to 1951 Style: linear walk-in Mainline run: 70 feet Minimum radius: […]
DOWNLOAD THE ARTICLE Gary Schaff’s HO scale Hudson, Delaware & Lehigh is a freelanced Central Railroad of New Jersey and Pennsylvania Railroad line operating between Jersey City, N.J., and Mauch Chunk Pa., in the early 1950s. Gary wrote about how he added his own personal touches to this professionally built model train layout in Great […]
