Q: I am researching transition era railcar brakes. Were there books written on the subject, and are they still available for purchase? – Ron Buddemeier A: The most complete and detailed reference for transition era railcar brakes is the one used by the railroads themselves – the Car Builder’s Cyclopedia of American Practice. This weighty […]
Q: I have some HO scale passenger cars that I would like to install LED lights into. I’m new to model railroading. I understand that I need decoders in each car, but after that, I’m lost. – Alex Laserson A: If you want to install passenger car interior lighting, you don’t absolutely have to use […]
Q: I’ve tried many methods to uncouple my rolling stock automatically rather than use a manual tool. Permanent magnets were far from satisfactory even when I devised a way to raise them at the appropriate time to a position closer to the couplers. I’ve modified an HOn3 electromagnet to fit between the rails, and this […]
Tips for your right-of-way Easy tunnel liner When building tunnels, making a solid interior structure to maintain the tunnel’s structural integrity may be a challenge to those who may not know where to start. An old mailbox makes a perfect shell for a tunnel—just remove the flag, door, and end, and install it. The size […]
Q: What are the drawbacks of extruded-foam insulation board benchwork? Much has changed with model railroading since my childhood. As a retiree, I’m re-entering the hobby with a modest HO scale layout in a 10 x 15-foot room in my garage. I’ve consulted several articles, books, and videos on benchwork, but I’m still uneasy about […]
Q: I would like some advice on cleaning an airbrush while weathering. I use an older Paasche airbrush to weather my N scale rolling stock. Since N scale models take very little paint, the painting process usually only takes a few seconds to a minute per color. But cleaning the tip, the air point, and […]
This month I decided to try planning a Layout Design Element. According to Model Railroad Planning editor Tony Koester, who invented the term, a Layout Design Element (LDE) is a visually and operationally recognizable model of a prototype railroad location. An LDE is a notch of realism higher than layouts that are merely inspired by […]
Q: Can you help me decide how high to place a layout backdrop? I am a long time modeler and have used backdrops on a prior double-deck HO layout. I’m now faced with planning backdrops for a single-deck N scale layout with rolling hills. How do I handle a scene that drops on a 2% […]
7 tips for your roadbed and right-of-way: Keep your trains rolling with these easy tips. Learn how to store ballast nearby, easily pick up leaves, clear switch points, and more! Piping under the roadbed When we built our garden railroad, we found that we needed to provide water to plants on the far side of […]
Q: I’m planning my first layout and I need to learn about train movements and switching a model railroad. Specifically, how are cars spotted on facing-point turnouts versus trailing ones? How do I plan for trains running in both directions? – Jesse Brinson A: For those who are new to switching a model railroad, let’s […]
I have a confession to make: I’m an ops noob. I’ve been a model railroader for more than 30 years and have worked for Model Railroader magazine for 15. I edited Jerry Dziedzic’s “On Operation” column for years and Andy Sperandeo’s “The Operators” before that. And I know my way around a throttle. But a […]
What are DCC sound decoders? Well, to put it briefly: A sound decoder is a computer on a chip that receives and interprets signals sent from the DCC base station and puts out an analog signal that makes an attached speaker produce the sound desired. There’s more to DCC sound decoders, though. There are two […]
