Track warrant form for your model railroad

TrackWarrantBlank

Click on the image or link to download a PDF copy of a blank track warrant form. On many modern-era railroads, track warrants are used to move trains over the line. Jerry Dziedzic describes dispatching a model railroad with track warrants in the August 2017 Model Railroader. […]

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Mulch in the garden railroad

figure next to trees and house on garden railway

A lecturer once told our Master Gardener group, “Mulch is like underwear: we need it, but we don’t want to see it.” Ideally, the ground is best covered with plants, but it takes time for small starts of groundcover plants to spread and fill the areas we want. If the soil is left bare between […]

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Dwarf hardy jasmine

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Nancy Norris Common name: Dwarf hardy jasmine, Parker’s jasmine Latin name: Jasminum parkeri Plant type: Shrubs & small trees USDA Hardiness Zones: 7-11 (overwinter indoors in lower zones) Cultural needs: Regular moisture, well-drained, slightly acidic soil, sun or part shade Plant size: 8-18″ high x 18″ wide Many plants are called jasmine but stem from […]

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HO scale CSX’s KD Subdivision

HOscaleCSXKDSubdivision1

Name: CSX’s KD Subdivision Layout owner: Brian Moore Layout designer: Bob Sprague Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 15′-0″ x 22′-3″ Prototype: CSX Locale: Eastern Tennessee and Kentucky Era: Present day Style: Multiple-deck walkaround Mainline run: 168 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 3 percent Click on the link to download a PDF […]

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HO scale Hoosac Valley RR

HOscaleHoosacValleyRR2017

Name: Hoosac Valley RR Layout owner: Dick Elwell Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 32 x 62 feet Prototype: freelanced, inspired by New York Central and Boston & Albany Locale: Northeast Era: 1940s to 1960s Style: walk-in Mainline run: 365 feet Minimum radius: 42″ (main line) Minimum turnout: no. 6 (one no. 4 turnout) Maximum grade: 1.5 […]

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Z scale Gulf, Illinois & Rocky Mountains RR

ZscaleGulfIllinoisandRockyMountains

Click the image to download a copy of the track plan. Name: Gulf, Illinois & Rocky Mountains RR Layout owner: John-Baptiste Merillot Scale: Z (1:220) Size: 7 x 15 feet Prototype: none; includes locomotives from Union Pacific, CSX, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, among others Locale: Northwestern United States Era: late 1960s to present Style: walk-in, […]

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Olympia 2, The Log Blog: Part 6 – Track deliberations

David Popp and the Olympia layout

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page David is eager to get out of the basement and enjoy the summer weather! But before heading into the great outdoors, he’s bound and determined to sort out a few track, scenery, and benchwork issues on the expanding Olympia Logging Co. On30 layout. […]

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Easy easements for model train track

easementthisone

Laying tangent (straight) track is pretty straightforward but those curves can, well, throw you a curve. Equipment that enters a sudden curve is more likely to derail. And even if wheels stay on the rails the sight of a train jolting into a sudden curve can make even the most realistic layout look like a […]

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Olympia 2, The Log Blog: Part 5 – Wide open spaces

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page David is back to the basement for more work on the Olympia Logging Co. On30 layout. In this blog entry, he first joins the two layout sections, and then makes changes to the hardboard fascia and styrene backdrop, giving the display an amazing […]

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